What Is It Like to Live in a Sublet?

By Francine Fluetsch on October 18, 2016

If you are looking to live in a sublet for school, be it just for a quarter/semester or over the summer, then this article is for you.

Moving into a sublet for a short while can save you a lot of money, but what’s it really like living in a place that technically isn’t your own?

Understand shared spaces.

Usually when renting an apartment, all shared space is fair game. If you want to study in the living room, go for it. If you like using the kitchen to try out your experimental recipes, you have the green light.

But what about if you are simply subletting for a short while? Shared spaces can become a bit of an awkward territory, even if the students who currently live in the place tell you to make yourself at home.

Since you won’t have known them for very long and they already have their routines going for how they do things, you might always feel like you are somewhat in the way when using a shared space. Granted, this does depend on who you end up living with for your stay and how awkward of a person you are.

I, for example, find that I am more prone to making things awkward, so when my temporary roommate is home in the place that I sublet, I try and avoid the shared spaces.

Hopefully your temporary roommates won’t actually ban you from using the shared space, which they technically could do, but just keep in mind to be conscientious when you do use shared space, and don’t take advantage of their hospitality.

Usually, the roommates who are staying in the place don’t get much of a say whether there is going to be someone subletting or not, since they will need some way to make up the rent while the student who needed to sublet in the first place is gone. It’s not that they wouldn’t want you around, but you being a subtenant changes the dynamic of the place, and so you want to feel it out before you are lounging on the couch in your underwear watching Stranger Things 24/7.

Clean like you mean it.

As a subtenant, there seems to be more of an urgency to keep things clean. Though you are paying to be there, you are almost like a guest, and as such, the permanent roommates will expect you to still pull your weight while you are around, though it can get awkward. The questions of “can I use their cleaning stuff?” or “I’m not on the chore chart, so should I clean the areas on there?” and such might arise, and since you want to pull your weight but might not know how exactly, it might be best to talk to the other housemates about it and see what they think.

Don’t let them take advantage of you, however! Just because you don’t live there all the time doesn’t mean that they can shove the brunt of the cleaning onto you while you are staying there. Make an effort to clean your dishes right away, keep the bathroom nice, and help with household chores, but let your voice be heard if you think the distribution isn’t fair.

Personalize your space?

Usually when subletting a room from someone, they still have most of their stuff residing in the room. This means that you have to be extra careful not to ruin any of their things, and also unfortunately means that you can’t personalize the space as much as you would like to. Sure, they probably cleared a few draws for you and a place in the closet, but the room is still full of their stuff, and you have to live with it in there.

This might not bother everyone, but I personally can’t stand when things aren’t organized a certain way, or are cluttered, but if it’s not your stuff, you shouldn’t really be changing it around.

Avoid roommate drama.

The good thing about not permanently living in a place is that you can avoid the roommate drama. If some of your housemates start fighting about something, you can stay out of it and don’t have to get involved. Heck, they can work it out for themselves, and you are just a temp roommate, right?

Housing conflicts are always so awkward, so this is a definite perk to not being stuck in a place. Everyone’s true colors come out when you live with them, so even if you end up in a situation that you didn’t sign up for, you can feel the relief of counting down to when you won’t be stuck in that place any longer.

Know what you’re paying for.

Before you sign the subletting agreement (seriously if there isn’t an official agreement to sign, it’s sketch and you should probably avoid it), make sure you know exactly what you are paying for. Many students will make the rent pretty affordable for the duration of the sublet, but is it super cheap because the space you are staying in won’t have a bed or a lamp or a desk waiting for you? This is a big concern, especially for a summer sublet when people might have moved out with all of their things.

You don’t want to pay for a place that then isn’t worth it, so make sure to get a walk through and written consent from the people that you will be subletting from exactly what it is that you are going to be renting.

These are just a few things to keep in mind when you are deciding to sublet from someone.

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