5 Tips to Help You Sublet Your Apartment this Summer

By Alicia Geigel on June 12, 2019

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With the summer quickly approaching, you may have certain circumstances that take you away from your current location, such as a summer job opportunity or the desire to travel. As a student with an apartment, either on or off campus, it can hard to figure out what to do when the summertime comes around. You don’t want to put opportunities or obligations on hold, but you also don’t want to spend unnecessary money on rent and utilities when you don’t have to.

Subletting your apartment over the summer can be a great option to not only help you save money but also give you the freedom to do what you like before the start of the school year in the fall. As with anything, subletting comes with its risks and benefits, so it’s important to know exactly what you’re getting into before you jump into it.

Are you currently a student living in an apartment? Is life taking you away from where you are at the moment? Considering subletting your apartment, but don’t know the ins and outs of doing so? Check out these five tips on subletting your apartment this summer that will give you a piece of mind that you’re making the right decision.

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What is Subletting? 

Subletting in simple terms is when you, the lessee, rent out part of your apartment (like a room) or the whole place to someone else to fulfill the obligations of your lease when you can’t or don’t want to live there temporarily.  Craig Berman of Sapling.com writes regarding subletting, “Done properly, this keeps you from paying rent for an unused space or forking over the penalty amount for breaking the lease early. It also might allow you to resume your rights to occupy the property once the sublease period end.”

Now that you know what it means to sublet, let’s dive into some tips on summer subletting that can make your life easier!

1. Evaluate the Risks: Before you jump right into subletting your apartment to a friend or potential stranger, it’s important to recognize and evaluate the risks of doing so. Subletting your apartment to someone has the potential to go well or go terrible, depending on your tenant. When subletting, you run the risk of being stolen from or even having your property damaged in certain ways. If this sounds something that you don’t like or perhaps cannot control, subletting may not be for you.

2. Keep Your Search Close, At First: Finding the right person to sublet your apartment to can be difficult, especially if you don’t know where to start your search. It is smart to begin your search among those who are closest to you first, rather than jumping onto Craigslist right away. Ask family, friends, classmates or acquaintances if they are interested or know anyone who is interested in renting a sublet for the summer. The right person may just be a text or phone call away!

3. Take on the Landlord Role: Just because you technically don’t claim the official title of “landlord” of your apartment, doesn’t mean that you can’t act like one when it comes to subletting-actually, you should! Laura Gaskill, a Houzz Contributor writes on Forbes, “Just because it’s a short-term rental situation doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be just as careful as a landlord looking for a long-term tenant. Ask for a security deposit, check references and get a signed rental agreement.”

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4. Get Before Pictures: 
Just like a landlord obtains before pictures before he or she rents out a property/unit to a tenant, you should prioritize getting before pictures of your apartment before your tenant moves in for the summer. Getting pictures gives you a crystal clear idea of what your place looked like before they moved in, which can make it easier to detect potential damages.

5. Keep in Touch: While you are gone, be sure to keep in touch with the person/people living in your apartment. It’s not only important but it’s also healthy to keep open communication with them! Additionally, have someone in the area available to check in once in a while or when the tenants may need your help.

Being a position where you sublet your apartment can be difficult at points because it requires taking on a lot of responsibility. Though some tenants can be difficult to deal with, most just want to be able to have a place of their own for a period of time, just like you want to be away for a period of time.

By subletting your apartment for the summer, you will be able to do what you want/need to during the summer, all while helping out someone who needs a place to call home for a couple months. It’s a win, win situation! Who knows, maybe based on this experience you’ll want to sublet in the future. As always, good luck!

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