In a sublease arrangement, who is ultimately responsible for ensuring the landlord is paid?

In a sublease arrangement, the leasee, or tenant, retains the primary responsibility to the landlord for the obligations under the original lease agreement. Even though the leasee allows another party, known as the subtenant, to occupy the property, the leasee is still bound by the terms of the original lease. This means that the leasee must ensure that rent is paid to the landlord on time, even if the subtenant is responsible for making rental payments to the leasee.

The sublessor can be viewed as the leasee in this context, as they maintain the contractual relationship with the landlord, meaning any issues relating to payment or lease compliance are ultimately their responsibility. The subtenant, or new tenant, does not have a direct contractual relationship with the landlord and can only be held accountable to the leasee. A guarantor, while it may provide security for payment, does not assume the responsibility of payment unless explicitly stated in the terms of the guarantee. Therefore, the leasee remains the party responsible for ensuring the landlord receives payment.