City Limits: Coronavirus was asked what students can do if they are no longer living in their off-campus leased apartments or houses and if they will be compensated because they cannot return.
The short answer? It depends on your lease agreement.
Stacee Williams is the director of IU's Student Legal Services, an office dedicated to providing legal advice and services for students. She says the most important thing to do in this uncertain time is to communicate with your landlord.
"I just want to emphasize the importance of communication," Williams says. "Especially during those communications keeping a written record of what the landlord is saying, what you've been told and making sure the landlord knows what you're are doing."
Since leases are written as a specific agreement between a landlord and a tenant, each situation and how you can handle it is a little different. Williams says some local property owners are entertaining the idea of a lease buyout.
"Would they be willing to accept the security deposit as a settlement to release the tenant early? Basically, what I am getting at is most of the time it is going to be a situation where individual landlords are working out settlement agreements with their tenants," Williams says.
According to Williams, students who choose to move everything from their leased property and do not plan to return should do the following.
- Provide written notice to your landlord that you will no longer be in the property and you have removed your belongings.
- Clean the space, take photos and videos of how you left the property.
- Be sure to have utilities put back into the landlord's name.
- Return your keys to your landlord.
Williams encourages students to reach out to her office and schedule a virtual appointment to review their lease and go over possible courses of action. Appointments can be made on the office's website here.
Contact Matt at mrasnic@iu.edu or on Twitter @Matt_Rasnic.
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