Renting an apartment can be tricky, especially when it comes to dealing with the landlord and other tenants about renting issues.

Ordinance violations

“We have an ordinance that has to do with landlord-tenant regulations,” said DeKalb City Clerk Donna Johnson.

The ordinance can be found in Chapter 10 in the Municipal Code, which is located on the City of DeKalb’s Web site.

“The city doesn’t take a role in getting in between a landlord and tenant and being the arbitrator,” Johnson said.

Although, if tenants find that a landlord is in violation of the ordinance, they can file a complaint with the city regarding the issue. If there is a case, the city can go after the landlord for not obeying the ordinance, Johnson said.

“The first thing anyone needs to know, especially students, is to read the lease,” Johnson said. “Don’t sign a lease that you did not read or understand.”

A landlord is required to give a copy of the lease to the tenants and to make The DeKalb’s Tenant Handbook readily available to the tenants, Johnson said.

Johnson advised tenants to bring other types of problems to an attorney or Students’ Legal Assistance and recommends to have all paperwork together when they do.

Maintenance violations

When tenants have maintenance problems they have addressed with their landlord(s), they can contact the code of enforcement division department in community development, said Ernie Pinne, chief property maintenance inspector of DeKalb.

Pinne recommends that these problems be documented and a copy given to the landlord. The document should be CCed to the City of DeKalb Code Enforcement.

The problems can involve both the interior and exterior of the building.

Examples include missing hand rails, doors that don’t close properly, broken stairs, broken windows, missing screens, etc.

The waiting time before contacting the city depends on how long the repair takes and how long the landlord gives to have it fixed, Pinne said.

“It depends on how simple the fix is or complicated,” Pinne said. “If they have any questions about the process, I suggest that they call.”

Tenant-Tenant problems

By co-signing a lease, the obligation is shared by tenants, though each tenant still has individual responsibility, said Donald Henderson, director/attorney at law in Students’ Legal Assistance.

Henderson recommends that tenants consider a written roommate agreement.

Tenant agreement contracts are available in the Students’ Legal Assistance office or online.

“Without a written contract, the court will infer that the parties will agree to pay the rent,” Henderson said.

If one tenant has left and stopped paying rent and the remaining tenants have to pick up the remaining rent, they have a legal claim or cause of action to sue the tenant who breached contract, which is the basis for a lawsuit, said Henderson.

“Breaking a lease”

Breaking a lease, which is not a legal term, means terminating the lease by mutual agreement, Henderson said. It usually is initiated by the tenant and negotiated by the landlord.

Henderson never advises students to stop paying rent altogether.

“A lot of people do things and are not aware of the legal consequences of the decisions that they are making,” Henderson said. “One of our goals are to meet with students before they make important decisions that make these legal consequences.”

We will review leases if needed, to help students know what they are getting into, Henderson said.

Resources for lease issues

CityofDeKalb.com

– Municipal Code Chapter 10

– DeKalb Tenant Handbook

Students’ Legal Assistance

– Roommate Survival Guide

– “Know Your Rights When You Rent” handout