Subletting Your Pad: More Hassle Than It's Worth?
An article in this week’s City section looks at the leap of faith many New Yorkers take when they decide to sublet their apartments. Aside from questions of legality (some renters face eviction if they don’t fork over part of the sublet money to landlords), there is, of course, always the possibility that subletters are…
An article in this week’s City section looks at the leap of faith many New Yorkers take when they decide to sublet their apartments. Aside from questions of legality (some renters face eviction if they don’t fork over part of the sublet money to landlords), there is, of course, always the possibility that subletters are going to trash your space—and there’ll be no way of recouping the loss. It’s actually like the wild, wild West out there, said Alan Goldberg, a Manhattan lawyer who specializes in landlord-tenant law. There’s no protection. People are getting burned. It’s a perennial New York question: Is subletting a recipe for easy cash, or does it amount to playing with fire? Any nightmare experiences that readers have had?
Handing Over the Keys, Fingers Crossed [NY Times]
I will never sublet again. I sublet to three women- all friends of a friend- and they became squatters. It was a two month sublet, with the possibility of taking over the lease if I moved away. I had a deal with the management company and promised to hook these women up and ensure a seamless transition. These animals stalked the mgt company and tried to steal the apt out from under me, thinking that that would actually work. I did move anyway when the two months were up, but they wouldn’t leave. The mgt company, without my recommendation, refused to lease to them and they refused to vacate the apartment. Police… eviction… disaster. I was young and am fully to blame for being too trustworthy. Nothing in writing, etc. But even if I had been more on the ball, I don’t think this could have been avoided.
I attempted to sublet my rent-stabilized apartment in Manhattan a few years ago after temporarily moving in with my boyfriend. What a pain-in-the-a**! The only people who wanted to sublet were people who were rejected from regular apartments – forget about credit checks. No one wanted to stay very long and the apartment was turning over every other month. It was a lot of paperwork and time. I finally sublet to an older professional who had been transferred to NY, but didn’t want to move his family here thinking I’d finally get some stability. He was the worst tenant by far! He called me everyday to complain about something then left the AC running during the day so that I got an electric bill triple the highest it had ever been in 10 years. I was very glad when he moved out. I wound up subletting the place to a friend for just the rent and on the condition that he not bug me.
I sublet my co-op to three different couples over a three year period during a divorce and relocation. each couple went throgh board review. May be down to luck but it worked out great for all concerned. Apartment was returned in as good shape as I left it.
I’ve done 4 sublets sequentially. (Don’t want to sign a 12 month rental lease then be on the hook to sign again or move all our stuff) and this may be professionals trying to kill the market with FUD that they’re not getting any cut out of.
Sublets have worked out great for all people involved during this process. Zero fee. We give them an application folder that includes references from past sublet landlords, credit check and asset evidence basically more than they need. First last and security. they give us a lease they got from office max or whatever. If I was a landlord I’d need to talk to the previous landlords on the phone and references and look the sub-letters in the eye. If you short-cut that you may get problems I suppose.
We take reasonable but not obsessive care of their stuff (some of which they usually box or store). In one place we had to keep their cat company. In another we got use of a live-in au-pair for free (can’t beat that).
The places have been so much better than the ones we can rent! you can find people with a huge variety of nice stuff 🙂 You get the full experience of an address without the hassle of long term ownership. We’ve done the slope, carroll gardens west, ditmas park and now ft greene. Toward the end of the sublet we find multiple choices for the next cycle. The owners have all been on extended european or world vacations and you can see the relief in their eyes. Some do it every year, sometimes its just open-ended.
we may be easy tenants – couple with a young kid – so always get what we pick unlike some sweaty chases for a rental or a purchase.
I’d like to buy soon, but I’m liking sublets much more than renting.