Subrents

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. To lease property or space that one has leased from another to a third party ; to grant a rental agreement to a secondary tenant using a previously rented property ; to let out property at a lower tier in a rental arrangement
2. The act of leasing a rented property further to additional tenants ; involving the transfer of rental rights from the primary lessee to another individual ; engaging in a rental contract where the original tenant becomes the landlord for a subtenant
3. Granting use or tenancy of a leased premises onward to others ; passing on the accommodation or land under a lease agreement to someone else ; managing rental responsibilities by offering property already leased to one into a subordinate lease arrangement

Etymology: "Subrents" is simply the third-person singular present form of "subrent", a verb built from "sub-" (under, subordinate) and "rent". The base is the older "rent", which in English has long meant a payment for the use of property, so a subrent is a payment passed down a chain of tenancy. The combination is transparent: the original tenant, having leased a property, leases part or all of it onward, and so takes the role of landlord to a further occupant.

Synonyms: subleases, sublets, underleases