Subletting a Rental
Some students may never have to worry about subletting their rental, while others especially those that go on exchanges, are in co-op or only take a final part year may have to do so. Here are some tips and tricks on how to go about subletting a rental whether it be the whole house or your individual room. Make sure to also speak with your landlord before you start thinking about posting an ad, your landlord may not want subletters at all which could prevent you from doing so.
Posting your ad
Make sure to choose a classified site that a large proportion of your student body frequents. This could be a school affiliated classified site, or by using kijiji and craigslist. It’s also a great option to consider posting a listing within the Facebook group you joined with all the other members of your graduating class.
When posting your ad its really important to include the following information;
- General location
- Distance to the school and the closest bus stop
- Which buses/subways take you to the school
- Amenities available ie. kitchen, laundry, parking etc.
- Efficiency of heating etc.
- Rental price per month
- Specify if utilities are included
- How many other rooms are in the house
- If you have a preference include student, male or female etc.
- Dates the sublet is available
- And Contact Information!
Screening potential candidates
An important thing that may slip your mind at first is the compatibility that the candidate has with your current roommates. It’s important to ask a few questions like, why are you subletting? Are you a university student?
The more easy going an individual is, the more likely they will fit in with a group of strangers. It’s important to choose subletters at your own discretion and you may even want to request a reference from their previous landlord if you’re really unsure. It’s also a bad sign when you get an extremely sketchy response to the initial posting, it may be a sign that that individual should just be off the list immediately.
Setting up viewings
Communicate with possible subletters through whatever means necessary and set up viewings of your room. I know I’m a messy person, everyone tells me that, but you need to pretend like your a real estate agent selling a house. Make sure your room looks amazing, it’s going to be a much easier sell. Make sure to have information on hand about the type of heating system, the average monthly utility costs etc. These are questions that subletters will ask.
Finalizing the deal
Always make sure you form a contract with a sublet.
You can use a template like the link below
http://studentlife.uoguelph.ca/sites/uoguelph.ca.ocl/files/SubletAgreement08.pdf
Also it’s important to determine a payment plan in terms of both utilities and monthly rent, which should be included within your contract. The safer the better, and in most cases it’s a great idea to request post dated cheques as well as the last months rent in order to confirm that the subletter will actually pay you. Make sure to contact your landlord and let them know that an individual has been confirmed as a sublet.
Provide the subletter with e-mails or some other contact information so they can get in touch with their future roommates if need be (this is optional).
