A California sublease agreement is a written contract that lets a tenant hand all or part of a rental to someone else, called the subtenant. Tenants use it to rent out spare rooms or to move out before the lease ends. It is one of several types of rental agreements. Download the free template below or create the document online.
Last Updated: October 2026. This guide is reviewed and updated regularly to reflect current law. If you notice an error or outdated information, please contact us.
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A California sublease agreement is a written contract between a tenant and a new occupant. The tenant, called the sublessor, passes all or part of the rented space to the subtenant for an agreed period. Subleases are common when a tenant rents out spare rooms or moves out before the lease ends.
A California sublease agreement involves at least three parties. One of them is the landlord (the lessor), the second is the tenant (the sublessor), and the third is the subtenant (or a sublessee). All of them should participate in the signing of this contract.
Every sublease agreement should include specific information, including:
Division 2 and Division 3 of the California Civil Code contains laws that regulate the sublease contract and relations between the landlord, the sublessor, and the sublessee.
Looking for another rental document? Browse all California rental lease agreement forms.
The FormsPal template is a two-page PDF with 59 fillable fields. The table below shows the document name, the other name it goes by, the laws it relates to, the average time to fill it out and the format.
| Document Name | California Sublease Agreement Form |
| Other Name | CA Sublease Agreement |
| Relevant Laws | California Civil Code, Divisions 2 and 3 |
| Avg. Time to Fill Out | 12 minutes |
| # of Fillable Fields | 59 |
| Available Formats | Adobe PDF |
These steps follow the FormsPal California Sublease Agreement template that this page hands out, in the order of the form. Download the PDF with the link near the top of the page, or build the document online with our form builder. Open the PDF in the FormsPal PDF editor to type your answers, then print it for signing.
The screenshots under each step show the FormsPal California California Sublease Agreement template filled with sample entries in blue, so you can see where each answer goes. The names, addresses, dates and amounts are examples only.
Have these details ready before you start:
Step 1: Parties
Enter the Landlord, the Principal Tenant and the Subtenant on the three lines in the first section. The Principal Tenant is the tenant who signed the original rental agreement.
Step 2: Premises (2a)
Fill in the Street, Apt. #, City, State and Zip of the property being sublet.
Step 3: Furniture and appliances (2b)
List each piece of furniture or appliance that comes with the property on the two lines provided. Leave the lines blank if nothing is included.
Step 4: Term
Choose one of the two term options and leave the other blank. Enter the start date and the end date for the option you pick.
Step 5: Rent
Enter the monthly rent, the day of the month it is due, the name of the person it is paid to and the address where it is paid. To record how the rent is paid, such as cash or bank card, use the writing lines in step 8.
Step 6: Utilities
Check each service the rent includes: Electricity, Gas, Water or Garbage. Write any other included service on the Other line.
Step 7: Deposits
When you rent a property in California, you are required to transfer some amount of money to the landlord to cover damages to the property or non-payment. That amount is the security deposit. In the table, enter the amount, the date paid, who paid, who received it and who will refund it for last month's rent, the security deposit and any other deposit.
Step 8: Writing lines
Use these lines to write down anything the parties add or change, in plain words. The parties may add other terms and conditions that were not described before. For a smoking policy, say whether smoking is allowed and, if so, where.
Step 9: Lead-based paint
If the subject property was constructed before 1978, you must give the sublessee a lead-based paint disclosure. The template has two blanks for acknowledging the lead-based paint disclosure and the pamphlet, so fill in both.
Step 10: Attachments
Check Original Lease Agreement and Condition of Rental Property Checklist for each document you attach. If the parties made an itemized move-in checklist, attach it here, along with a copy of the original lease agreement.
Step 11: Signatures
Print the names of the Subtenant, the Principal Tenant and the Landlord, then add each signature and date on the lines below.
Once the blanks are filled in, a few tasks remain before the sublease is ready to use. Work through the list in order and keep every signed copy together with the original lease agreement.
The template has a signature and date line for the Subtenant, the Principal Tenant and the Landlord. Each person prints a name, signs and dates their own line, so the finished page carries three names and three dates.
The details table lists an average of 12 minutes. Have the names, the address, the rent and the deposit details ready and it goes faster.
Yes. The PDF has 59 fillable fields, so you can click each one and type your answers. You can also build the document online with the FormsPal form builder and print it.
Check the box for each document you attach:
The template calls them the Principal Tenant and the Subtenant. The Principal Tenant is the tenant who signed the original rental agreement, and the Subtenant is the person moving in.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
