Subletting in New York City: A Guide for Students and Interns

Who Sublets in New York City, and When

The city has a long list of colleges, including New York University, Columbia University, The New School, Fordham University, Pace University and Baruch College. Many of their students rent apartments on 12-month leases and leave for the summer, a semester abroad or an internship in another city.

On the other side are summer interns in finance, law, tech and media, who usually need a furnished room for about ten weeks. That is why most sublets are listed in spring for a June start. Fall and spring semester sublets come from students who study abroad.

• Summer Sublets
• Schools We Cover

Where Students and Interns Live

For a sense of price, StreetEasy’s median asking rent, October 2026, for a studio was $3,745 in Manhattan, $3,180 in Brooklyn and $2,775 in Queens. At the Queens figure, a 3-month summer is $2,775 times 3, or $8,325. A room in a shared apartment costs less than a studio.

• Near NYU and The New School: Greenwich Village, the East Village and the Lower East Side, around Washington Square Park and Union Square. Subway: A, C, E, B, D, F and M at West 4th Street; N, Q, R, W, L, 4, 5 and 6 at Union Square.
• Near Columbia: Morningside Heights and the Upper West Side, between Riverside Park and Morningside Park. Subway: the 1 train at 116th Street.
• Near Fordham: the Lincoln Center campus is by Columbus Circle (A, B, C, D and 1 trains). The Rose Hill campus is in the Bronx, next to the New York Botanical Garden, on the B and D trains and Metro-North.
• Near Pace and Baruch: the Financial District for Pace (City Hall and Fulton Street stations) and Gramercy for Baruch (the 6 train at 23rd Street).
• Near the offices: Midtown, Hudson Yards (the 7 train) and the Financial District, plus Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods one or two stops across the river, such as Williamsburg (L train) and Long Island City (7 train).

Getting Around Without a Car

You do not need a car. The MTA runs the subway and buses all day and all night, and one fare covers a subway ride with a transfer to a bus. When you compare sublets, count the minutes from the front door to your campus or office, including the walk to the station.

The Rules to Check Before You Sublet in New York City

New York State’s Real Property Law section 226-b covers tenants in buildings with four or more apartments. You send the landlord a written request by certified mail with the dates, the subtenant’s name and a copy of the sublease. The landlord can ask for more information within 10 days and must answer within 30 days. No answer counts as consent, and consent cannot be unreasonably withheld.

The law does not apply to public housing or co-op apartments, and rent-stabilized apartments have extra rules. In a smaller building, your lease and your landlord’s written consent decide.

Stays under 30 days are different. The city requires short-term rental hosts to register with the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement, and rentals of 30 consecutive days or more are exempt from that registration.

• Is Subletting Legal in NYC?
• The 30-Day Rule, Explained
• How to Sublet in NYC

How to Sublet Your Place in New York City

1. Read your lease for a sublet clause, and count the apartments in your building: four or more means the state sublet law applies.
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 New York City Without Getting Scammed

Sublet Buddy lists sublets of 30 days or longer, and its listings are live in New York City. Only the neighborhood is shown publicly, never the exact address.

• 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)
• Sublets in New York City