Ryan Suser asked if any audience members in Maxwell Auditorium on Thursday had ever felt cheated or swindled, because his organization can help.

Suser, a junior entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major, is a project leader for the New York Public Interest Research Group, a student-directed consumer, environmental and government reform organization. The group sponsored a workshop to increase student knowledge of the legal processes surrounding in renting and leasing off-campus apartments and houses.

NYPIRG has been conducting an off-campus housing survey to gauge student satisfaction, especially with landlords, said Adam Blechman, a NYPIRG project leader and sophomore psychology and English and textual studies major. NYPIRG plans to make the data available to future student-tenants before they sign contracts.

Syracuse University’s biggest problem is landlords not giving advance notice to residents before showing their property to potential tenants and withholding security deposits, said Rebecca Covington, a NYPIRG project coordinator.

‘Other problems are misleading promises before signing the lease, such as free parking when it’s far away or only one space, and laundry when it’s coin-operated,’ Suser said.

At the workshop, Covington gave a presentation about the rights granted to tenants and reserved by landlords in leases and month-to-month rental agreements.

‘Your lease is the most important thing about your living off campus experience,’ Covington said. ‘It spells out the responsibilities of both parties: rent, security, utilities and more.’

Leases are usually drafted to protect landlords more than tenants, because they are either written by or for the landlords, Covington said. Students should be careful, because landlords may claim more than they are legally granted.

‘We often hear stories about landlords who withhold security deposits without really giving a reason,’ Covington said. The deposit can only be withheld for repairs and unpaid rent.

Students should perform a rental inspection, take photographs of the apartment before moving in and clean thoroughly when they move out, Covington said. Tenants should pay attention to sink faucets and drains, water pressure, appliances, outlets and light switches, window operation and draftiness, cleanliness, lighting and parking.

Potential tenants should also ask about utility costs, garbage removal, repairs and shoveling sidewalks, Covington said. Landlords are required by law to present utility bills for the previous two years, and some offer snow shoveling services in the lease.

NYPIRG offers a facility and lawyers for tenants who say they believe they are being treated unfairly by their landlords, Suser said. The Small Claims Court Action Center trains students to present a successful court case against their landlords involving less than $5,000.

‘What our justice system considers a small claim might not be so for most of us,’ Suser said. ‘Three thousand dollars is a lot of money, and even $300, if it’s owed to you, can seem like a lot.’

Covington also said SU’s Student Legal Services reads leases for free and explains confusing jargon.

Published on March 23, 2006 at 12:00 pm