Living

Know the area around your housing BEFORE you sign your lease

• Does the area seem safe to you?
• Is there adequate lighting around your housing and any areas that you will be parking in?
• Any signs of property damage to vehicles or buildings in the area?

Recommendation:  Go into the area around the potential housing with a friend at night to look for safety concerns: excessive foot traffic, dimly lit/no lighting or numerous unoccupied buildings

Know your rights to a safe apartment/house

• You are entitled to have your apartment/house locks rekeyed within 7 days of move-in if the landlord cannot show that they already rekeyed the locks after the prior tenant moved out.
• Landlords must provide locking latches on all windows and sliding doors.
• Landlords must provide a keyless bolting device and door viewer on each external door.
• Landlords must provide a keyed deadbolt or doorknob lock on the door primarily used for accessing the unit or house.

Know what your Landlord DOES NOT have to do

• Landlords have no requirement to provide security or specific security measures not specified in the lease
  • They do have to provide, and maintain in good working order, any security measures they contracted to provide (READ YOUR LEASE)
• Landlords do not warranty your housing area to be crime-free. A criminal act generally does not give you a right to break your lease.
• Landlords are not generally responsible for damage to or property stolen from your housing or vehicle, unless they knew or should have known a crime would occur.

Recommendation:  If there are security features you are relying on to select your housing, make sure the security feature is mentioned as being provided in the lease or attached addendums.  Also verify how often the landlord changes the access codes to controlled access points.

Know who to call

• If your landlord provides on-site security, know the number to call to contact them.
• Know the number to call in the event of a premises emergency (water leak, loss of power, structure failure). Is there a number for evening management or maintenance?
• When in doubt, call 911.

Know your neighbors

• After you move in, get to know who is living around you in nearby apartments or housing units.
• Get familiar with who you can expect to see around your housing so you can be aware of people who you would not expect to be around your housing.
• If you see someone who doesn’t belong near your housing, call and report it. Let you landlord or property manager know, let security know and if you are concerned about your safety, call 911.

Know your roommates

• Make sure you feel safe and comfortable with your roommates if you all are signing a lease together—Be aware of concerns regarding criminal activity/violent behavior, substance misuse and/or association with inappropriate/undesirable peers.
• If you are renting one room in a multi-room structure, verify with your landlord whether they are doing background checks. Seek to add limits to your lease regarding potential roommates: age, gender, pets, etc.
• The general rule is that disputes with Roommates do not give you the right to break your lease.
  • HOWEVER, if you are the victim of family violence, you can break your lease to move out if you either obtain a protective order/temporary injunction against your roommate or receive a counseling letter from a licensed health care provider or mental health services provider instructing that you need to be separated from your roommate due to documented violence.
  • Family violence DOES NOT REQUIRE a dating relationship. Family violence includes sharing a dwelling regardless of the relationship.

Know your resources

• If you have questions about your lease or your rights, make an appointment with Student Legal Services. We provide free legal advice to address your situation.
• If you need a counselor, contact CAPS and schedule a counseling session to discuss your situation and needs.
• If you are at a loss on what to do, call anyone in TWU Student Life. We will strive to put you in contact with someone who can help.