under-lease

The tenant signed an under-lease for the apartment.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A lease granted by a lessee (the tenant) to a third party, effectively subletting the property for a part of the original lease term. An under-lease is a secondary lease that operates under the primary lease agreement.

Usage Examples

• (The tenant sublet the property to another person.)
• (The primary property owner needs to consent to the subletting arrangement.)

Advanced Usage

• "to take an under-lease": to become a subtenant by entering into an under-lease agreement.

  • She took an under-lease on the apartment while the main tenant was traveling abroad. (She became a subtenant temporarily.)

• "under-lease term": the specific duration or conditions stated in an under-lease.

  • The under-lease term ended three months before the main lease expired. (The sublease period was shorter than the original lease.)

Variants and Related Words

• Under-lessee (n): the person who receives the under-lease, i.e., the subtenant.

  • The under-lessee must pay rent to the original tenant, not the landlord. (The subtenant pays the person who sublet the property.)

• Under-lessor (n): the original tenant who grants the under-lease.

  • As the under-lessor, he remained responsible for the main lease obligations. (The original tenant still owed duties to the landlord.)

Synonyms

• Sublease: a lease from a tenant to another person; essentially the same as under-lease.
• Subtenancy: the arrangement where a tenant rents out part of the property to another party.

Phrasal Verbs

• Lease out: to grant a lease to someone.
  • The tenant leased out the spare room under an under-lease. (The tenant sublet a room.)

Related Idioms

• Pass the lease: to transfer the rights of a lease to another person.
  • He passed the lease to his colleague through an under-lease. (He transferred the rental rights temporarily.)