Maybe you want to go home for the summer or go out of the country for a few months for work or pleasure. The only problem is that you are still in the middle of your apartment lease and you don’t want to lose the apartment. An apartment sublease can be a very good solution.

A sublease means that a person takes on the responsibility of paying rent for an apartment while the original person on the lease vacates the apartment temporarily. Apartment subleases are very popular near universities, particularly during the summer months. Apartments sublease can be a good solution for anyone needing temporary housing or needing to temporarily vacate an apartment.

First, you need to be sure an apartment sublease is not restricted in your lease. Before trying to sublease an apartment, discuss the policies of your apartment complex with the management company or landlord. The importance of having written permission from the landlord to sublease your apartment can’t be understated, because your name remains on the lease as the responsible party. This means that anything that happens to that apartment, from unpaid rent to damage, is ultimately your responsibility.

How to sublease an apartment is fairly simple. After acquiring written permission to sublease from your landlord, you need to find a reliable person to move into the apartment. Many landlords will require the person subleasing your apartment to fill out an application, pay a deposit and sign a lease or an addendum to the original lease.

To protect yourself, be sure to have a signed agreement, even if the landlord doesn’t require one to be kept on file. You shouldn’t leave behind valuables or items of a personal or sentimental nature, or at the very least lock them up in the apartment. Check in regularly with your sublease tenant and your landlord to make sure everything is going smoothly until you return.