What NOT to Leave Behind When You Sublet

By Christine Ascher on August 30, 2017

Subletting is a great way to save money when you need to temporarily move out of your apartment and — understandably — don’t want to pay rent while you’re gone.

However, it can turn into a nightmare and give rise to some unexpected costs if you leave too much behind. When you leave your apartment in the hands of a subtenant, you are inherently taking some risks. No matter how much you get to know your subtenant or how many background checks you run on them, you never know how well they’re going to take care of your space.

As a result, you’ll want to carefully consider what you’re okay with leaving behind when you move out. If possible, save yourself some potential trouble by bringing the following items with you when you leave.

Image via https://pixabay.com

Your TV

Given the cost, a TV is definitely something that you don’t want to leave behind, even if your subtenants want you to. Any number of issues could arise from leaving valuable possessions such as this in your apartment when you move out. It could be broken by your subtenants, and you might find them unwilling to pay for the damage.

You even run the risk of it being taken when your subtenants move out — and you might have a difficult time holding them accountable. Even if you think that your subtenants themselves are trustworthy, you never know how careful they’ll be with locking the doors and windows or who will be coming through the apartment. In all situations, you’re better off taking your TV with you.

Expensive Furniture

Though it may be inconvenient to move, especially given that you’re going to be returning to your apartment eventually, think twice before leaving behind any furniture that you’ve purchased for the apartment. You don’t want to leave behind an expensive couch and come back to find that it’s been damaged.

While you should make it clear from the beginning how much furniture you’re going to be leaving behind, just so that your subtenants have an idea, try to take with you as much as you can. Ultimately, you can decide what to leave and what to take just by imagining how you would feel if any of it was damaged when you returned.

If you have inexpensive furniture that you wouldn’t mind replacing, that’s okay to keep with the subtenants. Any items that would be too expensive to repair or replace, however, should be taken out.

Personal Items

You might be tempted to make the moving process easier for yourself by leaving behind some personal belongings, such as clothes and books, especially if you’re only subletting for a couple of months. However, you’d be taking a big risk doing so. Since you won’t be around to supervise, you won’t know if your subtenant is taking advantage by using what you left behind.

In addition, you probably won’t be there to prevent your subtenant from taking anything with them when they move out. On the flip side, leaving behind too many of your own personal belongings could also prove to be a turn-off to your subtenant. If you leave the closet packed with clothes, for instance, they might feel like you’re not respecting their temporary use of the apartment. An angry subtenant could lead to you returning to an apartment that hasn’t been properly taken care of, so it will definitely be to your advantage to avoid offending them.

Personal Information

Again, even if you think that your subtenant is trustworthy, you never know who will be allowed into your apartment while you’re gone. Make sure that you don’t leave any important personal information lying around. If you have financial paperwork or anything else that could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands, this should definitely not be left behind.

Double-check before you move out to ensure that you haven’t forgotten or overlooked anything, as the damage that could be done with your social security number is much worse than anything that could be done to your couch.

Kitchen Items

While it is a nice gesture to leave behind some dishes and silverware for your subtenants so that they don’t have to worry about purchasing their own, avoid leaving behind anything that could easily break. Though you may be able to easily replace your kitchenware if necessary, this is going to result in an added expense and inconvenience for you when it comes time to move back in.

If you happen to have more high-end kitchenware that needs to be more carefully looked after, you’ll definitely want to take this with you. Most college students won’t pay attention to the care necessitated by certain pots and pans, so it’s likely that they could be unintentionally damaged in some way. It’ll be much easier for you to just take these items with you than to leave your subtenant with specific instructions for how to care for your kitchenware and having to simply hope that they cooperate.

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