Dos and Don’ts of Finding a Subletter

Thinking of subletting your room or home? Finding a subletter to take on your lease for a set duration of time is usually a much better alternative than paying rent on a space you’re not going to be inhabiting. It’s a great option for college students traveling abroad for a semester, or people who need to move out of their apartment early but can’t break their lease. Choosing a person to stay in your home, however, isn’t a decision that should be made lightly. Much like a vacation rental tenant, in many situations a subletter will be using your furniture and your dishes, sleeping in your bed, and all together making your home their own until you return. It’s important to find a subletter you can trust—with your home and with your rent payments. Here’s how to do it right.

Do know the rules

The absolute first step that you need to take before finding a subletter is to make sure that subletting is permitted in your lease. Read through your rental contract to see if there’s any information provided about it, and if there’s not (or if the language is vague), talk to your landlord directly. If your lease directly forbids subletting, it may still be worth bringing it up with your landlord. They’re people too, and if you have a good reason for needing to hand over your lease they may understand.

If your landlord gives you the okay and/or dictates specific terms of subletting not noted in your lease, be sure to get it all in writing. You don’t want to risk a miscommunication leading to fees or a loss of your security deposit.

Don’t go it alone if you have roommates

Though your biggest responsibility as a roommate is to make sure your portion of the rent is covered every month, finding a subletter isn’t something you should do alone if you’re living with other people. Choosing someone to live in your space needs to be a joint decision, with all roommates involved in the process. Perhaps your roommate or roommates would rather cover your part of the rent themselves than bring in a new person, or maybe they rightly just want to have a say over who their temporary roommate will be. Make sure that your roommates are involved from start to finish, including interviews of potential subletters. (And yes, this applies even if you and your current roommates don’t get along very well.)

Do put out feelers among friends

Before you hit the internet, ask around to see if anyone knows someone looking for a temporary place to rent. Because there’s a lot of trust involved in subletting (after all, you’re acting as a “mini-landlord” for someone living in your space), starting out your search among people that you know is a good method for establishing a baseline of legitimacy. Put up a post on each of your social media channels noting that you’re looking for a subletter, and ask around at work or school. If you’re in college, your university may have a message board or classified ads specifically for students looking to sublease. You may not be able to find someone this way, but if you can, it will save you a lot of time and effort.

Don’t slack on your posting

If you don’t find a subletter through your own network, you’ll have to expand your search online. Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to find a roommate online, and you can use those same services to find a short-term renter. Start with one of the free sites, like Craigslist, Circle for Roommates (if you’re in New York City or L.A.), or Roomi. Better yet, cast your net wide and put up a post on multiple sites.

In terms of your post itself, you’ll want to be as detailed as you can. Give lots of information about the exact terms of the sublet period, including dates and monthly rent and utility costs, and be sure to include a lot of pictures. The more detail you provide, the better chance you have of appealing to the right person.

Do have a general idea of who you’re looking for

Speaking of the right person, come up with qualifiers for what your perfect subletter is like. While it usually doesn’t help to be overly picky, it can be useful to have a general idea of who you want living in your space and what your no-gos are. For example, maybe you’re only willing to sublet to someone who is in school or gainfully employed, or someone who doesn’t use drugs or alcohol. Even though you won’t be living with this person, you definitely still want to be sure you choose someone who you can rely on and who you feel good about.

Don’t just go with the first person that you meet

Finding a subletter can be a stressful experience, especially if you’re on a time crunch. But resist the urge to just go with the first person who answers your ad. Narrow down your responses to a few good candidates and then have each of them over for an interview. Come up with a set list of questions to ask each one (these questions for a potential roommate are a good place to start), and then give yourself time to think about it before making your decision. In a situation like this, it’s perfectly fine to be over-cautious.

Do ask for references and a background check

In addition to using interviews to get a feel for who your potential subletter is, be sure to go the extra mile by asking for references and permission to do a background check. For the background check, you’ll want to look for any past criminal activity or evictions. You may also want to run a credit check. It will cost you about $20-$50 to get the information you need, so plan on only running these checks on your preferred candidate.

For references, ask for two or three contacts, and preferably get at least one contact of a prior landlord.

Don’t forget a contract and deposit

It is perfectly within your rights to ask your subletter to sign a contract and provide you with a security deposit. It’s an added layer of protection for you, and sets some clear guidelines about expectations. The contract should be signed by your subletter, you, and your landlord to ensure that everybody is on the same page. If you’re not comfortable asking for or holding on to a security deposit yourself, you can ask your landlord to handle that part of the deal for you. There are standard sublease agreements available online that you should use to make sure you get all the correct legalese in there. You can find a good one here. And be reasonable in terms of the deposit. Some rental agreements stipulate that you cannot charge more than one month’s rent for a security deposit, and in general, you probably don’t want to charge more than that anyway.

Do understand your role (and the risks)

When you rent out your space to a subletter, you’re essentially acting as a landlord. Your actual landlord—the person on the other end of your lease—is still going to consider you responsible for any problems. If your subletter is hosting loud parties, causing damage to the property, or not paying the rent, it’s going to be on you. That’s one of the big reasons why it’s important to ask for a contract and a security deposit.

Do remove valuables from your home

If your subletter is going to be living among your things, remove anything that is of particular value to you, be it financial or sentimental. There’s always a risk you take when you have someone else live in your space, and you don’t want to end up losing something that you can’t replace. If you do your due diligence in finding a subletter you hopefully won’t have to worry about things going missing, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Put your valuables into a box and store them with a friend during the time that you’ll be gone, or rent a small storage unit if you have to. Don’t leave your place completely bare (your subletter is going to assume that they’ll have the basics available), but do clear out the important things.

If it’s your first time subleasing you may be a bit worried about how to navigate the process, but remember: finding a subletter is basically the same as finding a roommate. Use common sense, ask the right questions, and put the proper protections in place and you should have no trouble finding a great tenant to take over your lease while you’re gone.