Moving each year from apartment to apartment is something that happens often at Ohio State. In the excitement of moving to another place, students often forget the obligations of moving out and the possible ramifications of not abiding by their lease. Many students do not realize they also have rights when it comes to their lease. Ben Haber, a senior in mechanical engineering, said he was shocked when he realized upon moving out that his security deposit would not be returned. He said he sent his landlord a written notice of his forwarding address, but never heard back. "I didn't get any contact from them, I had to go find out myself," Haber said. After contacting them, he learned his security deposit would not be returned. His landlord said the apartment needed several repairs, including painting all the walls and steam cleaning the carpets. Haber said he was instantly suspicious because he did not believe his apartment was in bad condition. "Eventually I went back to the apartment and it didn't look any different," Haber said. "They didn't do what they said they did."
Haber contacted the Student Housing Legal Clinic, which offers free legal advice to OSU students. "I had a lot of rights that I didn't realize I had," Haber said. After talking with the clinic he decided to take his landlord to court, where he won. The clinic offers advice for students to prevent excess charges from their landlords. "The first thing you need to do is give in written notice of your intent to terminate--how much of a notice is controlled by your lease," said Paul Wilkins, a staff attorney at the clinic. "When moving out the apartment needs to be completely emptied," Wilkins said. That includes removing items like trash and coat hangers. He also suggests cleaning. "It doesn't have to be perfect, just swept up, trash removed and counters swept off," Wilkins said. "After they have done all of that, they should video tape. This is important. If they don't get their security deposit back, they have evidence." For students who do not own cameras, the Off-Campus Student Services rents video cameras and has a manual on what to do. After all of this is taken care of, keys should be returned to the landlord and a written notice of your forwarding address should be sent to them. Wilkins recommends having two copies, one for them and one for your personal records. For more information and a packet on what to do when moving out, visit the Student Housing Legal Clinic's Web site at moritzlaw.osu.edu/shlc.
Eden Gaskill can be reached at gaskill.11@osu.edu.
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