Lawyers Offer Tips for Lease, Landlord Issues

Students seeking off-campus housing need to know their rights and responsibilities as tenants before signing a lease, according to Student Legal Services.

To name a few concerns, students should ensure security deposits are returned following expiration of the lease, bear responsibility for property when subletting, and keep records of repair requests to prove landlord negligence, said Dorothy Bernholz, director of SLS.

Students should visit a lawyer in SLS, which is free to fee-paying UNC students, if they have difficulty understanding their lease or need to fight for repairs, back-rent and security deposits, she said.

"It's better to let a lawyer look at the lease before signing. Don't assume anything," Bernholz said.

Most SLS casework is tenant/landlord cases. Legal action from SLS or even just the possibility of it can help students retrieve security deposits, since 10 percent of landlords do not return them despite damage-free premises, she said. "A lot of the time, it will just take a phone call from us to negotiate with landlords," Bernholz said.

Bernholz recommends negotiating leases with landlords before signing. Students should be careful, she said, to have enough parking places and make sure that the number of tenants is legal.

Chapel Hill town law, for example, allows only four unrelated tenants living together unless the premises have been leased to more than four people since 1989.

Bernholz also advised calling the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro for crime information on apartment complexes before moving into one.

Students should be sure the lease covers when the landlord can be on the premises pursuant to the lease, Bernholz said. The lease should specify that the landlord can only enter premises for repairs "after reasonable notice," she said.

There are many different kinds of leases in North Carolina, including oral leases, which Bernholz does not recommend. Most landlords in Chapel Hill have written leases, however.

In dealing with roommates moving in and out, Bernholz advises renters to make sure that the new roommate joins the lease and that the departing roommate is released and given back her security deposit.

Steve Mills, a landlord in Chapel Hill, recommends that new tenants do a room-by-room inspection of the premises and make a list of incoming damages. Mills suggests taking pictures to ensure the security deposit is returned upon lease termination.

N.C. law requires that tenants give written notice requesting a repair, Bernholz said. It is a myth that student tenants can withhold rent if repairs never happen. A visit to SLS is in order to seek damages from the landlord, which can be difficult without written repair requests, she said.

"Document all transactions with the landlord, and have a good, working relationship with the landlord," Berhnolz said.

Mills also advises buying renter's insurance, which is about $115 per year, to deal with subletters in the summer. Mills said subletters are often not very considerate of tenant's property.

Landlords are not responsible for stolen property, he said, and tenants should cautiously enter subletting agreements, perhaps with a security deposit between lessee and sublessee. It is important for tenants to understand both their rights and responsibilities, he said.

"You are dealing with adult issues, and you need to educate yourself, even if your parents are paying the rent."