What is a lease? Why do I need it?

When you want to rent a house or an apartment, you and the property’s landlord must agree upon and sign a contract. This contract is called a lease, and if it is written properly, it will include rules regarding property damage, who will be responsible for repairing those damages and maintenance expectations. It should also discuss utilities, the rental period, the rental amount, and any required deposits and fees. Leases for students can last for one month, one year or two years.

What do you mean by “written properly?” What can be wrong?

Brian Kisielewski ’06, J.D., who practices in landlord-tenant court in Philadelphia, said although many landlords use a standard template for their leases, some can try to hide illegal rules and charges into their documents.

“Most rental leases are fairly boilerplate and standard, but you want to make sure that there’s nothing that’s going to allow for unfair rental practices, and there’s a laundry list of things that landlords can do that fall into that category,” Kisielewski said.

Why would landlords add these unfair rules?

Kisielewski explained that there are two main reasons landlords might add these rules: money and the power to evict.

“It’s made there so that they can either bake in a fine or they allow that to be [you] breaching a clause in the contract,” Kisielewski said. “And so it’s not for mispaid rent. It’s not because of anything else, but it was a breach of the contract that they’re going to try to evict you [for] that.”

What should I do if I sign an unfair lease?

Kisielewski stressed the most important thing is to talk to your landlord in writing so that you have a record of the communication.

“Your first step is you always have to communicate with your landlord,” Kisielewski said. “Anytime you have an issue, anytime there’s plumbing issues, if there’s a window broken, you have to communicate.”

After that communication takes place, then you can go to court. You will have the necessary evidence showing you were wronged and tried to solve the issue.

When I tried to sign a lease, the landlord wanted a cosigner. What is that?

Oftentimes, landlords want a tenant who they know will be able to pay rent on time for the duration of the lease. As a result, they largely base their decision to rent to an individual based on their credit score or whether or not they have a full-time job. However, many students do not have a full- time job and have not accrued enough of a credit history to have a credit score.

In this situation, the landlord will ask for someone who meets those requirements, often a parent or guardian, to sign along with the person who will live on the property. If the tenant then does not pay rent, the landlord can pursue both the tenant and the cosigner in court to get the money they are owed.

What if my landlord tries to raise my rent and I can’t pay anymore?

While it is illegal for landlords to raise rent while a lease is still in effect, they can increase the price a reasonable amount after the lease expires. However, what constitutes a “reasonable” increase is largely situational.

Kisielewski warns that these price increases are the main danger of a month-long lease since many students will be looking for a place to stay for the entire school year.

“After a period of time, if the landlord gets annoyed with [the tenant] or they want to increase the rent, they can do that with a lot more impunity than they would if it had been a [longer] lease,” Kisielewski said.