Shopping for Off-Campus Housing
Where can I find off-campus housing?
Although The Center for Student Legal Services cannot assist students with the search for off-campus housing, the following resources are available for your housing search:
- Newspaper advertisements, such as Athens News Classifieds and The Post Classifieds
- Craigslist
- Ohio University Office of Off-Campus Living Housing Listing Service
- Athens Hub
- Google search – search for the name of the rental company or landlord on Google, and if they have a Place Page, check it out to see what kind of ratings current and former tenants gave them.
Do your homework!
- Talk to the current and former tenants. This is your best source of information to find out detailed information about the rental property and the landlord. Find out the average cost for utility bills, how quickly the landlord responds when repairs are needed, and whether or not the tenants had difficulty getting back their security deposits.
- Contact the Athens City Code Enforcement Office at 592-3306 or go to their office at 28 Curran Street. Obtain copies of any code violation reports over the past few years related to your prospective rental property. Beware if there are lots of violations! Find out the occupancy limit for the rental property (how many people are legally permitted to live in the rental property).
Let our attorneys review your rental agreement BEFORE you sign it!
- Once you have made a decision about where you want to live, ask your landlord for a copy of your lease before you sign it.
- Schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys to review your rental or lease agreement BEFORE you sign it.
- We can help you understand the legal contract you are about to sign and you can make an informed decision about whether or not you want to sign it.
