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Its springtime in Moscow. Birds are chirping, green grass is poking up and students are preparing for the annual May exodus, where they gather up their belongings and rotate housing.
Some student renters may find themselves unpleasantly surprised by lease violations, lost security deposits and could even face lawsuits.
The College of Law is hosting an open forum from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday in the Student Union Building Gold Room to discuss the legal rights and obligations of renters.
“We just figured people had a lot of questions about their leases,” said Carole Wells, supervisor of UI’s College of Law Victims’ Rights Clinic. “If we could provide a forum for questions, we could provide them with this information.”
Law students will be talking individually with students and community members about their situations as well as handouts, information and help filling out legal forms, Wells said.
She emphasized that the forum was designed to educate students about their rights and not to provide actual legal council.
Communication between landlord and tenant is key to avoiding conflicts, Wells said. Both parties need to be clear on the lease, expectations and responsibilities. Also, a tenant should know exactly when and how to get their security deposits back.
“I’m concerned that people are leaving town and not coming back to fight for their security deposits,” she said.
Tenants are responsible for protecting the property and making sure damage does not occur. This can be deducted from a security deposit.
Regular “wear and tear” should legally never be deducted from a security deposit, Wells said. This includes things such as carpet wear, although you should clean your carpet when you move out.
The Idaho Volunteer Lawyers program recommends photographing or video taping existing damages when you move in, as well as keeping an inventory of things that are missing such as curtain rods, light bulbs and fire extinguishers.
You can clean a place yourself, or talk to your landlord about hiring cleaners. This could end up being cheaper than having the landlord pay for cleaners after you move out. Also, a judge can determine if a landlord’s cleaning fees are unreasonable, Wells said.
“A lot of times, students just let things go,” Wells said. “They want landlords to be hands off. You should speak up.”
Landlords are legally required to maintain plumbing, heating, electrical, ventilation and cooling, Wells said.
If disputes cannot be resolved through direct communication, they can be taken to court.
“Landlords usually have money to hire an attorney,” Wells said. “Tenants don’t.”
Although many students cannot afford an attorney for a lawsuit, small claims can be filed in Idaho without an attorney if the assets in contention are less than $5,000, Wells said.
This will cost a $32.50 service fee to have the defending party informed, and a $35 court fee.
Usually, disputes are solved in third party mediation before going to trial, Wells said.
“People say, ‘I want my day in court,’ and then they realize they just wanted to be heard,” she said.
Legal forms for small claims can be acquired free online with audio instructions at www.courtselfhelp.idaho.gov.
“It’s pretty basic,” Wells said. “Make a copy for yourself. It’s always important in the legal world to make a copy.”
It’s best to have a written and negotiated lease agreement that specifically states the term of the agreement and how many people are living there, she said.
If a tenant has to break a lease, it’s best to give the landlord a month’s notice, Wells said. This will require the landlord to also look for a tenant to replace the one leaving. If a tenant doesn’t give a month’s notice, then they have to find a replacement themselves.
A tenant should never simply ignore an eviction notice, Wells said.
Saturday’s forum will be sponsored by the J. Ruben Clark Society, the Public Interest Law Group and the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program.
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