COLUMN: Protect yourself from your landlord

Welcome to USU. Let me introduce myself. My name is Bruce Ward. I’m a prosecuting attorney with the Cache County Attorney’s Office. I’ve been a prosecutor now for thirteen years: four in Alaska and nine here in Logan. I also work with ASUSU providing legal guidance to students here on campus. If you have a legal problem or question, set up an appointment and let’s talk.

Now that you have figured out where all you classes are, purchased all your text books, and settled into something of aroutine, I want you to shift focus. Think about the end of the school year. Next may you are going to check out of your apartment and you will want to get your deposit back. You want, if at all possible, to avoid a confrontation with your landlord or the manager of you place.

You’re asking yourself, “what’s the big deal?” Why is the ASUSU attorney worried about this? The simple fact of the matter is, somewhere around seventy percent of all the legal questions (problems) brough to me by students concerned with landlord-tenant relations, which most frequently involve disputes over the return of the security deposit and what the renter’s rights are.

I’m telling you, if you will spend about two or three hours, now, you will be able to avoid a lot of heartburn later. (Word to the wise-when you’re in the middle of final exams, there is nothing more distracting than fighting with your landlord.) So take this legal advice and act now, prevent the heartburn, get through spring semester’s final exams undistracted, and get your deposit back (assuming you didn’t cause any damage).

Here’s how to protect yourself. First procure a camera. If you have a digital or SLR camera, great. If not, go to Wal-Mart and pick up a disposable camera which will cost you about $7. (Don’t use a cell phone camera-the resolution generally isn’t good enough for what you will need.)

Next, take the check-in inventory sheet provided by your landlord along with the camera and walk through your apartment. You will write down everything you see that is not 100 percent perfect. Chipped paint, write it down. Cracked light switch cover, make a note. As you make your notes, take a photo of the damage. You will need to go through the entire interior, wall by wall, door frame by door frame, window by window, and don’t forget the floor or the appliances. Yes, that chip in the finish, even though it looks older than you are, needs to be written down. You will also need to examine the exterior of your dwelling. Carefully describe what you find and document it with a photograph.

Third, you will get a file folder where you will keep a copy of the lease agreement you read before signing it. You will copy the inventory sheet and keep a copy of it in the folder. You will develop the photographs (get double prints), and keep both sets in the folder. Now, you’re set. You’ve spent no more than two hours guaranteeing you will win any fight over damage, alleged by your landlord, which you did not cause. Pretty simple, but you, until now were not thinking about it.

Lastly, there is a postscript to protecting yourself from a potentially unscrupulous landlord. If you need work done by the owner of the property from whom you are renting, don’t just call the landlord of his maintenance person. Write down the exact nature of the problem, put a copy of your written request in your file folder (it would be really helpful to take a photo and keep a copy in your file), and send the original to the necessary party, requesting the repair.

Now, when it comes time to check out of your apartment, you have complete documentation of every pre-existing condition, all your requests for repairs, and photos of the problems. Should you have a landlord who tries to keep all, or part, of your security deposit you will be prepared to file a small claims action in the Logan Municipal Court and prevail. In future column, we’ll discuss more about the process of filing a small claims action.