{"id":959,"date":"2026-08-20T23:22:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T23:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/2026\/08\/20\/woman-reveals-how-she-avoided-paying-3600-in-rent-for-her-n-y-c-apartment-while-on-a-month-long-vacation-exclusive\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T23:22:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T23:22:58","slug":"woman-reveals-how-she-avoided-paying-3600-in-rent-for-her-n-y-c-apartment-while-on-a-month-long-vacation-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/2026\/08\/20\/woman-reveals-how-she-avoided-paying-3600-in-rent-for-her-n-y-c-apartment-while-on-a-month-long-vacation-exclusive\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman Reveals How She Avoided Paying $3,600 in Rent for Her N.Y.C. Apartment While on a Month-Long Vacation (Exclusive)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Emma Oyomba tells PEOPLE how subletting her $3,600-a-month NYC apartment while traveling covered her trip costs and even helped her save money<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/-DoW38iDyU8qfqTbRPgb5jDvHrg=\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)\/Emma-Oyomba-apt-2-0811726-6bf598f151c241deaf95f834f307fabe.jpg\" alt=\"Credit: Emma Oyomba\" title=\"Emma Oyomba\" \/><figcaption><i>Credit: Emma Oyomba<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Emma Oyomba was planning a month away when she realized she\u2019d still be paying $3,600 in rent for an apartment she wasn\u2019t using<\/li>\n<li>The New York City resident decided to try subletting her home for the first time while she traveled<\/li>\n<li>Oyomba tells PEOPLE how the decision changed what her month-long trip cost her \u2014 and why she\u2019d do it again<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Emma Oyomba was looking forward to spending a month away from New York City when one thought put a damper on her plans: She would still be paying $3,600 in rent for an apartment she wouldn\u2019t be using.<\/p>\n<p>Oyomba later shared her solution in a <a class=\"null\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@emmaaa_in_nyc\/video\/7665195109192912159\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"null\">TikTok<\/a>, explaining that she sublet her apartment for a month while she vacationed and worked remotely \u2014 a move she said ultimately allowed her trip to \u201cpay for itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRent is my biggest monthly expense,\u201d Oyomba tells PEOPLE. Although she had never seriously considered subletting her home before, the thought of paying a full month\u2019s rent while she was traveling made the option suddenly seem much more appealing.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@emmaaa_in_nyc\/video\/7665195109192912159\" data-video-id=\"7665195109192912159\" data-embed-from=\"oembed\">\n<section> <a target=\"_blank\" title=\"@emmaaa_in_nyc\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@emmaaa_in_nyc?refer=embed\">@emmaaa_in_nyc<\/a> \n<p>listing my apt on snag sublets has saved me $$$ once again! <a title=\"movingtonyc\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/movingtonyc?refer=embed\">#movingtonyc<\/a> <a title=\"nycapartment\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/nycapartment?refer=embed\">#nycapartment<\/a> <a title=\"nycsublets\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/nycsublets?refer=embed\">#nycsublets<\/a> <a title=\"nyclife\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/nyclife?refer=embed\">#nyclife<\/a> <a title=\"nycsummer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/nycsummer?refer=embed\">#nycsummer<\/a> <\/p>\n<p> <a target=\"_blank\" title=\"\u266c take my breath away by berlin - \ud80c\udda9\u196b\u1b61\ud80c\uddaa\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/music\/take-my-breath-away-by-berlin-7103175726295485189?refer=embed\">\u266c take my breath away by berlin &#8211; \ud80c\udda9\u196b\u1b61\ud80c\uddaa<\/a> <\/p><\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI think a lot of people, including myself, think it\u2019s a lot of work to do,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd to be fair, it can be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Oyomba says she made sure her landlord was aware of her decision to sublet her apartment when she travels before moving forward with the arrangement.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, there was still one major hurdle: Oyomba would be handing her home over to someone she didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLike most people, my biggest concern was subletting my space to a stranger,\u201d she says. When choosing who would stay in her apartment, Oyomba paid attention to how responsive potential subletters were and looked for public social media profiles that could give her a better sense of who they were and what they did.<\/p>\n<p>The platform she used also verified employment information and conducted credit checks, Oyomba says, while giving users the option to message and video chat. Beyond those checks, however, she says part of the decision came down to her own instincts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOverall, I considered all of those things plus who I vibed with the most,\u201d she says. \u201cSometimes, it\u2019s all about how a person makes you feel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Once she found someone she felt comfortable with, Oyomba turned her attention to getting her apartment ready. She approached the process by thinking about what she would want if she were staying in someone else\u2019s home, clearing space for clothes in the bedroom and toiletries in the bathroom and washing the sheets, towels and blankets.<\/p>\n<p>She also locked away personal belongings, valuables and anything containing sensitive information, and took photos of the apartment so she would have a record of how she left it. Before leaving, she hired a cleaner and wrote a welcome note with directions and other information her guest might need.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNone of the preparation really surprised me,\u201d Oyomba says. \u201cIt felt no different than getting my place ready for family or friends to stay in, so I tried to approach it with that level of hospitality and consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Once her travel was booked and her subletter was in place, Oyomba did the math \u2014 and realized the $3,600 she would no longer be spending out of pocket on rent could cover her travel costs. \u201cThat was such a great feeling!\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/crr6LuVxNUVprV1vkfJYY9Jpn14=\/fit-in\/640x480\/Emma-Oyomba-apt-1-0811726-44fdab76f4854aa69005244ee6afb6ec.jpg\" alt=\"Emma Oyomba\u2019s apartmentCredit: Emma Oyomba\" title=\"Emma Oyomba\" \/><figcaption><i>Emma Oyomba\u2019s apartment<br \/>Credit: Emma Oyomba<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Oyomba says her flights and accommodations came to around $2,000. She was able to keep those expenses relatively low because she largely stayed with friends and family and shared accommodations with the people she was traveling with.<\/p>\n<p>With those costs covered, she still had $1,600 left from the amount she would ordinarily have put toward rent. She moved $1,000 into her savings and earmarked the remaining $600 as \u201cfun money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo if I saw something I liked or wanted to splurge here or there, that money was allocated to that,\u201d she says. \u201cI was pretty happy that my trip paid for itself and that I was still able to save some money!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Oyomba had already set aside money for the trip and says she wasn\u2019t relying on finding a subletter in order to travel. Instead, the arrangement meant she didn\u2019t have to carry the cost of an apartment sitting empty while she was away.<\/p>\n<p>And despite her initial nerves about having a stranger in her home, Oyomba says the month went smoothly. Her apartment was left in the same condition she had left it, and she didn\u2019t hear any complaints from her neighbors.<\/p>\n<p>There were even a few perks she hadn\u2019t considered beforehand. With someone living there, her mail was collected, her plants were watered and the water and air conditioning were being used regularly rather than the apartment sitting untouched for a month.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was a win I didn\u2019t think of before I left!\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Short-term leasing while on vacation can be difficult, as according to <a class=\"null\" href=\"https:\/\/portal.311.nyc.gov\/article\/?kanumber=KA-03559\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"null\">N.Y.C.\u2019s 311 website<\/a>, \u201cHosts &#8211; both owners and tenants &#8211; cannot rent out an entire apartment or home to visitors for fewer than 30 days, even if the host owns or lives in the building.\u201d But in Oyomba\u2019s case, she was able to rent it out for the minimum amount required given the length of her trip.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for <\/strong><a class=\"null\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/people-news-daily-newsletter-sign-up-8692701\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"null\"><strong>PEOPLE\u2019s free daily newsletter<\/strong><\/a><strong> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The experience went well enough that Oyomba says she would \u201cdefinitely\u201d do it again if she were away for a month or more. For someone trying it for the first time, she recommends beginning the search for a subletter as soon as travel plans are confirmed, allowing plenty of time to consider potential candidates and, if possible, meeting them in person before making a decision.<\/p>\n<p>Most importantly, however, Oyomba doesn\u2019t see what she did as a way to make a quick profit. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t look at it as a get-rich-quick thing,\u201d she says. \u201cYou\u2019re already paying the rent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Instead, she sees subletting as a way to redirect an expense she would already have had while her home wasn\u2019t being used.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe opportunity is really to stop paying for an apartment you won\u2019t be using for a short period,\u201d she says, \u201cand instead redirecting that money towards your trip or any other costs or savings goals you may have.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Emma Oyomba tells PEOPLE how subletting her $3,600-a-month NYC apartment while traveling covered her trip costs and even helped her save money Credit: Emma Oyomba NEED TO KNOW Emma Oyomba was planning a month away when she realized she\u2019d still be paying $3,600 in rent for an apartment she wasn\u2019t using The New York City [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-everything-else"],"wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","cvmm-medium":"","cvmm-medium-plus":"","cvmm-portrait":"","cvmm-medium-square":"","cvmm-large":"","cvmm-small":"","full":""},"categories_names":{"1":{"name":"Everything Else","link":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/category\/everything-else\/"}},"tags_names":[],"comments_number":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}