How to Find Short-Term Living in New York City

On the hunt for a short-term living solution in New York? It won’t be impossible to find but it will likely require some work. If you’re searching on the higher end of the market, it may not be more effort than reaching out to a few key brokers for a fabulous space, but you’ve got to be prepared to pay anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 a month for temporary living quarters. If you’re looking on a budget, there are a few different places to start your search, and a few different factors to consider.

Most short-term residents of New York end up subletting someone else's rental apartment. A sublet essentially means that a tenant is temporarily leaving the apartment, renting it to someone else, and intends to later return to the apartment. Sublets can be short term (a few months) or long term (a year or more). But New York City law dictates that a sublet must at least span 30 days. It's common, then, for very short-term sublets (a few weeks) to be offered informally, without the consent of the landlord. However, be in the know: permanent NYC residents that sublet their apartment are required by law to ask permission of the building owner to sublet. (Also under New York State law, a landlord cannot unreasonably refuse a tenant's subletting request.) So before you agree to move into somebody else's space, it's a good idea to ask if they've received that approval first -- you don't want to be caught by the landlord and kicked out unexpectedly.

Subletting an extra room in an occupied apartment (which would make you the short-term roommate) is more lax -- and legal if you only plan to stay a few weeks. Renters on the lease are supposed to inform the landlord of the name of a new roommate within 30 days after the roommate moves in, but failure to notify the landlord doesn't carry any penalty.

If you plan to sublet an apartment from a condo development, you likely have nothing to worry about. The apartment owner will have to get the sublet approved by the building's condo board, but boards usually approve sublets. Again, it's just a good idea to ask the apartment owner that the sublet has been approved before you agree to move in.

Take caution if you find a short-term living solution in a co-op building, as there are usually many more rules associated with these buildings. Some co-ops have rules that only allow tenants to find subletters after two years of residence and most buildings don't allow leases of less than a year. Also in co-ops, there's a good chance subletters will have to pass the co-op board's guidelines and interview -- maybe more trouble than it's worth for a short-term space.

It's not usually worth it to pay a broker's fee to find a short-term sublet, but if you've got a higher budget you can start reaching out to brokers, who likely know exactly when clients want to rent out their apartments for short amounts of time.

There are other resources, like the subletting section of Craigslist (beware of any ads that ask for payments via Western Union or wire transfer) or the Listings Project, a curated email of available apartments for rent, including sublets. Reaching out on social media networks (Facebook or Twitter) also can prove helpful in search of a short-term stay.

Some buildings in New York City offer “on demand” pied-a-terre apartments, like AKA, which has five locations throughout the city, and Sutton Court, on East 57th Street. Most buildings like this come with free wi-fi and flexibility on your check out date.

Many short-term living arrangements are set up with oral agreements, but it’s safer to come up with a written agreement that stipulates your rights as a subletter. That would likely include the amount of rent being charged and how it should be paid, the terms of occupancy, and the actual space being occupied. If you stay in your short-term living arrangement for more than 30 days, and you aren’t on the lease, the person named on the lease can’t kick you out with no notice. If you refuse to leave voluntarily and that person wants you to leave, they will have to go through a formal eviction proceeding. Ultimately, a clear and unambiguous agreement with the person offering your short-term space, as well as respecting the space while you’re in it, should ensure a stress-free sublet situation.