Joint Lease Dispute: When Subletting Isn't Possible

When a relationship ends and both names are on the lease, the usual fix is bringing in a replacement occupant through subletting under Section 553 BGB. But what if that route doesn't work — because the landlord refuses subletting for a legally valid reason, or your ex won't cooperate at all? This guide picks up exactly where the subletting option runs out.

Why you're still liable either way

A joint lease makes both tenants jointly and severally liable under Section 421 BGB. That means the landlord can demand the full rent from either person individually, regardless of who actually still lives there. Until the contract is properly ended or amended, the partner who moved out remains responsible for the entire rent — not just "half."

If the landlord refuses subletting

A landlord may only refuse subletting permission for specific reasons, such as legitimate doubts about the proposed occupant or overcrowding. If none of those apply, the right to permission can, in the last resort, be enforced in court. If the landlord's refusal is genuinely valid, the remaining path is usually a mutually agreed contract change or termination — and that's often exactly where it stalls, because it needs the other partner's signature too.

If your partner won't sign at all

On a joint lease, only the tenants who signed together can generally terminate together — a one-sided termination by a single tenant is normally invalid. If either the departing or the remaining partner refuses to sign indefinitely, two options remain:

A mutual release agreement with the landlord that removes one person from the contract. The landlord isn't obligated to agree, but often will if the remaining tenant can carry the rent alone.
A court ruling, if no agreement is reached. This can take months and involves legal and court costs tied to the amount in dispute (typically a year's rent).

What to document in the meantime

While the situation is unresolved, keep a written record of who actually pays what share of the rent, what conversations happened with the landlord, and whether subletting was ever formally requested. That record matters if the dispute over cost-sharing between the ex-partners ever ends up in court — separately from the liability toward the landlord.

How Waitly can help

If it's clear you'll need a new, smaller place regardless of how the old lease gets resolved, Waitly's apartment search can make the next step easier while the old contract situation is still unresolved.