Conflict With a Roommate, Landlord or Coworker?

 The Center for Student Legal Services offers mediation services to help students resolve disputes in a friendly and confidential environment.

Mediation is an informal process during which an impartial third party, called a medi­ator, helps disputing individuals find a mutually acceptable agreement. The goal of mediation is to clarify misunderstandings and to arrive at a solution to which all parties can agree. A mediator is not a judge and does not impose a decision. Instead, the mediator helps those involved in the dispute explain their concerns, understand important issues and arrive at a shared solution.

The Center for Student Legal Services can mediate a wide range of conflicts including landlord/tenant issues, roommate disputes, employer/ employee conflicts, neighbor and community disagreements and other civil matters.

There are many benefits to mediation, including confidentiality and freedom to generate mutually agreeable solutions. Additionally, mediation can promote healthier relation­ships through improved communication and shared problem solving. Mediation is entirely voluntary and many mediation sessions can yield results in 1-2 hours.

 The cost of mediation is already included in the $8 dollar quarterly fee assessed to Ohio University students. Students who have paid the $8 CSLS fee will not pay anything for mediation services, regardless of the length or number of sessions. This makes mediation far more affordable than taking a dispute to court, which can cost hundreds of dollars in court fees. Our trained mediators have flexible hours to help work around your schedule.

For more information about CSLS Mediation Services, or to make an appointment, contact us. 

Preparing Your Off-Campus Housing for Winter Break

For many Ohio University students, the only thing on their minds after completing that last final exam in Fall Quarter is to get out of Athens for a much-needed Winter Break.  The Center for Student Legal Services would like to take this opportunity to remind students who intend to vacate their rental property for long periods of time over the Winter Break of the need to make preparations before their departure.

Temperature Control:  Students should read the terms of their lease for any specific provisions regarding temperature control in the winter months and be sure to comply with the lease.  In the absence of a specific lease provision, students should set the thermostat at a temperature that will be sure to keep the pipes from freezing.  Note: This temperature will vary depending on the condition of your rental property and the temperature outside.  We recommend setting the thermostat on at least 60 degrees to ensure that pipes do not freeze, however, this temperature could be lower for a newer, well insulated rental unit.  Students should also keep in mind that long absences and low temperatures can lead to musty or moldy conditions.

Notice to Landlord:  Students should read the terms of their lease and determine if they are required to give notice to their landlord of an extended absence.  We recommend that all students notify their landlord in writing of their intention to be absent from their rental property over the Winter Break and indicate the time period, their home address and telephone number.  In addition, we recommend that students include in this notice any problems with the property that might make temperature control more difficult, such as a broken window, etc. and request the landlord to check on their property if weather conditions become severe.

Cleaning Considerations:  A tenant is required to keep their dwelling unit safe and sanitary pursuant to Ohio law.  Students should be sure to dispose of all garbage and properly store remaining food items before vacating their rental unit in order to deter insects and rodents.

Safety Precautions:  An empty home for an extended period of time can increase the risk of criminal activity.  We encourage students to remove valuable items from their rental properties.  In addition, we encourage students to temporarily stop their mail and consider putting a few lights in the home on timers in order to give the appearance that the home is occupied to deter criminal activity.

Melissa Greenlee, Staff Attorney

Tags: frozen pipes, landlord, off-campus housing, ohio university housing, temperature control, winter break

What to Do When the Bedbugs Really Do Bite

When renting a house or apartment, Ohio law clearly states that the landlord is responsible for keeping the dwelling in a safe and sanitary condition. Whether this obligation extends to the extermination of insects and pests is often a matter of debate between landlords and tenants. Often, landlords believe that it is the responsibility of the tenant to absorb the costs associated with pest extermination because they assert that the tenant has created the condition that lead to the infestation.

There are instances where extermination costs are properly shifted to the tenant. One obvious circumstance is a flea infestation that was brought into the dwelling by a pet owned by the tenant. Under that scenario, liability for the costs of extermination would likely be shifted to the tenant. However, not all circumstances are that obvious.

Who is liable for the cost of extermination related to bed bugs is an issue receiving a great deal of attention in certain cities because bed bug infestation has increased greatly in the United States in the past ten years. Although these blood-thirsty pests have been residents of this country since the early 17th century, their recent population boom has received a lot of media attention and created anxiety for many.
Bed bugs are parasites that feed primarily on human blood at night. They are excellent travelers and move easily from one place to another on luggage, used furniture, shoes, and clothes. Bed bugs can invest trains, busses, airplanes, and ships. They are most frequently found in places with a high occupancy turnover such as hotels, hostels, dormitories, apartment complexes, and movie theatres.

Due to their small size and nocturnal nature, bed bugs often go undetected for a long period of time. Most people become aware of their presence after developing a rash from being bitten, but only about 30 percent of the population develops the itchy welts associated with bed bug bites. Because the presence of bed bugs is not always apparent, the question of when they arrived in a dwelling and therefore who is responsible for the costs of eradicating them can arise between a landlord and tenant.

The most obvious place to find evidence of a bed bug infestation is in the bedroom. By pulling back the bed linens and inspecting the seams of the bedding you are likely to uncover the bugs themselves or dark brownish or black spots, which are the tell-tale fecal matter of the bed bug. Bed bugs like to hide so you are not likely to find them in out in the open; look in the cracks and crevices of bedroom furniture, and even behind picture frames.

If you are renting an apartment and suspect that you have a bed bug infestation, you should immediately make a written request for inspection and extermination. Extermination of bed bugs must be done by a licensed exterminator. If you live in a multi-unit dwelling, it is advised that apartments adjacent to the infested unit be exterminated as well. Bed bugs are excellent travelers and it is highly likely that they have spread out or will do so when extermination begins.

If the landlord refuses to pay for a professional extermination or attempts to charge you for this cost, seek assistance from us.

Kristine Hayes, former Staff Attorney

Breaking a Lease

Many students are eager to move out on their own:  they make plans early in the academic year for the next school year to rent a house or apartment with friends from home or friends that they have made here at Ohio University.  Unfortunately, many events can arise that leave students wondering if they have made a good choice with respect to who they will be living with. This leaves students wondering if they can validly break their lease because of circumstances relating to their roommates. 

The short answer is no, a lease is a contract between the tenants and the landlord and disagreements between tenants do not excuse the tenants’ obligations under this contract.  Although the landlord is not required to get involved in these situations, and is usually not willing to, it could be helpful to advise the landlord of tenant-related concerns to see if they are willing to negotiate with the tenants to release one or all of them from the lease or come up with other solutions to remedy the problem.    

Another way that tenants find relief from their lease obligations is to locate a new renter who is willing and able to assume their lease obligations.  Finding a new renter to take over the tenant’s obligations can be done as an assignment or as a sublet.  If the tenant’s lease has not yet begun, most landlords are willing to accept the new renter through an assignment.  An assignment completely removes the old tenant from the lease in exchange for the new renter.  This is the best solution for the original tenant as it extinguishes all responsibility under the lease agreement.  If the lease has already begun, landlords are less willing to accept this arrangement and may insist on adding the new tenant through a sublease.  A sublease creates a contractual relationship between the new tenant and the old tenant.  The original tenant remains liable to the landlord under the lease and will be held responsible for the original lease terms by the landlord if the subleasor fails to fulfill his/her obligations.  Landlords cannot unreasonably deny a tenant’s request to sublet their lease. 

If the tenants are unable to work out a solution through the assistance of the landlord or by finding a replacement renter, they need to think seriously about the consequences of breaking their lease without a valid reason for doing so.  When tenants fail to honor the terms of their lease agreements through no fault of the landlord, they can be held liable for rent due under the lease term until a replacement tenant is found and the landlord’s out-of-pocket expenses related to re-renting the property.  Under these circumstances, the tenant or tenants are likely to be sued by the landlord in court or be subjected to collections efforts, and will probably suffer adverse consequences to their credit history.

Of course, the best solution is to work things out among the tenants.  If you have signed a lease and are having difficulty with those obligations, you should immediately contact the Center for Student Legal Services for advice and assistance in dealing with this issue. 

Kristine Hayes, former Staff Attorney

Tags: breaking a lease, landlord, lease, roommate problems, subleasing