If you suddenly realize that you are going to be called away from your wonderful Dallas apartment but you are still under lease, you might be able to sublet your apartment. For those folks who aren’t familiar with the term, subletting is the practice of renting out your apartment while you are still renting it. The legality of subletting varies from place to place, so if you scan your current lease, there is surely a line or two about subletting in there somewhere. Let’s go over a few basic tips when it comes to subletting your apartment.

First, don’t try to draw up a subletting lease yourself, unless you already have a law degree. Try to download a general subletting lease from the Internet and then update it to reflect your current situation. Most importantly, you want to go ahead and go see a lawyer to ensure that the contract you’ve drawn up is legally binding so that if there are any problems along the way, you’re covered.

It is extremely important to let the apartment complex owners or your landlord know that you are subletting. Some people who decide to sublet against the wishes of their landlord think that they can get away with it as long as they don’t let anyone know. This is extremely dangerous and you are leaving yourself open to legal action. Don’t try to “outsmart” your landlord by subletting under their nose and not letting them know. Honesty really is the best policy.