When it comes to signing a lease agreement, it is vital to read every line very thoroughly. In fact, this applies to any type of legal documents. However, students aren’t likely to know the jargon in the agreement or even seek legal advice from lawyers because they don’t have time: they are already busy with classes, exams, and various activities.
While we were in search of housing in West Campus, we realized that almost every property enforced 12-month lease. On top of this, most leases would not start on August 1st but often during mid-August. Surprisingly, most do not prorate the August rent, which means they’d be paying for 12 months worth while living only 11.5 months. Things get more complicated when they don’t stay over the summer. In this case, breaking the lease could end up very costly. Therefore, students are forced to sublet or relet the unit with a “small” fee, which can range from $300 and more. They even lower the rent to outcompete the over-flooded sublease market. Even if they manage to find someone over the summer (and that’s a big if), they are rarely able to recoup their original rent.
