Should I sublet my apartment (filled with my furniture) for five months when the apt. managers take me off the lease during that time?

Well, first of all how nice is your stuff and how well do you know this person. I’m afraid you have to go into it being ready for bad results. If you can live with risk of worse case scenario than go for it.

Also, estabilish a lease for the furnishings, write a long detailed list of whats involved and take lots of photos for documentation. Make the lease as detailed as possible about how everything is to play out from multiple exit strategies to what happens if something is damaged. For instance will they buy you a new one, will they pay depreciated value? on and on. Also you will only end up suing him if its significant enough, so you might want to take a deposit to clear up any small disputes.

Before you agree to anything, associated with subletting your apartment, find your lease and read it word for word. you may be making an illegal move, by allowing someone else to stay in your apartment, without the landlords permission. and, not to mention any damages or thefts caused by this family. this includes your furniture.

Better to be safe and ask your landlord for permission to sublet, before you leave. some landlords allow it, others do not. its a liability issue as well as a contract violation issue.

I have spoken to the landlord, and they are taking me off the lease and putting my subletters on the lease. That’s the problem for me….or should it be? I was planning to pay the landlord, and instead, they are insisting my subletter pay monthly. So, essentially, I have no rights—even though all my furniture is in the apartment…or is that true?

Seems a little odd. If I was the landlord I would keep you both on the hook for paying me. You may also want to re-establish your apartment lease up front. So in six months your obligated to come back, the landlord is obligated to lease back to you, and sublessee is obligated to get out. If you dont have this, sublessee and lessor might become big buddies and than what rights do you have for re-entry. There are a lot of if’s here, you really need to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. If not don’t do it.

You want to stay on the lease, if for no other reason that you can get back in after you come back. A current lease holder has more influence with both a landlord and the legal system. If it comes down to a court fight to get back in.

I just thought of having the subletter pay the landlord for the full five months ahead of time. That way, I know he won’t be evicted and my stuff will not land on the street. Then, if I have a very high deposit for the furniture (which is what I am essentially leasing him), and take pictures of everything, etc., maybe that will work. For some reason, the landlord won’t write a five month lease for them. I will be automatically back on the lease when they leave in five months (this is my understanding, but I still have to talk with my landlord).

Is your understanding based on something that will be landlords word or in writing. It needs to be in writing.

Ask the landlord if they will add the sub letters’ to the lease, instead of taking you off. I think that will make them and you responsible for the rent/damages. In my experience, if you are not on the lease, you have no right to enter the unit, even if your stuff is in there.Give the landlord a phone number to call if they have any issues in your absence.

Also, “rent” your furniture to them while you’re gone. Make a list of what you want to be intact when you return and create a rental contract with them. It could be a dollar a month, but specify that they will replace anything they damage. Still a risk of them not paying, but a written contract will give you some “leverage” in small claims court. Pictures of your stuff before they move in would help too.

@skfinkel, it does seem odd to take you off the lease; what guarantee do you have that you will get the apartment and your stuff back? You will need to keep up your renter’s insurance in your absence, in the event that the building burns down, and your stuff is toast. There should be a Sublease Agreement that amends the original lease, but you should not be taken off.

@BarnacleBill That’s an interesting point about the renter’s insurance. I wonder if they will let me keep it if I am not actually on the lease, ie renting the place.

If you are off the lease, I wonder if your contents could be considered abandoned. I would be leery of being off the lease entirely. Make sure that you have a sublease agreement. It would be awful to come back and find that they increased your rent because you no longer have a lease.

You need a document like this

Result: The landlord is letting me stay on the lease after all—the family will join as my co-renters. So, with a good additional agreement about the use of my furniture, I think this should work out well. Thanks everyone for all your helpful thoughts and suggestions.