Signing a lease? Get it checked out first.
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Since the Student Housing Legal Clinic opened its doors in 1999, the law faculty and Moritz College of Law students who work there have put more than $300,000 back in Ohio State students’ pockets: security deposits landlords tried to keep, and rent paid for properties that weren't up to par.
Their biggest advice to apartment-hunters?
Treat looking for a place to live as you would buying a used car: Refuse to be pressured, and negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.
It's a good time to be a renter: Apartment vacancy rates in the off-campus neighborhoods are at a high, says Susan Choe, the clinic's director.
“This is really a time when students should feel empowered to negotiate,” Choe says. “This idea that they have to sign a lease today—that’s the hype.”
The clinic serves "everyone who lives off-campus, whether that's in Grove City or that's on 12th," she says.
Eight law students review leases and help students who’ve run into problems with landlords, while Choe and the other state-licensed lawyer in the office, Paul Wilkins, do phone consultations for students at Ohio State's regional campuses. (Both are alums of Ohio State and Moritz.)
The lease reviews—the clinic’s most popular service this time of year—take about an hour.
"Landlords like to mask the meaning of things in legal jargon," says Mike Lennane, who will graduate from Moritz this spring. "We can help students decipher what is and is not kosher in their lease."
Helping students learn to deal with landlords is the clinic's ultimate goal, but Wilkins says teaching law students is an added bonus. The students have legal intern certificates from the Ohio Supreme Court, so they're allowed to represent clients in court.
“I’ve done client interviews, I’ve done direct negotiations, I’ve filed complaints, I’ve done letters,” says Cherish Cronmiller, another soon-to-be spring grad. “There’s no better practical experience that you can get.”
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(text/images: University Marketing Communications)
Before you sign:
- Take your time. Columbus has more off-campus apartments than Ohio State has students to fill them, so you should never feel pressured.
- Get to *really* know your roommates. If you're a neat freak and your best friend's a slob, or you're a night owl and she's a cheery morning person, think twice about sharing an address. Discuss potential problems before you decide to live together.
- Visit the new place several times. See your actual apartment, not just a model. Decide whether there's enough parking, and whether you'll feel safe at night.
- Check out your landlord. Ask for references, talk to other tenants, and see if the Better Business Bureau has heard complaints.
- Get a lease review! Call the clinic at 247-5853 to schedule one.
