Sublessee

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A party that leases property from a tenant instead of the landlord, thus gaining possession and responsibilities under a separate rental agreement
2. An entity or individual that enters into a rental contract with an existing tenant, obtaining rights to occupy and use the property while owing rent to the tenant
3. An individual or organization that leases property from a lessee rather than the original property owner, thereby assuming certain tenancy rights and obligations

Etymology: "Sublessee" is a plain legal compound: "sub-" meaning "under" or "secondary," attached to "lessee," the person who holds a lease. A sublessee is therefore someone who holds a lease from a lessee rather than from the owner, so the chain runs from owner to lessee to sublessee. The "lessee" half comes from the verb "lease," which passed into English through Anglo-Norman and Old French from the Latin "laxare," "to loosen" or "to release." The idea is that the owner lets go of property for a set time in return for rent. The "-ee" ending marks the receiving party, as in "employee" or "payee." In practice, the word covers the case where a tenant rents out part or all of a property to someone else, such as a lodger who pays rent to the tenant. Because the sub-lease is carved out of an existing lease, the sublessee's rights are generally limited by the terms of the original lease.