How to Write a Sublet Listing That Gets Replies

What to Include in a Sublet Listing

• What it is: a private room in a shared apartment, a studio, or a whole one-bedroom.
• Where: the neighborhood, the nearest subway lines and how long the walk to the station is.
• Exact dates: the first day someone can move in and the last day they must be out.
• The price per month, and what it covers: utilities, Wi-Fi, laundry.
• What stays: bed and mattress size, desk, chair, dresser, air conditioner, kitchen basics.
• Who else lives there: how many roommates stay, and whether there are pets in the apartment.
• House rules that matter: smoking, pets, overnight guests, quiet hours.
• The building: which floor, elevator or walk-up, laundry in the building or nearby.

Write the Dates and Price Exactly

"Summer" means different things to different people. "June 1 to August 20" does not. Exact dates let someone check the listing against their internship or semester in a second.

Give the monthly price and show the total. For example: $1,850 a month for 3 months is $5,550. If you are flexible on dates or open to an offer, say so in one line.

• How Much to Charge for a Sublet

Describe It Honestly

Say what the room is like to live in. Which way the window faces and when it gets light. How big the closet is. Whether the street is loud at night. How many flights of stairs.

Include the downsides. A fifth-floor walk-up or a small kitchen is not a secret you can keep, and the person who moves in knowing about it is the person who stays happy.

Skip filler like "cozy" and "amazing". Facts do the work: "fits a full bed and a desk" tells people more.

What Never to Put in a Listing

Three things stay out, every time.

• Preferences about who can rent. Do not write "female only", "students only", "no couples", "young professional preferred", or anything about age, religion, nationality, family or where someone’s income comes from. In New York that kind of wording in a housing ad can be discrimination, and it is not allowed.
• Your contact details. Keep your phone number, email and social handles out of the public text and talk through the site’s messages until you have chosen someone.
• The exact address. Share the neighborhood and cross streets publicly, and the address only with someone you have agreed a viewing with.

You can describe the home: "two roommates are staying" or "there is a cat" is a fact about the apartment. Saying who you want is a preference, and that is the line.

A Simple Structure to Copy

On Sublet Buddy you can type rough notes and get a draft listing to edit, and only the neighborhood is shown publicly.

1. First line: type of place, neighborhood, exact dates, monthly price.
2. Second paragraph: the room and what stays in it.
3. Third paragraph: the apartment, roommates staying, building and laundry.
4. Fourth paragraph: trains and what is nearby, such as a park, a grocery store or a campus.
5. Last line: house rules, and that your landlord has approved the sublet in writing.

• List Your Place

Before You Post

Get your landlord’s written approval first, so you can say so in the listing. Then read the listing once as a stranger would. If a question comes to mind, answer it in the text.

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