Housing for a term, not a lease

SubletU is launching in beta with Villanova University students — subletting apartments near campus, or heading off to internships and programs elsewhere — and connecting them with other students who have a place available for that same window. The same problem shows up every summer for interns, too: thousands of students land NYC internships and need somewhere to live for eight to twelve weeks, while thousands of NYC students leave their apartments empty. SubletU exists to put people in both situations directly in touch, without a year-long lease or a broker in the middle.

SubletU is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Villanova University or any university.

A fraction of a broker fee

Traditional NYC brokers typically charge 12–15% of the total rent for a short-term placement — often thousands of dollars for a summer-length stay. SubletU charges a flat 5% total fee, split between the host and the guest, because we're matching people who already have the apartment, not sourcing inventory from scratch. That fee isn't collected yet during this manual-first cohort — see "Where things stand" below.

How the matching actually works right now

SubletU is intentionally starting small and hands-on. Rather than letting anyone instantly publish a listing, every submission from a host goes through manual review — a founder personally reads it, checks it for completeness and legitimacy, and helps match it with the right guest. It's slower than a fully automated marketplace, but it means every listing you see has actually been looked at by a human first. See our Safety page for exactly what that review does and doesn't cover.

1. A host submits their apartment through our "List Your Sublet" form — neighborhood, dates, price, photos, and details.
2. We manually review it for completeness and legitimacy before it's added to the browsable cohort.
3. A guest requests to book a listing they like, sharing their details and internship info.
4. We help facilitate the introduction between host and guest, including answering questions from either side.

Where things stand

Today, SubletU does not process payments, does not run background checks, and does not verify leases. Requesting a listing does not create a confirmed booking — it starts a manual review. Instant, fully self-serve listing and payment collection are on our roadmap as demand grows, but for this first cohort, keeping a real person in the loop is a deliberate choice: it's how we catch problems early and build trust on both sides of the marketplace before automating anything.

Questions?

Reach us any time at hello@getsubletu.com. We read every email ourselves. See also our FAQ, Safety, Terms, and Privacy pages.