With the Homecoming football game, jazz concert and Springfest come and gone, only the slight matter of final exams remains before the end of another academic year. This column, therefore, undertakes to provide a few tips to avoid common legal problems which arise during the transition from academic labors to the work-a-day world of summer enjoyment.

I. Vacating your apartment. When you vacate your apartment, regardless of whether the lease is up or because you are subletting, it is very important to document the condition of the premises at the time you leave.

Remember, your legal obligation is to return the premises to the landlord in as good or better condition than you found it, except for ordinary wear and tear.

An exit room condition report will go a long way in establishing the relevant facts if there is a dispute later. Be thorough, and don’t forget to document the condition of the exterior of the premises and surrounding grounds if you rented a house.

Ask your landlord to inspect the premises before you leave. If you do so early enough, you might have time to make final repairs and cleaning that will save you damage charges.

If you abandon old furniture and/or other more quaint collectables in your apartment, you might be responsible for the costs of their removal. Check with your landlord to see if there is any problem with stacking the items in question in or near the dwelling’s dumpster, if there is one.

If the landlord has not contracted with a private garbage pick-up firm, presumably the city rubbish service is available. The city will pick up a wide variety of large items, excluding automobile parts, on its Thursday-Friday run, provided the items are properly packaged or bundled. Refrigerators and freezers must have their doors removed.

If neither of these options is available, you can contract directly with DeKalb County Disposal or other companies for special pick-up.

Other tried and true methods of establishing the condition of premises at the point of departure include taking pictures of areas of damage (a videotape would be even better)_include items you believe you are not responsible for as well as items you believe you might be held liable for.

Also request a reliable person whom you could later call as a witness to inspect the premises after you’ve cleaned it. Obviously, keep a copy of your room condition report, lease, canceled checks and other receipts of rent payments.

Depending on the agreement you have reached with your sublessees or the landlord, you should promptly transfer or terminate your utility service. Don’t assume that your landlord or the subsequent tenants will do this for you.

Be sure to leave your forwarding address with your landlord, requesting him or her to forward your security deposit to you per your instructions.

If you are moving out piecemeal, or intend on using the apartment over the summer even though you have removed most of your personal property, be sure to inform the landlord of your intentions. Otherwise, the landlord might take your absence and the paucity of furniture as evidence that you have abandoned the premises, and proceed to clean the apartment before the end of the lease period, charging you for the damage and/or throwing out the property which remains.

II. Subletting. Successful subletting involves good judgment, hard work, and an element of good luck. It is ordinarily of mutual benefit to the sublessor (the original tenant) and the sublessee that their agreement be set down in writing, and, where the lease specifies, approved by the landlord.

The landlord might charge a fee for his administrative costs, check the lease to see if this is permitted. Sublease forms are available in the Students’ Legal Assistance Office, as is a sheet of instructions for filling out the form.

Basic matters which the parties need to address include rent terms, posting of a security deposit, if any, transference of utilities into the name of the sublessees and use of property left by the sublessor for the use of the sublessee.

A copy of the original lease should be provided to the sublessee so that he or she will be aware of the rules and regulations he or she will be subject to during the sublease. Again, both parties should keep copies of the sublease, receipts for deposits, rents, etc.

III. Address changes. A myriad of problems can arise merely from failing to inform people you do business with or who have business with you, magazine publishers, courts of law, etc., that you have changed your address.

Under Illinois law, you have ten days to notify the Secretary of State’s office that you have changed your address from the one listed on your driver’s license. This is important because license plate and driver’s license renewal applications and notices of suspensions are sent to the address listed on your license.

The fact that you never received actual notice of suspension or license renewal because you moved is not a defense to violations of law you might have committed in these situations.

Have a grand summer!

Don Henderson

Lynn Richards

Students’ Legal Assistance