diff --git a/src/core/utils/layerutils.cpp b/src/core/utils/layerutils.cpp
index 973531754b..463d098c3d 100644
--- a/src/core/utils/layerutils.cpp
+++ b/src/core/utils/layerutils.cpp
@@ -383,3 +383,11 @@ FeatureIterator LayerUtils::createFeatureIteratorFromExpression( QgsVectorLayer
   const QgsFeatureRequest request = QgsFeatureRequest( QgsExpression( expression ) );
   return FeatureIterator( layer, request );
 }
+
+bool LayerUtils::setSubsetString( QgsVectorLayer *layer, const QString &expression )
+{
+  if ( !layer )
+    return false;
+
+  return layer->setSubsetString( expression );
+}
diff --git a/src/core/utils/layerutils.h b/src/core/utils/layerutils.h
index 32cff5ef74..671f4be31d 100644
--- a/src/core/utils/layerutils.h
+++ b/src/core/utils/layerutils.h
@@ -139,6 +139,11 @@ class LayerUtils : public QObject
      * Returns a feature request to get features.
      */
     Q_INVOKABLE static FeatureIterator createFeatureIteratorFromExpression( QgsVectorLayer *layer, const QString &expression );
+
+    /**
+     * Sets the string (typically sql) used to define a subset of the layer. Returns TRUE if the subset string was successfully applied.
+     */
+    Q_INVOKABLE static bool setSubsetString( QgsVectorLayer *layer, const QString &expression );
 };
 
 #endif // LAYERUTILS_H