Better registration times aren't the only perk that comes with being an upperclassman. Tired of gray concrete walls and spending hours in the gym waiting to choose a future dorm room, many soon−to−be juniors look forward to renting off−campus apartments in surrounding communities. But, though they are often forced to sign full−year housing agreements quite early in their sophomore year, many students later decide to study abroad or take a leave of absence due to unforeseen circumstances. To avoid having to pay rent for a place they aren't living in, some students maintain their lease while subletting their apartment to someone else.
Subletting can benefit a student financially but may be risky if a subletter is irresponsible, as the student who initially signed his or her name on the contract is ultimately responsible for the house. According to Tufts' Off−Campus Housing Resource Center, primary renters are responsible for all damages to the residence, even if caused by secondary renters. As a result, most students are very discerning when deciding who will occupy their rooms.
Tufts' Office of Residential Life encourages students to receive a security deposit from secondary tenants to cover the cost of any damage done to the property. In an e−mail to the Daily, Yolanda King, director of Residential Life, said that "it is important for students to obtain everything in writing in the format of a smaller version of a lease to avoid any problems."
Kailah Hayden−Karp, a senior who has both sublet her room and sublet from someone else, suggested that tenants not only require a security deposit but also write a more lengthy contract specifying conditions of the arrangement.
"You don't want to be in a situation where you don't have any power," Hayden−Karp said. Examples of such contracts can be found on the Off−Campus Resource Center's Web site.
Michael Walker, a junior who is transferring to another university at the end of this semester, said his roommates will have to approve a potential subletter before he allows the new occupant to move in.
"My roommates and the [other] people living with them will have the final say," Walker said.
Walker, however, feels that his residence would lend itself to certain personality type.
"The kind of person that's going to want to live [in my apartment] isn't going to be throwing stuff at the walls," Walker said.
Students interested in subletting should inspect the property they are interested in as thoroughly as if they were preparing to sign a long−term lease.
"Most important to me are the sanitary conditions in the bathroom and kitchen," Hiba Zeino, a student at the Fletcher School, said.
Beyond the interior of the residence, location is also important for students.
"I'm very concerned about the neighborhood and the level of safety," Zeino said.
Some students may be interested in becoming secondary renters because, quite often, they come across an irresistible bargain. According to the Tufts' Residential Life Web site, the prices of sublets usually decrease as the primary tenants get closer to their move out dates. Several apartments recently available for subletting are listed between $500 and $600 per month for a single bedroom, a couple hundred dollars less than the price primary renters probably pay according to the Off−Campus Housing' Office's Web site.
Hayden−Karp was forced to lower her asking price when she faced a scarcity of interested secondary tenants.
"It was a really hard market; I only had one person that was interested, so I had to lower the price. I didn't really have any other options," Hayden−Karp said.
However, not all students decide to discount their sublets.
"It seems silly to me because if I'm paying a certain amount for a [bedroom], someone else should too," Walker said.
