ucla subleasing

Product Design | Case Study

2026

Thumbnail image

role


Product Designer (+ frontend)

timeline


6 Weeks


tools


Figma

Google Stitch

Claude Code

collaborators


2 team members


the problem

UCLA students don't have a dedicated platform for subleasing. They make do with platforms that weren't built for it.


I went through this process — spending hours on reddit, facebook, reaching out to friends, friends of friends, the whole shebang. I lucked out, but heard this same subleasing struggle story countless times from others.

UCLA students don't have a dedicated platform for subleasing. They make do with platforms that weren't built for it.


I went through this process — spending hours on reddit, facebook, reaching out to friends, friends of friends, the whole shebang. I lucked out, but heard this same subleasing struggle story countless times from others.

No standardized apartment info. Posts are inconsistent in pricing, dates, room details, forcing constant back-and-forth just to get basics.

Platform switching is common. Students juggle Facebook groups, Reddit threads, Instagram stories, and word of mouth with little reliability.

Trust is always a concern. Communicating across informal channels with no verification adds anxiety to a process of high importance.

insights

We surveyed UCLA students across all years and living situations — on campus, university apartments, off campus apartments, etc — to understand what they think of subleasing.

75%

Of students rated the process as highly stressful, even those who hadn't done it. Anxiety comes from not knowing where to start.

83%

Of students said trust and clear listing information were their top priorities when considering a sublease

60%

Of students who considered subleasing didn't know where to start with finding and securing listings

solution

UCSubLA centralizes the entire subleasing process in one native platform. It is designed around the specific needs and constraints of students navigating gap quarters, summer break, and study abroad absence.

Standardized listing format. Every listing captures the same upfront info: price, room type, bathroom situation, distance, everything else we felt was important to include. Listers are guided through structured listing flow, reducing a major point of initial friction.

Built around UCLA Students. Distance from campus is a subtle, but important marker. Students can filter by quarters rather than arbitrary move-in windows, and view listings in terms that are familiar to them. Trust is essential, with verified indicators across the app.

Trust is always a concern. Communicating across informal channels with no verification adds anxiety to a process of high importance.

interactive prototype