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SUGGESTIONS FOR SUBLETTING

Suggestions for Subletting Summer in Champaign not your idea of a good time? Most students agree and flee to more attractive locations. However, those apartment leases go on, and your landlord will expect the rent to be paid even though you are not living in the place.

The solution? Sublet, of course. But before undertaking this project, there are a few things you must be aware of:

CONTINUING LIABILITY

When you sublet your apartment, you become the sublessor; in other words, you are a kind of landlord. However, you also remain the tenant that you started out to be. Therefore, if your subtenant causes damage, fails to pay rent, or otherwise breaches the lease and can't or won't pay the damages, your landlord can and will hold you responsible. You must be aware of this risk when you sublet and decide if the amount of rent your subtenant is willing to pay will outweigh the financial risk you might be taking in allowing the subtenant to live in your apartment all summer.

SECURITY DEPOSIT

In most instances, your landlord will not return your security deposit to you until your lease expires and damages can be assessed. When you turn the apartment over to a subtenant, you can not predict what will or won't happen over the course of the summer. Unfortunately, the phenomenon of trashing one's sublet seems to be on the increase locally. Summer sublets are frequently looked upon as sites for a three month orgy of parties, and the results can be disastrous. Even the kindliest landlord will take a dim view of an apartment turned back in August that contains none of the right things--intact furniture, curtains, major appliances--and lots of the wrong things such as beer-soaked carpets, infestations of fleas, cigarette (and other) ashes, furry items in the refrigerator and enough garbage to form an independent landfill. It is very wise to obtain a security deposit from your subtenant (remember, you're a landlord now) to guard against any damage that a person might cause.

WALK THROUGH

Prior to turning over your apartment to your subtenants, you should conduct a walk through of the unit with them and note the condition of the unit as specifically as you can. This way, everyone will be clear on what damage, if any, was caused by whom. This will be of great help in sorting out security deposits at the end of the lease.

UTILITIES

Never leave utilities in your name once you sublet. Your subtenant might complain about the cost of transferring the accounts, but do it anyway. Your subtenant might well have friends and relatives all over the world with whom he or she likes to maintain frequent phone contact. Even with "Friends and Family," this can cost a lot. One instance in recent memory involved a student who took pity on his subtenant and kept the phone bill in his name. For this kindness, he was stuck with a $7,000 phone bill. Air conditioning is very popular here during the summer as well, and your subtenant might prefer the atmosphere of a meat locker to more ecologically sound room temperatures. If these bills remain in your name, you might well wind up being held responsible for them.

IMPEDIMENTS TO SUBLEASING

Check your lease; it might well contain language attempting to regulate your right to sublet. Your landlord might insist on a right to approve your subtenant, charge you a "sublet fee," or even try to require you to prepay all your summer rent prior to subletting. This last tactic, also known as rent acceleration, is especially obnoxious. Sure, it would be great to have everything in life prepaid--what a wonderful sense of security that would offer! However, your landlord has no right to expect you to prepay summer rent just because you're subletting the place. Insist on your right to sublet if your landlord tries to impose such conditions on you. The only legitimate reason to reject a subtenant is if that person appears to be a financial risk. In that case, you are also better off since you remain responsible as well. Student Legal Service will be happy to assist you if you need help in overcoming such obstacles to a sublet.

With a summer sublet, you are likely to receive only nominal rent. In exchange, you are permitting someone else to live in your apartment and are putting yourself at risk for damage that a person might cause. Be very careful in weighing the risks and benefits in subletting. If you feel that it's worthwhile, go ahead, remember: GET IT IN WRITING. Both the Tenant Union and Student Legal Service are here to help.

By: Susan Y. Hessee Staff Attorney