Subletter Agreement

One of the biggest expenses for long-term travel is rent.

Most long-term travelers, when bragging about how they can afford to live on so little, either don’t have a place back at home they pay for and quite literally only own what they carry on their backs, they sell all their stuff each time they move and live somewhere for a long-ish period of time, they live in a self-converted van, or they intermittently stay at home with their parents in-between their long adventures.

Or they are expert credit card point users and don’t have to think about rent since they go on shorter vacations fully paid for by points.

For a lot of us, these financial solutions don’t apply. We live in an apartment and dream of traveling to Japan and neighboring countries for 3 months, but we feel trapped by a lease agreement. And if we decide to leave for a couple months of travel, even if we aren’t living in our bedroom back home, we still have to pay for it. Consider this an expensive storage unit.

So how do we make the most of this type of travel? Subletting.

Subletting is not a new concept. I’ve been doing this since I was in college and would go home for the summer and someone else wanted to stay for their next internship. People are always looking for places to go, and they don’t have to turn to Airbnb for all of this.

How to find a subletter.

1. Join a few Facebook groups in your area that encompass housing sublets. This applies more to metropolitan areas (this might be a bit harder in rural communities, although I presume the rent there would be cheaper anyways).
   • There are some specific apps/websites for subletting also which you can join and use. I personally prefer to use Facebook since my area relies on that more.
2. Create a listing where you explain how long you will be gone for, that you are looking for a subletter, and what you expect them to pay. I usually take a few hundred dollars off the rent in exchange for cat-sitting my pet.
   • Additionally, consider the times of the year when someone might want to live where you live. For example, if you live near a college campus, people may want to live there during summer break or spring/fall/winter semester.
3. Talk to the people interested and vet out who you trust. Only you can make the best decision to let into your home.
4. Send them this subletter agreement, adjusting it as necessary for what you want and need. This is something I created from a few copies I found from a Google search.
   • Take pictures of the entire apartment/sublease space before AND after you leave. This way you know if anything gets broken and damaged.

Other options

1. Do a housing swap. There are a few apps and websites you can sign up for for this!
2. If you don’t care about rent but you do have a pet you want, check out various pet sitting apps to find someone who will live in your home to take care of your pet!

That’s it! Have fun traveling and saving some money!