Assignment and Sublet Process

Lease Assignments will no longer be permitted in all Community Housing properties. Tenants that wish to end their lease early will be permitted to do so. If you are seeking assignment of your lease, please contact Community Housing.

All leases for Queen’s owned rental units are rented on fixed terms with defined end dates. Occasionally, there may be situations where a student who is in a current lease needs or wants to leave Kingston or the rental unit (e.g. for work study, research assignment, graduation, etc.).

Under the RTA, the University is exempt from the clause(s) that require a landlord to permit a sub-tenancy or assignment. Permission to assign or sublet must be granted by Community Housing BEFORE anyone other than the named tenants and occupants live in the unit. Tenants should not advertise or guarantee any option to renew the lease for the unit. No requests to assign or sublet a unit will be granted for only the last month of the lease term.

  • The tenant wishes to leave the unit and not return before the end of the lease term will be permitted to do so at not cost to them
  • Community Housing is not allowing assignment of lease agreements

  • All tenants and occupants are going to vacate the unit for a period of time and return to the unit before the end of the lease term
  • The subtenant must be a registered Queen’s student in good standing with the University
  • The full amount of rent will continue to be paid to Community Housing by the tenant. The subtenant will pay rent to the tenant
  • Subtenants do not have any reapplication rights for the unit

This process can take 6-10 business days provided all requirements are met.

  1. The tenant must complete and submit a Tenant Request to Assign or Sublease form to the Community Housing office. An application from the potential assignee/subtenant may be submitted at this time.
  2. Upon receipt of the application an inspection of the unit may be scheduled. This is usually within 5 to 10 business days of the submission of the application however will be no more than 60 days prior to the start date of the sublet/assignment. The inspection will review the unit for any damages and cleanliness of the unit. The unit must meet the inspection requirements to pass. If the unit does not meet inspection requirements the tenant will receive instructions of what must be done in order to pass the inspection. Once the issues have been addressed the tenant can request another inspection. There is a fee of $25 for any follow-up inspections. This amount must be paid before the inspection will be scheduled.
  3. Once an application from a potential assignee/subtenant has been received it will be reviewed for eligibility.
  4. The agreement for either assignment or sublet will be produced by the Community Housing office. Signature from all parties are required.
  5. The transfer of keys is the responsibility of the tenant.

Please note: Community Housing does not clean the unit before an assignee or subtenant moves in. Tenants/sub-tenants currently residing in a Community Housing unit will not be approved as applicants for sub-tenancy or assignment for the same lease period in another Community Housing unit.

Request to Assign or Sublet form (PDF 330KB) – This form is to be completed by the tenant(s) who what to assign or sublet a Community Housing unit they currently live in.

Assignment or Sublease Application form (PDF 361KB) – This form is to be completed by the student who wants to sublet or assign a unit from a current tenant of An Clachan or John Orr Tower.