Rental Housing Summer Subletting Guidelines

Subletting guidelines for all or part of the summer

If you plan to be away for all or a part of the summer, and you wish to sublet your rental unit while you are away, these guidelines apply: 

  1. You are required to complete the “Request to Sublet Directly” form and submit it to the Real Estate Office no later than 30 days before the period of your desired sublet, and no later than June 1 for summer sublets.  
  2. Eligible subletters must be in one of the following categories:
    1. a “Group 1” housing-eligible faculty or administrative staff member (as defined in the Housing Handbook); or
    2. a “Group 2” non-housing-eligible faculty or administrative staff member (as defined in the Housing Handbook), contingent on Real Estate Office approval; or 
    3. an employee of the Williamstown Theater Festival, contingent on obtaining Real Estate Office approval. 
  3. To avoid confusion, you may not advertise the sublet using online platforms such as Craigslist, Airbnb, VRBO, sublet.com that primarily yield non-employee, and thus non-eligible residents.  You may advertise the sublet on media that is hyper-locally-focused such as Switchboard.
  4. You remain obligated to the college for the payment of the monthly license fee and utilities (if any, as defined in your License Agreement) during the term of your leave, whether or not you find a subletter for the Premises.  
  5. Regular payroll withholdings will continue during the duration of your leave, and you are responsible for collecting the monthly license fee and utility payments directly from the subletter.
  6. You remain responsible to the College for any damage to the unit beyond normal wear and tear. Any liability for damages by the subletter must be settled between yourself and the subletter.  You may wish to require a deposit from the sub-lessee to cover possible damage to personal property, with the deposit to be returned upon satisfactory inspection.
  7. You are responsible for providing key(s) to the subletter.  Facilities will not make “extra” keys for your subletter.  Lost keys will result in a fee.
  8. The period of the sublet cannot be less than 30 days.
  9. You must provide contact information for the subletter.
  10. Your subletter must complete a “Subletter Agreement” form.
  11. You must disclose to the college the rent you are charging.  Rent must be commensurate with your prorated underlying base rent plus reasonable surcharges for any included utilities.
  12. If you have items that you do not want to leave for the subletter’s use, you must make arrangements for outside storage.  You will not be able to store items in a locked closet or bedroom.
  13. You are responsible to provide a fully furnished unit which contains all furniture/furnishings needed to be comfortable and items provided are in good condition.
  14. You are responsible for cleaning the unit.  The College is not responsible for cleaning the unit at any time before, during, or after the period of sublet.

Those subletting through the WTF will also be required to sign the subletting agreement that’s between the resident and the WTF subletter (this is a sample sublease form and will be provided by WTF to the subletter and resident).

For full information on Subletting of College Rental Housing, refer to Faculty/Staff Housing Handbook.