Leaving town? Consider subletting

Whether planning to graduate early, considering traveling abroad or eyeing a great internship opening, IU students must first find a solution to their current housing contracts.

Subletting is the first choice. Though a hard decision, it allows you to leave campus without wasting lease money. Trusting someone to take care of your home and your furniture and pay the rent is risky. It’s a lot of control to give to one person, usually a stranger.

December graduate Scott Minton and a Bloomington property manager offered advice on stress-free, secure sublets.

Talk to your landlord
Unless you want to risk ?having to pay the three months your sublessee chose not to, talk to your landlord and make a contract. Paperwork signed by you and the sublessee will transfer ownership to the new tenant, but if the sublessee fails to make payments, responsibility will again fall on you.

Start early
Post ads in the Indiana Daily Student Classifieds and OneStart Classifieds, canvas bulletin boards in campus buildings and cover the walls and poles on well-trafficked streets and bus stations.

“My family and I used a couple outlets to find someone to sublet,” Minton said. “We tried Craigslist and the IDS Classifieds. There were a lot of spam requests, but we found a couple people legitimately interested in my apartment, and their background seemed to check out fine.”

Help out with payments
When desperate, offering to pay the utility bills or part of the lease is a good way to find a more willing customer. Offering a good deal will help, but make sure you work out payment options.

“To help us find someone to sublet, we decided it would be better to offer a discounted rate for the lease,” Minton said. “We’re covering one-fifth of the lease and paying for the parking that our unit provides, but the subletter is in charge of utilities.”

You are still responsible
Though you don’t live at the residence anymore, your name is still on the lease, and all damages come out of your security deposit. Landlords will get their rent no matter what.

“If the subletter does not pay the rent, the tenant or other tenants are responsible,” Scott Gilbert, general manager of Hoosier Rentals, said. “Sometimes there are parent forms that force the parents of the tenants to send the rent.”

Negotiate
Offer to pay any sublet fees required by the landlord, as they can cost up to $200, according to Hoosier Rentals.

“We require a deposit from the future subletter,” Gilbert said. “It helps keep responsibility for possible damages.”