Subleasing is a popular option for IU students and staff members, but navigating leases and finding sublessees can be challenging.
Property management companies have a variety of subleasing policies for residents who want to sublet their apartments and houses.
Taran Davies is an employee with Varsity Properties.
“Technically, in the lease, it says we don’t sublease,” Davies said. “But there is a work-around.”
Varsity Properties doesn’t advertise that they allow subleasing. If a resident needs to break their lease and they find a replacement for themselves, Varsity Properties will modify the lease with the new resident’s name, Davies said.
There isn’t a modification fee, Davies said.
“It’s just a one-page document that is pretty fast to type up as long as all the roommates agree on it.”
It’s important to note that if a resident subleases their apartment, they are often liable if their subtenant doesn’t pay, according to the Division of Student Services. The Division of Student Services provides free lease analyses to IU students.
“Look in your friend group first,” Davies said of finding a subletter. “Someone that’s known is always better.”
Other rental companies, like Cedarview Management, allow subleasing without a workaround.
“It’s actually part of the lease they signed that we would help them get the word out if they want to sublease their apartment,” Brandis Ayres, an employee at Cedarview Management, said.
Residents subleasing an apartment still have to pay the additional apartment fees, such as electricity and water. Individuals who want to sublease with Cedarview Management also have to pay a $400 security deposit, Ayres said.
“There are always fees,” Ayres said. “They (current residents) can use them as negotiating tools for whoever is going to take their apartment.”
Students looking for houses and apartments to sublease have many resources available, including some at IU.
IU-affiliated websites for finding properties to sublease include IU Classified, IU Housing, Sublets & Roommates Facebook group, IU student Facebook groups and the Schools App.
Graduate students and faculty can also find subleases through the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty & Academic Affairs.
Allison Schnable is an assistant professor with the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She is using the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty & Academic Affairs to look for someone to sublease her house for the fall 2021 semester.
“I’m looking for someone that basically covers the expenses if I were there,” Schnable said.
Schnable hasn’t advertised her apartment on other websites yet but said she plans to soon.
“It’s a property I really prefer to rent out to faculty, visitors or graduate students,” Schnable said. “It’s not an appropriate property for undergraduates.”
Students and faculty can also use housing websites unaffiliated with IU, such as sublet.com and craigslist.
