Sublet Risks Foreign Renters Should Avoid in Chengdu

If you're building a life in Chengdu, ignore the tourist framing for a minute.

Sublet Risks Foreign Renters Should Avoid looks simple until you try to make it survive a normal month.

Layer one: non-negotiables

Money, time, legal constraints. If those aren't clear, every recommendation is cosplay.

Cheap far away is expensive if your commute eats your evenings.

Layer two: temperament

Some people need quiet compounds. Some need walkable chaos. Pretending you're the other type lasts about six weeks.

Score the flat coldly before you fall for the kitchen light.

Layer three: street-level truth

You'll feel it in details — a sunny listing photo that isn't your actual unit — long before you feel it in a ranking blog.

• One primary option
• One backup in your district
• One expensive break-glass option for emergencies

Be on the lease. 'Friend of a friend' sublets are how people lose deposits.

What I'd ignore

Advice that assumes unlimited energy. Also any plan that circles back to sight-unseen year leases.

Get pet / repair / early-exit promises in the WeChat record.

Protect your Tuesday-night self. That's who has to live with this.