With summer approaching, school is ending and most students will leave Muncie and their apartments; they might be looking for ways, such as subleasing, to avoid paying rent for a property they won't be living in anymore.
Subleasing is not a one-step process of finding someone to replace a tenant. It has multiple steps, and students need to consider why they are subleasing and the benefits and drawbacks involved.
By definition, a lease is an agreement between a landlord and a tenant. A sublease is when that tenant decides to release the property to a third person. The sublessee will pay rent while the original tenant is gone.
A sublease might be an attractive option for Ball State University students who signed 12-month leases but do not want to live in Muncie during the summer. Other students might consider subleasing if they stopped getting along with their roommates, Paula Gordon, director of Student Legal Services at Indiana University, said.
Sophomore Brittany Blake said she and her two roommates are subleasing their three-bedroom apartment for the summer because their lease does not end until August and they are planning to move into a house in May. Blake, who lives in Beacon Hill Apartments, said she is having trouble subleasing because it is hard to find three sublessees, let alone a single sublessee willing to pay rent for three people.
Subleasing helps tenants who want to live somewhere else during the summer but cannot afford to pay two rents. Subleasers benefit if original tenants, who are anxious to move out, offer discounted rent. That way, neither party has to pay the full amount.
Liability is one of subleasing's main drawbacks. Senior Mary Cohoat said she subleased her apartment last summer when she went to the London Centre. When she returned, Cohoat said she had to pay for about $100 of the sublessee's utilities and for a rip in the carpet. She said she did not have a written agreement with her sublessee and did not feel comfortable asking him to pay. This summer, Cohoat said she is subleasing her apartment again after she graduates in May.
"I think in this case I would definitely have a written agreement and ask for the money," she said. "I should have [before], but I was too nice."
It is important to find a trustworthy and financially stable sublessee because the tenant is still responsible for missed rent and damage to the property, Gordon said.
Travis Robinson is a second-year graduate student who is graduating in May and subleasing his apartment after he leaves Muncie. His landlords are very hands-off because they own many properties, Robinson said.
"With my situation, the subleaser would go through me and not the landlord," he said. "I need to make sure they'll be able to pay the rent. [I'm looking for a sublessee] who's gonna pay the rent on time and keep the apartment clean and not trash it."
Karleen Dann, property manager of Cardinal College Leasing, said she recommends tenants collect information, such as a billing address and phone number, from a sublessee in case he or she does not pay rent.
Gordon said she would advise the original tenant and the sublessee to go through the apartment with the landlord and write down every imperfection, such as worn carpet, water damage and smudges on the walls. It is important to do this before the sublessee moves in so neither party is charged for things he or she did not do.
Students should have a legal representative look through their lease agreements before signing to make sure they are fair, Gordon said.
In addition, they might want to talk to other tenants in the apartment building, Gordon said. Those tenants might warn a sublessee of an irresponsible or intrusive landlord.
"Sometimes you have a wonderful lease," she said. "But, other times, you have an awful landlord, saying he has to come in to check the water all the time."
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