The Carolina Student’s Guide to the Law: Housing Edition
Attorney Tristan Routh shares his tips for staying on the right side of the law while renting a house or apartment in Chapel Hill. Source: My Living Spree
As the semester draws to a close, it is important that Carolina students understand the law regarding the termination of their leases this semester and moving in next year. Tristan Routh is a Staff Attorney at Carolina Student Legal Services (CSLS), where he aids the UNC student community in dealing with landlord-tenant cases and litigation. The two major areas of rental disputes he sees are those relating to security deposits and rate abatement, and he has a plethora of advice to offer students on the topics.
A security deposit is an upfront fee paid to a landlord which is meant to cover any damages or other costs incurred by the landlord due to the actions of a tenant during their stay. If the tenant leaves the dwelling in a good enough condition, they will receive their security deposit back in full. If not, the landlord is entitled to use enough of the security deposit as is necessary to repair the damages or cover other fees. Most cases involving security deposit disputes deal with a discrepancy between what the landlord is withholding from the deposit refund and what the tenant believes is fair. In handling these cases, Routh is usually fighting to reduce the amount of the deposit taken by the landlord. He described numerous legal policies that renters in Chapel Hill should know about, many of which are outlined in the NC Tenant Security Deposit Act.
When moving in, Routh advises tenants to go through their home or apartment with a checklist in order to note any pre-existing damages. “Some landlords will give you a checklist to fill out, but even if they don’t, make your own checklist and go through room by room,” Routh said. These notes should include damages as small as a scratch on the wall or a stain on a carpet, and Routh advises students to take a picture of every instance of damage in the dwelling. “That way if your landlord tries to charge you for damage that was pre-existing, you have evidence to refute that,” Routh said. He advises students to send their landlord a copy of the checklist they create.
Within 30 days of the lease term beginning, the landlord must relay to the tenant the name and address of the bank where their security deposit is being held in trust. This is important, because a landlord is not allowed to keep a security deposit in their personal checking or savings account. “If the landlord does not give you the name and address of the bank within 30 days of the lease beginning, then that voids their right to withhold any of the deposit,” Routh says. This is why he recommends that students do not remind their landlord to provide them with the bank details within the 30 day window, as this can be used in court in the event that the landlord withholds the security deposit.
Within 30 days of the lease term ending, the landlord must send a “written, itemized accounting of any damages they are withholding from the deposit as well as the remainder of the deposit,” according to Routh. He advises students not to cash the partial security deposit check if they plan to dispute the amount that was withheld from their refund, as this could forfeit their right to contest the damages.
Before moving out, Routh tells students to do a “move-out checklist” after cleaning their house or apartment thoroughly. This cleaning can be done by the tenant or professionally, depending on the terms of the rental agreement. Similar to the move-in checklist, students need to take pictures to support their move-out checklist. This protects them from a false damage claim.
The other type of case that Routh sees often are those involving rate abatement. A landlord has a duty to “provide fit premises” according to the Residential Rental Agreements Article of the NC General Statutes. If a landlord fails to maintain their rental property, then the tenant has the right to request a rate abatement, or lower rent payment, due to the lower value of the property. In describing rate abatements, Routh said, “Let’s say you go a month during the summer without HVAC, then that house, in theory, is worth less in rental value than it would be if it had a working HVAC system. The measure of the reduction in fair rental value of the premises is what we call abatement.” Common examples of problems arising from a landlord’s neglect include broken AC units, mold, and roach infestations.
Oftentimes, one “nasty email or letter” from Routh is enough to spur a landlord to fix the issue and grant the tenant abatement. However, it is always possible that these issues will have to be settled in court. Because of that, there are things that students should know in order to protect themselves if the situation escalates. For example, a tenant must submit repair requests to their landlord in writing unless the issue is an emergency. “I always recommend to folks that unless it’s a true emergency, put it in writing, even a text message, but an email is better. Screenshot that [text or email] and keep it for your records. Essentially, just keep a written record of you putting the landlord on notice about property maintenance,” Routh said. This allows renters to provide evidence in court in the event that they try to request an abatement.
Students should not be afraid to reach out to Carolina Student Legal Services to help them attain abatement. Routh stresses that “tenants are very much within their rights to go after landlords for these kinds of things. Landlords cannot retaliate legally against a tenant for exercising their rights.” Furthermore, he says that in his experience representing countless students in landlord-tenant disputes, he has never seen a blatant instance of retaliation from a landlord.
In terms of other areas of rental disputes, Routh advises students not to sublease their property without their landlord’s permission. Oftentimes subleasing terms are defined in the original leasing agreement, which CSLS attorneys can review with students. Routh can also draft a subleasing agreement for students.
Finally, Routh says that students should know about over-occupancy violations. According to the Chapel Hill Code of Ordinances, it is illegal to have four unrelated people living together in a house. The Town has “really stepped up enforcement on this,” Routh said. Although students should generally be fine even if they are in violation of over-occupancy, it can be troublesome if the tenants are both in violation of this ordinance and need to report their landlord to the Town of Chapel Hill for a building or housing code infraction. In this case, the Town government is within its right to require the landlord to evict people if after surveying the house the inspector notices that they are in violation of over-occupancy.
For questions about the laws discussed in this article, readers are encouraged to reach out to Carolina Student Legal Services. Although located on campus, the firm does not work for UNC. Their services are available at no cost to Carolina students, as a small portion of student fees go toward funding the firm. Routh and his colleagues have confidentially aided countless students with legal troubles, and they continue to be one of the most effective resources that UNC students have at their disposal for dealing with the law.