By Julie Yoshioka Daily Bruin Contributor As students search for
apartments, legal experts caution that along with rent prices, room
sizes and parking spaces, prospective tenants should also
understand the agreements they make when they sign a lease.
"It is very important for students to read anything they are
asked to sign," said Liz Kemper, director of UCLA’s Student Legal
Services.
Issues such as sublease agreements, move-out procedures and work
order requests make up a few topics that may arise.
"If the landlord makes any verbal agreements, be sure to get it
in writing because otherwise it will be virtually impossible to
prove," Kemper said.
"It’s legally very effective to have a paper trail because you
have a document to support your claim later on," she continued.
Upon signing a lease, tenants and landlords should establish
policies concerning rental fees, late charges, pets and parties,
according to the 1992 handbook "California Tenants: Your Rights and
Responsibilities.".
Kemper also recommends making a list of problems  such as
stains on the carpet  that tenants may have upon moving into
the apartment, and submitting this list to the landlord.
California law states that "a rental unit must be fit to live
in, or habitable." This means that tenants must take reasonable
care of their units and common areas.
Landlords, however, must repair conditions that affect their
tenants under the implied warranty of habitability.
The warranty requires that a landlord maintain basic
requirements such as repairing leaks in roofs and walls, water
systems, lights and wiring, sewer systems, plumbing and gas.
Still, it does not require the landlord to clean up or repair
damages the tenants have caused.
If a tenant needs apartment repairs, he or she should notify the
landlord by telephone and through written request.
"We usually just call our manager," said Georgia Dranier, a
third-year English student. "It usually gets fixed within a
week."
A written request, however, can be beneficial.
"It can be less intimidating. The tenants don’t have to deal
with the landlord face to face if they are uncomfortable," Kemper
said.
The amount of time in which the request should be met depends on
the individual situation.
According to the "California Tenants" handbook, the law usually
considers 30 days reasonable, but if the damage  such as
broken heater during a cold season  causes the rental unit to
be unfit for living, a shorter amount of time is obviously
necessary.
Many students find that
apartment managers expedite the repairs, though.
"I haven’t had any problems with repairs not being completed,"
said Bo Leung, a third-year business economics student. "We put in
a request to fix the stove, and it was repaired in a few days."
If the landlord does not complete the repair, tenants have two
options: the repair and deduct remedy or the rent withholding
method.
The repair and deduct method allows the tenants to make the
repairs on their own and deduct the charges from the rent.
This applies to situations concerning health and safety, such as
a leaking roof, no running hot water, a gas leak or a defective
sewer system.
California law supports the rent-withholding method that allows
tenants to stop paying rent if the landlord doesn’t repair
conditions which make the unit uninhabitable.
The handbook also recommends that tenants who wish to use this
method contact an attorney prior to taking action.
Student Legal Services can also help in this process. Kemper
lists services such as writing a demand letter to the landlord to
recover compensation, or assisting in suing the landlord in small
claims court.
Nonetheless, approaching the landlord with a problem should be
simple as long as tenants are civil.
"(Tenants) should be professional and courteous," said Kemper.
"People respond well to that."
In Kelton Plaza Apartments, for example, tenants place work
orders at the manager’s office. If tenants need emergency repairs,
however, managers may be paged.
The issue of repairs also brings up the subject of privacy.
California law permits the landlord to enter a unit in an
emergency, and to both make repairs and show the unit to potential
renters with prior notice to the tenants.
The law considers prior notice as at least 24 hours prior to
entering, unless it is an emergency. In addition, the landlord can
only enter during he general business hours of 8 a.m. to5 p.m.
In addition to repair guidelines, many apartments have policies
prohibiting subleasing an apartment without prior approval of the
manager.
"Students should be reminded that subletters are not responsible
for damages," said Ashok Desai, manager of Kelton Plaza Apartments.
"It is a sketchy line and a legal issue."
Kelton Plaza Apartments, like many Westwood apartment complexes,
must approve of subletters before they move in. Otherwise the
original tenants may be evicted and lose their deposit.
Desai described problematic situations such as disruptive
subletters who disrespect the apartment, or even refuse to leave
once the original tenants return.
Since the original tenants are the ones on the lease, they are
responsible for any problems that might occur. In a situation where
a subletter refuses to leave, the original tenant must move
out.
When tenants sign the lease, they are both "jointly and
severally liable for full rent and damage," meaning that each
roommate is held responsible, Kemper said.
For such reasons, she emphasizes choosing roommates wisely.
"If one leaves, the other is left holding the bag," Kemper
said.
The situation may also occur when one roommate no longer wants
to live with another. "You have no right to kick someone out,"
Kemper said.
She urges students to fill out roommate agreements in
writing.
"This helps to determine expectations and to prevent problems,"
she said.
Many find that such agreements help eliminate arguments.
"We have a chart with four different chores," Dranier said.
"Each week, someone is responsible for vacuuming, taking care of
the kitchen, taking out the trash or tidying up the living
room."
This allows one roommate out of the five to have a week off
during each rotation, Dranier added.
Whether dealing with repair issues or rent problems, Kemper
said, "Students should recognize that they may have a long
relationship with their landlords, and that they should do their
best to maintain a good relationship."