GOOD TO KNOW
Renting off-campus??Get familiar with your rights.
Michael Mayday
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: News
Landlords can be great, and they can be terrible. There are a few things you should know if you are currently in an off-campus house or are looking to rent one next year.
As soon as you enter the house and begin your stay, the landlord is expected to present all tenants with an inventory. This is a list that allows you to go through the house and note damages in the house that already exist. This will free you from any possible blame later for those damages and protect your security deposit as long as you fill it out and return it within seven days.
This leads to an important point: The security deposit is yours. Until the landlord can prove you are responsible for structural damages to the house once the lease is over, you are the owner of the deposit. The landlord, by law, is required to tell you the name and address of the institution at which he is keeping your deposit within 14 days of your move-in.
After the lease is over, the landlord must formally ask for your mailing address in writing. You then have four days to respond. The landlord then has 30 days after you move out to either return your deposit or serve you with a list of damages. If he or she does not do so in the allotted time, he is entitled to zero dollars of your deposit - regardless of the actual damages.
This and much more information about your rights as a tenant can be found at MichiganLegalAid.org.
As soon as you enter the house and begin your stay, the landlord is expected to present all tenants with an inventory. This is a list that allows you to go through the house and note damages in the house that already exist. This will free you from any possible blame later for those damages and protect your security deposit as long as you fill it out and return it within seven days.
This leads to an important point: The security deposit is yours. Until the landlord can prove you are responsible for structural damages to the house once the lease is over, you are the owner of the deposit. The landlord, by law, is required to tell you the name and address of the institution at which he is keeping your deposit within 14 days of your move-in.
After the lease is over, the landlord must formally ask for your mailing address in writing. You then have four days to respond. The landlord then has 30 days after you move out to either return your deposit or serve you with a list of damages. If he or she does not do so in the allotted time, he is entitled to zero dollars of your deposit - regardless of the actual damages.
This and much more information about your rights as a tenant can be found at MichiganLegalAid.org.
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