How to Work With Your Roommate to Find Subletters

By Victoria Robertson on November 20, 2017

Take it from someone who has been there: subletting your apartment is a stressful endeavor.

That being said, sometimes it’s a financial necessity. In those cases, what do you do? What are the best practices? How do you avoid picking the wrong candidate? How do you manage this situation when you’re dealing with a roommate situation as well?

These are all important questions and you aren’t alone in asking them. And when you’re undergoing this process with a roommate, these questions are all the more important.

For that reason, I’ve compiled some tips to help you and your roommate find the right fit for your needs. Here are six ways to work with your roommate to find subletters.

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

1. Map out the necessities

What is your reason for subletting? Are you studying abroad for a semester? Are you and your roommate looking for someone to stay at your place over the summer? The reasons for subletting vary, but one thing is always the same: you need to map out the necessities.

This means that you and your roommate need to come together and determine a plan for what you need. What is the minimum you can take in monthly rent from a sublet? How long is this sublet needed? Determine what your needs and your roommate’s needs are and develop a list of necessities from there.

2. Set some ground rules

When dealing with finances, things can get hairy really quickly. Make sure that you are setting some ground rules when it comes to subletting your apartment. What type of candidate are you looking for? Essentially, you are both going to need to agree on a person, so make sure that you’re both coming up with a plan to this end.

What is your minimum expectation? What happens if things don’t work out? Plan for whatever you’re able to in order to avoid any future issues as well.

3. Interview them

A mistake many students make is not interviewing the candidate. Not only that, but there are a few circumstances in which one roommate is in on the interview and the other isn’t or where there is a disagreement on a candidate.

Bottom line: both of you need to agree on a candidate. This isn’t a dictatorship, and as you are subletting with a roommate, both individuals need to be involved in the decision-making process. So, schedule an interview that you can both attend and pick a candidate that you both agree on.

4. Form an agreement

It’s essential that you and your roommate are on the same page when it comes to subletting your apartment. For this reason, you should both sit down and form an agreement with one another as to what you’re looking for and a plan in case things don’t work out.

It happens more often than not where a roommate leaves the other individual high and dry, so don’t let that be you. Set up a plan just in case things don’t go the way they were planned. You live together, which means you share responsibility in your apartment, so act that way.

5. Get it in writing

If you’re subletting, you typically will need to go to the landlord’s office to sign some paperwork. In addition, as most of this paperwork doesn’t hold the sublet liable, but rather you (the renter), you should consider drafting an agreement of your own or make alternative arrangements in the event there is damage to the apartment and/or rent is missing that will then fall on either you or your roommate.

You both want to make sure your bases are covered, so talk to a campus representative that can help you to develop a plan of action to avoid problems.

6. Work together

This is easily the most important tip to keep in mind. You and your roommate are a team when you’re subletting your apartment, so you should always be working together. Make sure you alert one another when you have a lead on a candidate and keep one another in the loop if anything changes or if you’re second guessing anything.

It’s very important to have open and honest communication, so make that your top priority! If you do that, the two of you will be just fine and undoubtedly find a candidate that’s perfect for the both of you.

Again, subletting your apartment is not an easy process; it’s strenuous and can add a lot of stress to your plate. That being said, it’s much easier to manage that stress if you have someone you’re able to work with in order to find the right fit for you.

So follow these six tips when subletting your apartment, and you are your roommate are sure to avoid any negative experiences! Happy hunting!

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