The apartment shopping season is about to begin. One year before actually moving in, UW-Madison students will select their roommates and venture house-to-house looking for places to live next fall.
Though some students will be new to the renting game while others will have done it every year for the past three years, apartment-renting students all share one thing: consumer-friendly rights under Madison law.
Madison ordinances provide more controls on landlords and better remedies for consumers than Fitchburg, Monona or other outlying areas, according to Marsha Mansfield, assistant professor in landlord and tenant law.
But many student renters are unaware of what these specific rights are or that they even have them, according to Alex George, Tenant Resource Center campus outreach coordinator.
Wisconsin law requires landlords to tell tenants of any housing or building code violations before they move in.
Additionally, in Madison, tenants can qualify for rent abatement to receive a percentage off each month's rent if a landlord does not fix certain problems like poor water pressure, wall damage or windows without screens, George said.
Tenants should first write to their landlords about problems, then contact the building inspector if the landlord does not fix it, Mansfield said. If the landlord ignores inspector repair orders, the tenant can qualify for abatement under Madison ordinance.
In Madison, landlords must return full security deposits to their tenants within 21 days after the lease ends or else provide estimates, receipts and a specific list of reasons for withholding it, Mansfield said.
Also, only a very specific list of things can be taken off the deposit, George added.
'It has to be beyond 'normal wear and tear,'' he said. 'If there are three huge stains in the carpet, chances are you're going to be responsible for paying for some of it.' City ordinance also requires that tenants be able to keep the apartment at 67 degrees, George said.
With heating prices expected to rise this winter, some landlords have switched to set pricing with Madison Gas and Electric for the year.
'It's kind of a crap shoot in a sense because gas prices could be fine,' said Joanna Rouse, Manager of Rouse Management, 'or they could be substantially higher, in which case we're locked into that particular rate per term, which could be very beneficial.'
The most important thing is that tenants read their lease before signing it, since there is no way to break it once it is signed, George said.
'I don't know if it's just [people] are so excited to finally move out of the dorms or move away from their parents,' George added. 'But once you sign the lease, unless it's something that goes against the law, there's nothing you can do. You have to abide by it.'
