Steps for a successful sublease

As summer break approaches, many students living off campus are struggling to find tenants to live in their houses and apartments during the break.

Most Chapel Hill area leases are yearlong and do not accommodate students wishing to live elsewhere during the summer months. Renters are forced to pay the rent without living there or find someone else to live there and pay the rent — an agreement called a sublease.

But before jumping into any agreements, local landlords and legal experts have tips they say every renter should know.

The contract

The first step: don’t assume anything. Your lease probably outlines policies for subleases, and guidelines vary from landlord to landlord.

Some landlords, like Chapel Ridge, require tenants to arrange a sublease through them so liability is transferred to the subtenant — an agreement usually accompanied with a $200 fee.

To bypass that, students often just collect rent from their subtenants without consulting their landlords.

That’s risky, experts say. In bypassing the owner’s consent, he can evict the tenant for entering the sublease, said Donavon Boykin, leasing coordinator at Chapel Ridge.

Illegal subleases can also result in monetary claims against the original tenant, said Carol Badgett, attorney for Carolina Student Legal Services, which provides free legal advice to students out of its Student Union office.

If the landlord takes action against you, it can significantly lower your credit rating, she said.

Many property managers of off-campus houses do not require that a sublease be coordinated through them, but they might require to see the new tenant’s credit history.

In most cases, the subtenant will be responsible for any damages or liabilities on the property, so it is important to know and trust the person who will be renting from you.

Junior Hobbie Turley is looking for to sublease his house while he returns home to Memphis, Tenn.

“Everyone knows the guy who puts holes in the wall. … I want to avoid that guy,” he said.

The agreement

If your property manager doesn’t require that you sign a sublease agreement through them, it is important that both parties understand the monetary agreement.

Ted Kairys, owner of Kairys Properties, said that it is usually up to the renters to decide whether the sublessor or subtenant directly pays the rent.

In both cases, he stressed the importance of concrete agreements.

“I recommend something in writing,” he said.

Student Legal Services can review any leases that you have signed and provide several models for contracts that potential renters and subtenants can use free of charge.

Unless there is a signed contract, legal and financial responsibility will remain with the original tenant.

Advertising

One challenge for sublessors and subtenants is finding one another.

Turley said he plans to look casually within his group of friends.

Sites like Craigslist and Facebook offer a large audience for renters.

Many rental companies have their own databases of potential renters.

Both sublessors and subtenants can enter their information, and the companies will try to match the two parties.



Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.