Subletting in Miami: A Guide for Students and Interns

Who Sublets in Miami, and When

The University of Miami is in Coral Gables. Florida International University’s main campus is in west Miami-Dade, with a second campus on Biscayne Bay in North Miami. Miami Dade College has campuses across the county, including one downtown.

Students leave after spring finals in May, and some leave for a semester abroad in fall or spring. Summer interns come for finance and law offices in Brickell and Downtown, hospitals in the Health District, and hotels and media companies around the county.

Where Students and Interns Live

• Near the University of Miami: Coral Gables and South Miami, along US 1 and Metrorail, with University station next to campus.
• Near FIU’s main campus: Sweetwater and University Park, around SW 8th Street and SW 107th Avenue. There is no Metrorail here, so people use Metrobus, campus shuttles or a car.
• Brickell and Downtown: towers along Brickell Avenue and Biscayne Boulevard, served by Metrorail at Brickell and Government Center and by the Metromover loop.
• Coconut Grove: by the bay and Peacock Park, with Coconut Grove and Douglas Road Metrorail stations a short ride inland.
• Edgewater, Midtown and Wynwood: north of Downtown along Biscayne Boulevard, on Metrobus routes.
• Miami Beach: across the causeways. It is a separate city with its own rental rules.

Getting Around Without a Car

It is possible, but pick your address carefully. Miami-Dade Transit runs Metrorail, whose Green and Orange Lines share the track from Dadeland through Coral Gables, Brickell and Downtown, with the Orange Line going on to Miami International Airport. Metromover is the small elevated train that circles Downtown and Brickell, and Metrobus covers the rest.

Away from the rail line, trips take longer and many people drive. Summer afternoons bring heat and heavy rain, so a short walk to the station is worth a lot.

The Rules to Check Before You Sublet in Miami

Florida’s residential landlord and tenant law is Chapter 83, Part II of the Florida Statutes. We could not confirm a Florida rule that gives tenants a right to sublet, so your lease and your landlord’s written consent decide. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services publishes a plain-language summary of the law.

Many Miami apartments are condos rented out by an individual owner. A condo association can have its own rules on rentals and on registering new occupants, so ask your landlord what the building requires and how long approval takes.

Short stays are a different thing from a sublet. The City of Miami, Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County each regulate short-term and vacation rentals, and the rules differ by city and zoning. We could not confirm one rule that covers them all, so check with the city where the apartment is before agreeing to anything shorter than a month.

How to Sublet Your Place in Miami

1. Read your lease for a sublet clause, and ask whether the building or condo association has to approve a new occupant.
2. Ask your landlord in writing, and get the approval in writing before you list. An email that names the subtenant and the dates is far better than a phone call.
3. Talk to your roommates. If they are on the lease, the lease may need their written agreement too.
4. Set exact move-in and move-out dates that sit inside your own lease term.
5. Price it near your own rent. As an example of the math, not a local price: if you pay $1,000 a month and leave for 3 months, an empty room costs you $3,000.
6. Put it in writing: names, dates, rent, what is included, how the deposit is handled and the house rules. Both of you sign and keep a copy.

Choose a subtenant on the stay only: dates, ability to pay, references, pets, smoking. Fair housing laws make it illegal to choose or refuse someone because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or family status, and many states and cities add gender identity, sexual orientation, age, lawful source of income and more.

• How to Handle Your Sublet, Start to Finish
• Going Abroad: The Apartment Checklist

How to Find a Sublet in Miami Without Getting Scammed

Sublet Buddy lists sublets of 30 days or longer. Its listings are live in New York City today, and Miami is on the way.

• See the place in person, or on a live video call where the person walks from the street door to the room.
• Ask to see the page of the lease with their name on it, and the landlord’s written approval of the sublet.
• Never pay a deposit or rent before you have a signed agreement. Be wary of anyone who wants a wire transfer, gift cards or crypto.
• Be wary of pressure. “Three other people want it today” is a reason to slow down, not to pay.

• Sublet Scam Warning Signs (Written for New York, but the Warning Signs Are the Same)
• Miami on Sublet Buddy