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Subleasing at the MLC

Hello current resident,
We understand as a student, that signing a 12 month lease isn’t always ideal. We are happy to accommodate subtenants to help you with rent for those months you won’t be around. Before you find a subtenant, please read the following carefully and consult your lease agreement regarding our subleasing policies. 

What is a subtenant?

A subtenant is a person you select to occupy your room for a length of time that you will be absent. A subtenant is effectively your tenant and is there to reimburse your rent in your absence. However, this means subtenants do not sign a lease with CA House, so you remain in legal and financial obligation to CA House until the end of your lease term.

Policies and restrictions on subletting your room:

  1. First and foremost: EVERY subtenant must be approved by staff before they move in. NO PERSON IS ALLOWED TO OCCUPY YOUR ROOM WITHOUT A SIGNED SUBLEASE. NO EXCEPTIONS.
  2. Remember that you live in an intentional community, and share a common space with your housemates. Your housemates will be living with this person while you are gone! Whoever sublets from you may not identify with the values of the Multifaith Living Community, but you want to ensure that they will be responsible with the space, respectful to your fellow housemates, and financially accountable. 
  3. Subtenants must meet the following requirements: 1) NO PETS!! (unless it is a service or ESA animal with proper documentation); 2) Must be a resident for at least one month; 3) Must be a gender appropriate to your townhouse (i.e. females in all female, males in all male, anyone in mixed gender)
  4. Residents will be charged a $50.00 administrative fee PER subtenant, to fill out a sublease form. 
  5. Guest are NOT subtenants and subtenants are NOT guests. Subletting to or allowing unauthorized tenants to live in your room is a breach of lease. Unauthorized subtenants will be asked to leave.
  6. Subtenants are prohibited from subleasing their sublet room. Again, unauthorized subtenants will be asked to leave.
  7. Advertising your room for a sublease is restricted to Facebook, Craigslist, housing pages, and word of mouth. Listing on temporary accommodation sites like AirBnB and Couschsurfer is strictly prohibited.

Step-by-step instructions on how to sublet your room:

Step 1: Advertise your room. List the rental price (which you can elect to offset to bring the price down), the features (utilities, common spaces, number of housemates, if you are leaving it furnished, etc.), the community (free weekly meals, Multifaith aspect, etc.) and time frame (how many months, exact start and end dates, etc.) Posts with pictures receive more attention than those without, so feel free to take pictures of your room, or reach out to the Community Coordinator for sample room pictures.

Step 2: Once you have an interested person, make sure they apply using the Subtenant Application. Ideally, they should list at least one previous landlord as a reference. When we receive the application, the Community Coordinator will check their references and decide if they are a good fit for the community. However, it is advised that you also meet with them ahead of time, to get to know them, and check their references. Please note that CA House has the right to deny a subtenant for any reason!

Step 3: Once you have identified your preferred subtenant and they have filled out the online application, you must set up a mutually convenient appointment with your subtenant and the Community Coordinator to sign the required Sublease form. 

Step 4: At your arranged meeting you and your subtenant will discuss all details of the sublease and list them on the sublease form. This includes the rental rate and payment method, security deposit and payment method (it is strongly encouraged that you collect a security deposit equal to at least one month’s rent from your subtenant), and all terms and conditions regarding furniture and cleaning of the room and common areas during move out.

Other important things to remember:

Security deposit: If you decide to collect a security deposit from your subtenant, remember that you will be responsible for returning that security deposit to them at the end of the sublease term. The collected security deposit should be set aside to be returned (minus any damages and PG&E expenses) as quickly as possible after the subtenant vacates your room. When it comes time to return the security deposit to your subtenant, you may request an itemized statement from Brett for any damage/cleaning charges and PG&E expenses accrued over the sublease term.

Rent: You (the leaseholder) will continue to pay rent directly to CA House for the entirety of your lease term (ending August 31st, 2018). Additionally, utilities will continue to be deducted from your security deposit until the end of your lease term. Your subtenant will pay you directly for their rent payments. Be sure to establish the best method of payment with your subtenant before the lease term (these details will include rent due date, address to be sent, whether payments should be made by cash, check, paypal, etc.). Keep in mind that scholarship funds are not applicable to any summer subtenants. In other words, subtenants are responsible for the entire monthly payment outlined on your lease agreement, or a reduction thereof that you have chosen to offset. Scholarships are awarded to you only, and do not transfer.

Move in/out: Upon request, CA House staff can provide a courtesy inspection of the room, when your subtenant moves in, for the sake of documentation and accountability. Contact the Community Coordinator to set up a time if you would like to take advantage of this service.

Please remember that you are solely responsible for clean-up of the room and common areas at the end of the lease term. Any damage and/or cleaning charges will be posted to your account and deducted from your security deposit. Please establish a plan of action with your subtenant to ensure that the necessary cleaning is performed at the end of the lease term (Some possible options: Leaseholder returns to clean room/common areas, Subtenant cleans room/common areas, leaseholder hires a cleaning service to clean room/common areas). Under no circumstances is CA House responsible for collecting damages from your subtenant. (This is why it is so important to collect a security deposit!!)

Thank you for your cooperation in following these guidelines! If you have any questions, please reach out to the Community Coordinator!

Sincerely,

CA House Staff