LOOK BEFORE YOU LEASE

When signing a lease, do not agree if you feel uncomfortable with any aspect of the agreement. Ask for an attorney in Student Legal Aid to review the agreement before signing. Some examples of unreasonable conditions are listed below.

Unreasonable Conditions

Should any payment be as much as fifteen (15) days late, then tenant agrees to vacate immediately (within 24 hours) at the request of the lessor and forfeits all deposits made. Additionally, lessee agrees to pay the amount of this contract in full, minus any rent the lessor may receive frin sub-leasing this apartment for the period of this lease.

This clause really means:

If my rent is 15 days late, I'll move out immediately without being taken to court. I'll also give up my deposit and I'll pay you rent for the remainder of the lease except for any time you rent my apartment to someone else. This is an illegal unreasonable clause.Even though you may have signed a lease saying you will move out voluntarily, you are not required to do so. Under West Virginia law, if you refuse to move, the lessor must go to court and get an order requiring you to leave (see "Eviction" section). If he/she succeeds in getting the court to make you move, he/she cannot charge you rent for the time after you leave.

On the other hand, many lease clauses are legal. Get legal assistance. If you sign the lease, you are bound by those clauses and the court will make you do what they require.

For example:

WITNESSETH, that the lessor, for and in consideration of the rental and the covenants herein contained does hereby lease to the tenant the aforesaid apartment, for the term of approximately 9 months, commencing on approximately the 1st day of September, 1995, at the rent of $2400.00 for both school terms payable $1200.00 on or before July 1, 1995 and $1200.00 on or before the 1st of November, 1995.

Which really means:

I'm renting the apartment for two semesters. I'll pay the whole 9 months rent, which is $2400.00 in two installments of $1200.00 each. I'll pay for the fall semester on July 1, even before I move in, and I'll have paid for the whole school year by November 1, even though I will have lived there only 2 months.

If I want to break my lease or sublet and move out in the middle of the year, the lessor will already have all my rent through May, which I may need for another apartment. I'll have to try to get the money back from the lessor or from the new tenant who takes my place, which could be difficult. At the very least, it's a hassle that people who pay by the month don't have.

As you can see, entering into a lease is complicated. In some cases, you are bound by what you agree to and in other cases the lease clause may be illegal and therefore not enforceable. It is therefore very important that you seek legal assistance before you sign.

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