Ultimate Guide to Sublets, Subleases, and Lease Takoevers in NYC (2024)

Evelyn Yen,Co-Founder & CEO

The interior of a modern apartment in NYC.

Preface

View the original Ultimate Guide posted on Reddit.

This is a beginner’s guide to finding and securing a sublet. This guide is focused on NYC because its housing market is the most competitive in the US. However, most advice will apply to any medium to large US city, except where NYC-specific laws come into play, which will be cited.

Most people will use the terms sublet and sublease interchangeably. They are not the same: with subletting, the original tenant is directly responsible for the lease, while with subleasing, the subtenant is directly responsible for the remainder of the lease term. However, in the context of this guide (which is focused on the search process for either), the difference is not important.

If this guide is missing anything / gets anything wrong, message the mods! We'll correct it right away.

Disclosure: The writer of this guide is the co-founder of Atlas Rooms, a subletting website for New Yorkers.

Table of Contents

  1. Step 1: Define your preferences
  2. Step 2: Find a sublet
  3. Step 3: Send a message
  4. Step 4: Call the lister
  5. Step 5: Tour the sublet
  6. Step 6: Sign an agreement
  7. Step 7: Move in
  8. Appendix
    1. How to spot a scam

Step 1: Define your preferences

One of the hardest parts of subletting is sorting through the sheer volume of listings to focus on the ones that are relevant to you. Answer the following questions before starting your search so that it’ll be easier and faster for you to filter through it all.

  1. What’s your maximum budget for both rent AND utilities? Utilities most often cost ~$70-100 more, so your rent budget will be slightly less than that total.
  2. What’s your move-in? Is it flexible? If so, define your earliest and latest move-in date range. (Ex. September 1 - September 14)
  3. How long do you want to stay? How flexible is this? Define your earliest and latest move-out date range.
  4. How far would you want your commute to be to work? How about your commute to the gym?
  5. How much noise can you tolerate? If you’re sensitive to sound, avoid busy neighborhoods, street-facing apartments, and buildings with a young demographic (i.e. frequent college parties).
  6. Can you walk up six flights everyday?
  7. How important is in-building / in-unit laundry? How close should the laundromat be?
  8. Can you live without a tub?
  9. Do you want a building with a doorman?
  10. Rank the following priorities for yourself: budget, space, location, and amenities. You can’t have them all in NYC.

Step 2: Find a sublet

You have to treat this search like it’s your full-time job. Your goal is to find as many legitimate listings as possible to sort through, and to find them as soon as they are posted. Where do you find these listings? In order of recommendation, taking into account (1) the volume of listings and (2) the quality of listings:

  • Facebook: Join private or public Facebook groups that are for the borough(s) you’re looking to live in. Private groups are best, but know that it may take some time to be accepted into these, so be sure to request access as early as possible. Some groups (like Young Females, for instance) require a small payment for moderation. If a private paid group is particularly big and you’re very urgently looking, the price might be worth it. To find groups, search Facebook for something like “[BOROUGH NAME] housing” or “[BOROUGH NAME] sublets”, etc. Request to join private groups first before resorting to public ones, as public groups are filled to the brim with scams / spam. This does NOT mean that private groups don’t have scams - they do, and you should know how to spot one (see Appendix: How to spot a scam). Examples of high quality groups in NYC include:
  • Atlas Rooms: Website that organizes housing from across the internet, including ones from both public and private Facebook groups. They have great volume, and a great scam and spam filter.
  • Listings Project: Originally made for artists looking for affordable places, this website has grown to take on a higher budget audience over the years. It’s still a great source for finding listings; new ones are released via a weekly email newsletter.
  • Spareroom: Solid selection of listings, and generally quite good about not having scam listings (but you should still be careful). One thing to note is that they block you from messaging posts early unless you pay for their subscription service - in NYC, this can be the make or break difference between landing a place and not.
  • Honorable Mention - Craigslist: In my opinion, this should be a last resort. However, I’ve heard from multiple people that they found their place through Craigslist, so I’m mentioning it out of obligation. There are an absurd number of scams to sort through, but there are likely some gems that would be great to find hidden in there.

There are too many websites! How am I supposed to search through all of this? The hardest one to search is unfortunately the place with the highest volume of listings: Facebook. The best way to search through Facebook groups is to do the following:

  1. Go to Facebook.
  2. Click on Feeds on the left sidebar.
  3. Click on Groups.

This will show you a feed of every post in every group that you’re part of, in descending order of posted time. Stay on this page, and refresh religiously. When I was looking for a place, I had an auto refresher that would refresh every 5 minutes on a second monitor. The most annoying part about this is having to scroll through all of the scam posts - it was the most tedious process of my life, but it’s also how I ultimately found my place. Once you find a good post that matches what you’re looking for, send a strong introduction message (see the next step of this guide).

All other websites besides Facebook are structured specifically for room listings, so you don’t need to check on them nearly as frequently. The only exception might be Atlas Rooms - this website is a bit of an anomaly because they aggregate all of the listings on the web and send you directly to the original link of the Facebook/Reddit post - so you’ll want to refresh Atlas a little more often since Facebook and Reddit listings get snatched up very quickly.

How long will I have to do this? This process can take anywhere from a few days to one-and-a-half months, depending on what you’re looking for and how disciplined you are with your search. When you find a place you like, you should message the lister — see the next step for writing a strong first message.

Step 3: Send a message

TL;DR: If you’re here, that means you are interested in a listing and you want to reach out to the lister. A strong message might look something like this:

Hi [Lister’s First Name]! My name is [First Name] ([Age][Gender]), and I’m very interested in your listing from [Start Date] to [End Date]. I start as a [Occupation] at [Company] in [Neighborhood of the company office] this [Month], which is why I’m looking for a temporary sublet to get familiar with the area. In my free time, I enjoy [hobbies/activities/whatever you do for fun].

My instagram can be found [here] and my linkedin can be found [here]. I can send over my letter of employment & recent pay stubs for proof of income. I’ve sublet successfully a few times before, so I also know where we can draft up a sublease agreement and sign so that both of us are comfortable with the process.

I’m happy to move fast and can hop on a quick call anytime to talk about details! If you’re interested, let me know if you’re free anytime today/tomorrow/this week, and we can talk more. Thank you!

Longer Breakdown: First impressions are very important in real life; they are even more important when listers are getting bombarded left and right by people who want the exact same thing you do, and you only have one shot to get their attention. At bare minimum, a strong introduction message should make the lister feel confident that:

  1. You're a real person
  2. You're financially capable
  3. You're consistent and trustworthy.

Let's take a look at each of these.

  1. A real person. The best way to do this is to provide links to your active socials. Instagram and LinkedIn are by far the most helpful, since they put a face and a life/career history to your name. If you’re comfortable with it, make your Instagram public so that listers can look through your profile (you can always set it back to private later). Make sure your LinkedIn is presentable and relatively up to date. LinkedIn is particularly helpful to share if you’ve moved to NYC for a recent job, and that recent job is shown on LinkedIn.
  2. Financially capable. Again, your LinkedIn will be a good way to show you’re financially capable of paying rent. You’ll want to mention that you comfortably make ideally 40x the monthly rent, which is the typical standard rentals use. Optionally, you might want to keep a Google Drive folder that contains a letter of employment, or recent pay stubs or bank statements with the sensitive information blacked out / removed. I would recommend not sending this Google Drive link in your first message, but mention that you have it ready so that once you get to know the lister better, you can send it over. If you have a guarantor, follow the same advice above but with your guarantor’s information. If you’re a student, you can still send your LinkedIn to prove your student status.
  3. Consistent and trustworthy: This will require you to lean in on your existing social proof. Again, LinkedIn and Instagram are your best friends here. It’s best if you have some level of engagement on your Instagram, so the lister can feel confident that it’s your real account and that you have real friends. Besides this, you should also say that you’re prepared to work with the lister to create and sign a sublease agreement. See step 6 for more details on this — mention that you know where to find a reliable one, and offer to draw it up yourself. Finally, if you’ve successfully sublet before, mention this. If you haven’t and this is your first time, that’s still ok - just let the lister know you’ve done your research so that you know how to make both of you feel safe with moving forward.

Bonus Tips to stick out among the crowd

  1. Initiate a connection with the lister, and make them feel like you are familiar/similar to them. Note as many things you can about the lister’s age, gender, habits, and lifestyle from their post, and try to find something in common. Do they work in a similar occupation as you? Do you have similar hobbies, have similar lifestyles, listen to similar music? Don’t stalk them (that’s creepy), but if there’s an obvious click, use that to your advantage. A good example might be, “Hey, I noticed you went to UCLA! I just graduated from there a year ago, maybe we were on campus at the same time :)” Then, jump into your typical message spiel.
  2. If you do get a response, respond quickly, at all times. By far the most important part. None of the above matters if the lister feels like you aren’t willing or organized enough to move fast and get this thing done. Be responsive, clear, and communicative, and once you and the lister feel comfortable moving forward, move on with scheduling a call.

Step 4: Call the lister

The lister got back to you on a listing you’re interested in. Now, it’s time to schedule a call. This is your chance to do a vibe check on each other and see if it’ll be a good fit.

When scheduling the call, try to schedule for it ASAP - do not dilly dally. If this was a listing you found on Facebook, this person is likely getting several messages per hour depending on the desirability of the listing. Most listers operate by a first-come first-serve basis, so you’ll want to slide into the earliest spot you can.

Before the call, have a list of things you know you’ll want to talk about. A good list to start with is:

Questions about where you’re living (note that all of this will be confirmed in the in-person tour)

  • (If the room is furnished) What furnishings will be in my room?
  • What appliances will be available in the kitchen?
  • What's the neighborhood / general area like? Daytime vs night time?
  • What's the noise level in general? Daytime vs night time?
  • What’s the landlord like? Are they responsive to issues?
  • How reliable is the Wi-Fi, especially if you work from home?
  • How’s the water pressure and temperature consistency?
  • Is there any history of pest problems in the apartment or building?
  • How are utilities split? Are they included in the rent, or will you be managing that separately? How much are utilities typically per month?
  • Is there a security deposit, and how is that handled?
  • Are there any building or HOA rules that might impact your lifestyle?

Questions about who you’re living with

  • If the lister is leaving the apartment, ask for the reason why they’re leaving.
  • Get a rundown of the roommates — brief bios, occupation, hobbies, and lifestyle.
    • Do you go to the office 5 days a week, or do you work from home, or both?
    • What are your cooking habits / how often do you cook / what do you cook?
    • What do your mornings look like? (Especially relevant if you’re sharing a bathroom)
    • When do you generally go to sleep? What are the apartment quiet hours?
    • What's your cleanliness philosophy for common areas? Is there a chore schedule?
    • What is the unofficial policy for overnight guests?
    • How often do you host gatherings if at all? What’s the vibe like if so (party/clubbing vibes vs a casual kickback)
  • If not all of the roommates are on this first call, ask for their phone numbers so you can reach out and schedule a quick call with them on your own. Ask for their phone numbers on the call so that you can contact them directly yourself, and you won’t have to wait on anyone else to reach out first.

Step 5: Tour the sublet

Sublets are often less formal than a full lease, so depending on how long you’re staying, you’re likely willing to take a few cuts here and there — i.e. if you’re subletting, you’re probably not looking for a white-glove, luxurious living experience. Nonetheless, it’s usually a good idea to take a bookmark out of what people tend to check for when visiting an apartment that they are looking to either rent or buy. Then, you can decide afterwards what you’re willing to sacrifice for a short term sublease vs. what you’re not.

Recommended things to check out for all sublets

  • Where is the nearest laundromat, diner, bodega, grocery store, gym, pizza place, coffee spot, bagel spot, coworking places / third places?
  • Check the wifi and cell service strength.
  • Look the building up on the bed bug registry
  • Bring a flashlight, and look in the cabinets/oven for a roach infestation.
  • Test out (1) water pressure and (2) water heat, and try the flush/shower temperature test. You do not want light nor cold showers. Do this for all sinks too.
  • Test to make sure the electrical outlets work.
  • Check the windows to make sure they open and close, and to make sure you can lock them.
  • Check the doors to make sure they open and close without issue. Sounds silly, but the last thing you want is a door that can’t close.
  • Take tons of pictures of the unit itself, the apartment, and the area around it.
  • Getting the vibe of a neighborhood: Ideally, try to hang in the neighborhood with friends during the day and at night to scope out the vibe/noise. It’s VERY important you visit at night time. Do NOT ignore this piece of advice; you should know what kind of people you’ll encounter when you come and go late at night. Also try to visit on the weekend.

Recommended things to check out for longer term subleases / lease takeovers

  • For unfurnished subleases
    • Measure your stuff beforehand, and bring a tape measure to the apartment tour.
    • What size mattress can fit in the bedroom?
    • Check out the electrical outlets. Not just if they work, but are they formatted well in the space? This will affect your furniture formatting more than you think.
  • Ask if the super is around/live in. Also check out the garbage area; a neglected area means the landlord is probably super unhelpful and incompetent.
  • Pay attention in which way the building faces and time of day it gets sunlight. And If there are any big buildings that obstruct the sun or anything like that.
  • Check out the management company on Google.
  • Sit on the toilet and make sure your knees fit.
  • Neighborhoods with a drug treatment center, homeless shelter or community clinic can have significantly larger homeless populations in the summer than what you can see if you start your sublease in the winter.
  • I thought this was super funny, but I once read a redditor warning people to ask about ice cream trucks in the summer. They had a street facing room and the Mister Softee truck would go sit right by their window every day of the summer.
  • Try to chat with the neighbors. You can hang out by the front door of a prospective apartment and politely ask those entering or leaving how they like living in the building and if the owner seems OK. Most people will understand where you're coming from and will give an honest answer.

Step 6: Sign an agreement

TL;DR: You have to use one. Use this one.

A sublease agreement is a legal contract that outlines all the terms and responsibilities between the master tenant and the subtenant.

Do I really need to use a sublease agreement? I cannot emphasize this enough - YES. The whole idea is that if anything goes wrong, and you need something from the other party but they're refusing, you'll be able to point to this document and make them do it anyway. If you don't use a sublease agreement, there is nothing binding you nor the other party to following the rules that you initially might have established verbally - so anyone will be able to break the rules, and not suffer any consequences as a result. Remember that sublets are already a very gray area, and that you're going to need to give this stranger that you found on the internet thousands of dollars in the form of a security deposit.

  1. Do not go through with any sublet/sublease if the lister refuses to use a written agreement.
  2. Do not send any money to any lister without an agreement signed.
  3. Do not sign a sublease agreement you don’t understand.

Where do I find a sublease agreement to use? You can use this basic template from eForms, or this free one from Atlas, which is slightly more comprehensive and customizable. Both forms will allow you to outline the most important aspects of a sublease: a payment schedule (including the security deposit), sublease length, late fees, etc.

What should I make sure is on my sublease agreement? We recommend first starting off with one of the sublease agreements above. Then:

  1. Use similar language from the original lease in the sublease agreement. So if the lease says no smoking, the sublet agreement should say no smoking. If the lease says no pets, the agreement should say no pets, etc.
  2. Outline as many of the most likely edge cases as you can. Remember that the whole reason we want to use a sublease agreement is so that when shit hits the fan, you know exactly what to do. Unfortunately, scenarios where shit hits the fan are (1) really hard to imagine and plan ahead of time and (2) just a big pain to even think about in the first place. However, you can still try to guess what might become a problem depending on your specific circumstances.
    1. For example, if you’re planning to sublet a place in NYC for the summer, what happens if the window AC stops working? If the master tenant is going to be away in a place with no service, who can you contact if you can’t reach them for whatever reason?
    2. Think about the circumstances that are specific to the sublet, and determine all of the things that could go wrong, and what the rules should be if they do. Then, put all of that in your sublease agreement. The Atlas agreement has a section for additional terms that you can use for this purpose.

Step 7: Move in

Not too much to mention in this section, but including for the sake of completeness. Tips & tricks:

  1. Bring less stuff! Do a big purge of the items you own before you move — this is your chance to declutter. Use the Marie Kondo method if you find that helpful.
  2. Most people who sublet don’t have a whole lot of stuff to move in the first place, but if you do, consider renting plastic bins instead of using cardboard boxes which are flimsy and disposable. Some recommended services are Bin It, Dumbo, Gorilla Bins, and Piece of Cake. These services will rent out heavy duty boxes that are stackable and can be sealed with zip ties so they don't open. Label generously, use clothing as padding, and try to distribute the weight of the boxes as equitably as possible.
  3. If you hang your clothes, keep your clothes on the hangers, slide them into a trash bag, and tie the bag at the top. That way, you can just put them on the closet rack and remove the trash bags at your new place.

APPENDIX

How to spot a scam

The Golden Rule: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. When in doubt, move on.

Red Flags

  1. Suspicious Language: If the lister is asking you to send a screenshot of the post in their DMs, that’s a scam. If a lister says the move-in and move-out dates are super flexible (specifically “can be short or long term”), that’s probably a scam. Look out for ChatGPT-like text blurbs about the neighborhood that a normal person would never write. You’ll notice these patterns naturally as you see more and more posts. See this folder for an example of scam posts.
  2. Stupidly Low Rent: This is the most common one people fall for. Try to be familiar with the typical rents for each neighborhood — if you’re not sure, check out the Streeteasy Data Dashboard. If you’re seeing a studio or a 1bd/1ba that’s $1,600 / mo in Lower Manhattan, that’s a scam.
  3. Extreme/Weird Photo Quality: If the photos have exceptionally bad quality, that’s a red flag. Alternatively, if the photos are of the apartment in a sterile / new condition, this can also be a red flag (though not always) — ask for recent photos of the apartment with its current furnishings and/or roommates.
  4. Refusal to Meet: If the lister avoids meeting in person or has constant excuses—like being out of town or dealing with emergencies—move on.
  5. Payment Before Viewing: If a lister asks you to send money before visiting the place, move on. Never send money before seeing the place in person. It’s normal to share general financial info like income or credit score, but never give out sensitive details like your Social Security number or bank account info.