4 Pro-Tips on How to Sublet Your Apartment

Subletting your apartment can be fraught with stress and worry because you’re giving a stranger the keys to your home. If you follow the best practices listed below, summarized in 4 easy steps, you can mitigate the risk of ending up in a very bad situation. The most important takeaway is not to forget that you’re letting a stranger into your home so you must conduct a thorough screening process of the potential subletter.

1. Get your landlord’s approval for the sublet.

You should take a look at your lease to see if it forbids subleases. However, even if it does, it’s worth talking to your landlord to see if he or she is amenable to a sublet under your particular circumstances. This step is often overlooked by cavalier tenants, but it’s really worthwhile because it (1) prevents you from having to scheme with your subletter to avoid the landlord catching on; (2) you put your lease and apartment in the hands of your subletter, most likely a stranger you have no reason to trust. That gives them tremendous bargaining power later because the tenant can use his/her knowledge that you’re breaking the terms of your lease to extort you. Even if the landlord inadvertently finds out about the sublet, he/she could boot you from the apartment for breaking the terms of the lease and that’s quite possibly the most catastrophic consequence of a sublet — losing your home.

2. Advertise your apartment widely, but starting with those closest to you.

Ideally, you won’t sublet your apartment to a stranger at all. You should start with friends and friends of friends to explore the possibility of subletting your place to someone who you have some reason to trust. Their pre-existing relationship to you means that they’re more likely to treat you and your place with respect.

For instance, as a law student at Michigan, if I couldn’t find a friend who needed a sublet, I would ask around to see if anyone they knew needed a sublet. If that failed, I would next email the law school listserv. Finding a law student to sublet likely meant that the subletter would be financially responsible and they likely had a reputation to keep up at school which meant they wouldn’t trash the place.

Finally, Craigslist is your last option, but it’s not a bad one. I’ve found numerous subtenants off of Craigslist and many of them turned out to be fine people. However, if you do get someone off of Craigslist, step 3 becomes especially important advice. Note that you can start the formal screening process described in step 3 by including a link to a Leasely rental application in your Craigslist advertisement.

3. Conduct a Formal Screening of the Subletter

A formal screening of the subletter is a must. If the subletter doesn’t pay rent, you could lose your home, so ensuring that the subletter’s credit is up to sniff is vital. Even if the subletter pays rent up front, it’s important to know whether your subletter has a criminal or eviction record because that indicates the level of respect with which your tenant could treat your home while you’re away. When you sublet your apartment, you’re putting your reputation in the hands of your subletter so it’s of paramount importance that he/she can handle that level of responsibility.

Putting a formal screening process into place means conducting a credit, criminal, and eviction check of your tenant including information gathering of references and employment information. Even if it’s not worth your time to check the references up front, it’s important to have that information in the case that your tenant subsequently live up to his obligations. The references can be used to track down the tenant.

Leasely makes this process easy, because you can just take our standard application form and use it to gather information and conduct the background check. The only thing that’s left is to meet the subletter in person to show him or her around the place and see if the fit is good.

4. Negotiate a Sublet Agreement and Make Logistical Arrangements

After you’ve determined that the subletter passes muster, it’s time to reduce what you guys have discussed as the terms of your agreement into a formal document. Draft a document that details the rent, duration, move in and move out dates, whether the landlord will be paid directly or you will be paid, and any other terms you may have discussed. Consider asking for a security deposit to cover any damage or unpaid rent which you would return upon the termination of the agreement.

Finally, make logistical arrangements for the subletter to move in. Give the tenant a copy of the key, show him/her where the garbage, laundry, and mail are located, and let him/her know anything else as needed to ensure a comfortable stay. Make sure that your contact information is available to the tenant so that you can be contacted should the need arise. When you leave and upon your return, give your subletter a ring on the telephone to confirm his or her arrival and departure.

These tips will help you mitigate the risks associated with subletting. Go forth, and sublet with confidence!