How to Sublet an Apartment

Need to sublet an apartment? While most of us don’t anticipate needing to find alternate tenants during the course of our rental agreement, jobs, circumstances, and opportunities change, and sometimes it’s easier to find a subletter than to break your lease early.

To successfully sublet an apartment, there are a few different key steps that you’ll want to take, and these start even before you begin your tenant search. We’ve outlined those steps for you below, plus a few tips on how to find a subletter to fill your space. Here’s what you need to know.

Look up the laws in your state

Get written permission from your landlord, if required

Find a subletter

Create a subletting agreement

Start and end dates of the sublet
Who’s responsible for paying utilities
Grounds under which subtenant can be evicted/what happens if subtenant stops paying the rent
Grounds under which security deposit will be forfeited

Have your landlord look over your subletting agreement

Sign the agreement and get a security deposit

Do a complete inspection of your apartment before exchanging the keys

There are certain risks that you incur when you sublet an apartment, and although in most cases things will go smoothly, it’s better to be prudent than to forego caution. From your subletting agreement to your payment structure, be sure to work in protections that will give you peace of mind while you’re away. So long as you have a reliable and responsible subtenant though, you hopefully won’t have much to worry about.