By NYC law you are entitled to charge a 10% premium for use of your furniture and stuff. But I don't know how other cities handle this.

I had a horrible experience subletting -- the guy let this horrible mold/mildew develop in the bath, and tracked water onto the bedroom carpet -- seems he didn't believe in towel drying in the bathroom -- I had to get rid of the carpeting afterwards.

My advice: proceed with caution. And definitely stow away valuables or anything you really care about.

Look at padmapper.com to see what's offered in means of subletting in your area. With that in mind what you leave should really depend on what you need.

If you need your furniture, take it. If not, leave it, because it makes things way easier on the subleter (at least for college students). If you have roommates that will still be there when you're gone I'd leave the tv and any furniture, but definitely don't leave anything you'll mind getting dinged a little bit. You can mention in your add that you're willing to leave dishware (unless you need it, then just take it with you) and say you'll discuss details upon contact. My roommates leave all their furniture and remove anything personal from their bedrooms.

Sometimes the subletter pays your landlord, so it would be the same rent you're charged. If they're paying you, and you're charging more than you're charged in rent, that could be looked at as housing fraud, so be careful.

I'm a serial subletter. Love it. But I would never sublet my own place. Too many vulnerabilities and ways you can be messed over. Too many liabilities.

That said: take anything of value out. Get references. Regarding your idea about furnished verses unfurnished: you won't get any short-term takers for a place that isn't furnished. So, if you're serious about this, make sure that at least the basic furnishings are available. And, oh yeah, short term traveles will be expecting wireless capability.

Get references from former landlords, not just his friends who say he's a great guy. ("Congratulations, your friends think you're great.") Consider paying the $35 or so for a background check when you narrow down your choice to one or two people.

You might also look into having a closet / closets equipped with good locks if it's not possible to take everything (to hide away all the things you might not want a sub-letter having access too - like clothes, shoes, personal items etc) with you.

Don't. Just. Do. Not. Do. It.

Trust me on this. I came home to Dupioni silk curtain with a large burn mark (apparently they were candle people - I'll always wonder how close they came to a total burn down), mid century teak furniture actually "chewed" (they didn't have a dog???), and missing tools, vaccuum, and sewing machine from my storage area.

If you're going to do this, and in my experience it's Not worth the peace-of-mind you lose for just a few months worth of rent, store anything that when you return you'd be upset was missing or damaged (anything that's an heirloom or your favorite, no matter how small, even a favorite coffee cup). Find somewhere to store it safely, which usually means Not in the place your'e subletting, and then cross-your-eyes-for-luck that all goes well. It's also worth securing a damage deposit from the person you sublet to because you're ultimately responsible for any damage to the apartment. Ultimately for me, I'd rather have a family member or friend stay, someone who wants to visit my city for a few months than sublet to another stranger. I've done that a few times, and I'm always able to find someone who wants to stay in San Francisco for awhile and watch my pets, last time my cousin spent two months here working on her next novel.

I had the opposite experience. I WAS the subletter and the previous renter was totally disgusting. The fridge was totally nasty, spilled food and mold everywhere. And there was a layer of dust/cat hair on the floors and molding. Bathroom looked like it had never been cleaned since they lived there. I spent 2 full days cleaning and scrubbing everything before I moved in. I think some people, at least in my town, will sublet a place if they think they aren't going to get their full deposit back from the landlord. The subletter gets the place as-is and then gets blamed for any damage when they move out.

Why not ask for a damage deposit just like any landlord would? Do a walk-through before and after and document everything, maybe even with photographs, so you don't get into an argument about damage. Wear and tear is inevitable, and you should expect even some minor damage (if they use your plates and break one, for example). You could also include the cost of a professional cleaning service to come in once they leave so it isn't your headache.

If you live in a large city, contact the recruiting departments of some of the large law firms, accounting firms, consulting firms, etc and let them know that you have housing available for a summer sublet. The firms do try to come up with lists of options for summer clerks coming from out-of-town. This way you'll get a professional who'll be busy with their summer job and the accompanying socializing and won't be in the apartment very much. And best of all - this is key - YOU KNOW WHAT FIRM THEY'RE HOPING TO GET A JOB WITH, so you can contact that firm to track down your tenant if you come home to a mess/unpaid bills, etc. I did this one summer with a law student and was having trouble getting her to respond to me about paying the last utility bill. I made a subtle "I was just wondering if you had a forwarding address for the summer associate who took my sublet..." phone call and you can BET I had the check in my hands a week later!

As for the apartment itself, put anything that's dear to you in storage. If you have a large closet you can clear out for this purpose do it, and then put a lock on the door and take the key. Then do an inventory of everything that's left and have the sublessee check off on it before they move in. Make that part of the sublease agreement that they will be responsible for loss or damage, and take it out of their deposit if it happens. OH - and get a big deposit!

My only experience with subletting is through a friend who needed a place to stay for a couple of months between leases. The girl he was subletting from turned out to be a complete slob: we got there to move him in and there was literally a 6-inch layer of trash covering the floor, cat urine everywhere, dirty laundry (even underwear) thrown in random strange places, and 2 dead fish in a fishbowl. The only thing to indicate that she may have prepared for someone else to be staying in her space was that she had leaned her nasty mattress up against the wall, so there were a few clear feet of floor space in the bedroom.
I guess the point of this is, the whole thing can be a risk in either direction. It's a sad truth that most people don't care about much if they think they won't be held responsible for it. Personally, if this was something I had to do, I would clear out anything that I valued or that would be difficult to replace, and I would have very clear responsibilities and consequences for each involved party outlined in the rental agreement. Take pictures before they move in and after they leave, and make sure that any damage they cause is well-documented and dealt with before your landlord decides to hold you responsible for it.

This is timely conversation for me... I also have to go away for three months this summer (live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn) and have been wondering whether to sublet or not. These comments are not very encouraging. Anyone out there that has had a good subletting experience?

Like a previous poster said, think twice before you sublet!

@BABYFISHMOUTH, that's really a great idea!

I think the comments are pretty smart so far: store or lock up valuables, take photos before you leave, get references, interview candidates in person, get a deposit, get employer (and/or school) contact info, and draw up a lease.

It's a great point that short-term renters probably won't have furniture with them, but that's still something to check on. I've known student interns who travel everywhere with their (meager) furniture because it's cheaper to load it into their car than to store it over the summer.

Also, do some homework to make sure that all of the clauses of your lease are legally binding. If you put something into a contract that contradicts the law, then that clause is void. If I say you must give me your firstborn if you do any damage, that part of the contract is void since it's clearly not a legal demand to make -- it wouldn't hold up if I took the issue to court.

Obviously, that's a silly example, but there are laws you should look into like monetary limits for fines or min/max periods of time you can wait to reimburse a deposit. Some of this might qualify as being over-cautious, and most sublessors probably wouldn't pursue this kind of stuff, but if it was me, well, I'm the cautious type and I'd want to be really protected in case I ran into any problems. I don't know if you can find subletting contract templates online or not, but maybe since you yourself are a renter, a tenant's rights organization might help draft or review a contract?

I'd offer that in addition to the suggestion to check with local firms about summer interns, put the word out amongst your friends and networks before advertising on craigslist. They may have a friend, cousin, friend's child, etc. who's looking for a place. I'm assuming you don't have roommates, because you didn't mention them, but talk to your landlord about checking in a couple times while you are away - you'll both benefit.

I think everyone else's suggestions about getting a security deposit is really great, and make sure that the landlord won't hold you liable for either damage or withheld rent. (It's safest for the subletter to sign an agreement with your landlord, probably, if the landlord is willing to do so. This will probably also mean that they need to approve, but will keep you safer.)

If you are a student or university-affiliated, I would post it on sabbaticalhomes.com. It's for academics looking for short-term housing (you can only use it with a .edu email address), and I've found many great subletters through the site. It's $35 to list it, but I think it's worth it. It's a more filtered population than what you might get on craigslist.

I would also suggest buying a cheap set of sheets and towels and putting yours away somewhere, getting a plastic-lined mattress pad that you can just throw out afterwards or save for the next subletter, and bringing any valuables or things you'd be sad to see ruined to a friend's house. One subletter was great except he put my beautifully seasoned cast-iron skillet in the dishwasher. Lesson learned. I also drew up a sublet contract that a lawyer friend looked over, just things about them covering the cost of repairs during the course of their stay, being quiet, not removing anything from the apt, etc. They gave me a $500 deposit in advance of coming so I was assured that they'd actually show up and I wouldn't be stuck without someone, and another $500 check that I didn't deposit and ripped up at the end of the sublet to cover the cost of damages etc.

Unless you own the place, avoid subletting. ESPECIALLY avoid lending anyone else your furniture. Speaking from first-hand experience, even if you really like/know/trust the person, it will DESTROY your relationship when they spill hot wax on your grandmother's antique table. Even more, why would you give a stranger carte-blanche to your personal and favored belongings? Sorry, but the safe way to do this is to trust nobody with your personal items.