California Sublease Agreement Template

An agreement between a current tenant and a subtenant for all or part of a rental home, tied to the original lease, with a landlord consent section. This edition fills in the California rules we could confirm and marks the rest as blanks to check.

California rules for this form

Deposit limit. Most landlords may collect no more than one month of rent as a deposit, while a small landlord (a person or family LLC owning no more than two properties with four units in total) may collect up to two months. (Civil Code section 1950.5 (as amended by AB 12, 2023))

Deadline to return the deposit. The landlord must return the deposit, minus any lawful deductions, within 21 days after the tenant moves out. (Civil Code section 1950.5)

Month-to-month notice. A tenant on a month-to-month agreement gives at least 30 days of written notice; a landlord gives 30 or 60 days depending on how long the tenant has lived there. (Civil Code sections 1946 and 1946.1)

Notice before entry. Landlords must give reasonable written notice before entering, and 24 hours is presumed reasonable (6 days if the notice is mailed), except in emergencies. (Civil Code section 1954)

Required disclosures. Homes built before 1978 need the federal lead-based paint disclosure and the EPA pamphlet. (Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act (42 U.S.C. 4852d))

Required disclosures. Leases must include the statutory notice about the Megan's Law sex offender database. (Civil Code section 2079.10a)

Required disclosures. Landlords must give new tenants written information about bed bugs. (Civil Code section 1954.603)

Required disclosures. Landlords must disclose if the property is in a special flood hazard area they know about. (Government Code section 8589.45)

Required disclosures. Landlords generally must disclose known mold that exceeds permissible exposure limits. (California Health and Safety Code (mold disclosure))

Cities and counties in California can add their own rules on top of these. Check local ordinances before you sign.

What is in the template

1. Parties
2. The master lease
3. Subleased space
4. Term
5. Rent
6. Utilities and shared costs
7. Security deposit
8. Condition and inspection
9. Rules
10. Repairs and access
11. Default
12. General terms
13. Signatures
14. Landlord consent

Before you use it

• In a sublease the original tenant stays responsible to the landlord, and the subtenant answers to the original tenant.
• Most leases require the landlord's written consent before a tenant sublets, and some states limit when a landlord may refuse.
• A sublease can never last longer than the original lease or give the subtenant more rights than the tenant has.
• Landlords should screen subtenants with the same criteria they use for any applicant.

For the full explanation of this form, read our guide to the sublease agreement.