WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2002
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3
SUMMER EDITION kansan
Table of contents
Summer school survival guide ...1
Editor's column ...2
Spencer opens new exhibit ...5
Committee selected to appoint new baseball coach ...6
Hemenway named chairman ...6
Frisbee golf a cheap sport gaining popularity ...7
Big concerts fail to bring profits to local businesses ...8
Sandstone, state agencies work to improve drunk driving during summer season ...9
KAN Film Festival attracts KU students ...10
Businesses prepare for slower summer ...11
Program teaches leadership ...11
Lending a helping hand ...12-13
Kansas Union renovations delayed ...14
University disputes ruling, buys Ohio Street duplexes ...15
Homeless shelter stays open ...15
Student presents findings on HIV gene research ...16
News briefs ...17
Music reviews ...18-19
'Thoroughly Modern Millie' wins Toneys ...19
Kind of a drag ...20-21
Two All-Americans finsih college career ...22
Pitcher leads Royals to victory ...22
Summer sports offer little relief ...24
Red flags abound when dealing with leases
Jay Pilgreen Kansan staff writer
With leases ending throughout the summer, Michele Kessler, associate director for Legal Services for Students, recommends students take another look at their lease agreements.
Kessler said the most important issue now was an automatic renewal clause. The clause gives students a date they have to announce their intentions to not renew their lease. Kessler said it was usually 60 days before the end of the agreement. If tenants do not contact the landlord, they are responsible for another full year of rent, Kessler said.
Kessler also urged students make sure their security deposits weren't unfairly deducted from for damage that didn't actually exist. She said some landlords would
violate the landlord/tenant act, which protects renters from unlawful seizure of deposits, by not returning the entire deposit.
Kessler said sublessees should also watch out, because they could lose deposits for damage they didn't cause. She said the ideal situation was to form a new lease with the landlord, but that many landlords wouldn't agree to that.
"A lot of landors think: if I hold a hundred bucks, the students expect to not get it back anyway," Kessler said.
"Landlords want as many people on the hook as they can,"Kessler said.
She said an alternative was to make an agreement with subleasers, having them pay the original tenant a deposit, and having the tenant sign over their security deposit. She said that a signed written agreement between the two parties would
"You need to work it out with the person your subleasing from, or through the organization your subleasing from to make sure your only going to pay the security deposit portion from the time you move in to the time that you move out," Culver said.
Subleasers can unfairly lose deposits as well. Brian Culver, Wichita senior, said he had lost his deposit before and wished he had made arrangements prior to moving in.
problems.
Kessler said students who put down a deposit for an apartment should get a copy of the lease before they sign it. She also said students should ask what would happen to their deposit if they were to back out.
most leases in Lawrence are not negotiable after signing.
"If you plan to get a pet halfway through the year, you better check," Kessler said.
Kessler said roommates should make written agreements that cover rent, utilities and services like long distance. She said it would help if a roommate decided to leave or there were future problems.
Students can go to the Legal Services for Students office, located in the Burge Union, for advice or questions they might have. The Off Campus Living Recourse Center, earlier approved by Student Senate, is slated to open after the start of the fall semester. It will provide services such as landlord ratings and reviews of leases.
She said students should plan for the coming year before they sign the lease, as Contact Pilgreen at jnilgreen@kansan.com