• Please be aware that when the early bird gets the worm, sometimes the worm turns out to be a rattlesnake.
• Much of the best rental housing property will remain reasonably available throughout the winter semester.

The take-it-or-leave-it lease remains a popular approach with some landlords.

• In most instances, landlords who do not allow any modifications or mutually agreed upon changes in the lease are also the landlords who tend to have the most anti-tenant leases.
• There is no need in this rental market ever to sign a take-it-or-leave-it lease.
• You can always find an adequate substitute property.

A twist on the take-it-or-leave-it lease is the requirement that you put a cash deposit on the lease to "hold" the property.

• NEVER put down a deposit to hold property unless you are prepared to forfeit the entire deposit without grumbling.
• The "holding" deposit is designed to coerce you into signing the lease and once given, you have forfeited all of your negotiating power.
• Most landlords don't require "holding" deposits and therefore you can easily avoid those who do.

It is imperative that you be able to modify your lease before you sign it because many, if not most, leases fail to adequately protect tenant rights in two very important areas.

1. Privacy is an absolute necessity for most tenants, yet we still find landlords who walk into apartments without notice at any time of the day.

• The law provides for very little protection of tenant privacy interests.
• However, the lease can contractually insure your right not to be invaded by the landlord or his/her agents.
• Insist on a notice provision before landlord entry, when the unit may be shown to other prospective tenants, and,
• most importantly, penalties for failure to honor tenant privacy.

2. The general duty of the landlord to maintain and repair tenant property is an ideal, which in many instances is not achieved in reality.

• Less than optimum building code enforcement is prevalent in Champaign-Urbana and is virtually nonexistent in most of the remainder of Champaign County.
• A written, contractually enforceable covenant of repair should be negotiated into your lease if it is not present.
• A landlord who won't agree in writing to make necessary repairs is a landlord who won't make repairs. Don't accept a verbal promise to repair.

Several landlords are now providing telephone service through Centrex and other private companies. It is anticipated that this type of telephone service will be found in more and more leases in the future. This service may be an excellent financial deal for tenants, however, since it is new to this rental market some precautions are wise.

• Be aware that this is not a free service and the telephone service leases state that the landlord can give 30 days notice and discontinue services.
• The tenant will then get stuck with having to pay new hookup fees, etc., to get service from another telephone company.
• This could be a risky and expensive proposition. An amendment requiring the landlord to reimburse for any hookup costs if the landlord's telephone service is canceled should be considered by tenants who contemplate signing a lease that provides "telephone service."
• You must be given the right in most cases to select your local telephone service.

Reading over your lease with a fine-tooth comb with a trained advocate at the Tenant Union or Student Legal Service before signing the lease is the very best apartment hunting advice I can provide. The staff will point out that if you want parking make sure this is provided in your lease; don't assume a model is the same as the apartment you are planning to rent; means of modifying attorney's fees clauses and confessions of judgment clauses that always work to your disadvantage can be suggested.

In today's market it is never wise to sign a lease without the help of a professional trained to deal with tenant issues. Please feel free to use these services that you are paying for.

By: Thomas E. Betz Staff Attorney