Inventory and Maintenance
Inventory/Damage Checklist
When you first move into your apartment, your landlord is required to provide you with an Inventory Checklist. If your landlord doesn't provide one, ask for one or pick up one yourself at the Housing Office. The Inventory Checklist is essential for determining which damages existed before your lease so it is important that you complete and return it within seven days after you move in. Fill it out in detail, noting any scratches, chips, holes, cracks, and tears you find on any surface, including furnishings. Attach an extra piece of paper, if necessary, forward the original to the landlord, and save a copy for yourself. Your landlord will use your Inventory Checklist after you move out in order to determine what, if any, deductions to make from your security deposit for damages caused by you or your roommates. If you have roommates, it is best that each person keeps a copy in their records, along with a copy of the lease and the addendum (if one is used). Important note: The Inventory Checklist does not serve as a maintenance request.
Maintenance/Work Order Request
Your landlord might have promised that specific repairs or improvements would be made prior to your move in date. If you move in and find that these have not been done or if you find other items that need servicing, contact your landlord. Clarify with the landlord what steps you need to take to submit a work order request. He/she might respond personally or direct you to a maintenance service if you live in a larger apartment complex. A written request usually isn't required but it is important that you keep a written log of any contact you have with your landlord in case you have difficulty getting service and need a record of your attempts. 
Lease Assignment and Subletting
Assignment
Assignment is when a new tenant substitutes for the original tenant for the rest of the lease period. This involves creating a new lease with the landlord and the new tenant. (The original tenant should have the landlord sign a lease cancellation letter.) Assignments are better for the original tenant, but most landlords will expect that tenants find a sub tenant.
Subletting
When tenants
must leave a unit prior to the end of the lease, most of them attempt
to reduce their loss by subletting;
that is, they rent their unit to yet another tenant.
Generally, tenants
must have their landlord's
written consent approving the sub tenants
and the arrangements, but Michigan law says that this approval may not
be unreasonably withheld. The original tenant
remains on the original lease, and forms a contractual agreement (that
must agree with the original lease) with a sub- tenant,
or new tenant.
The original tenant
is still ultimately responsible if the sub- tenant
damages the apartment or misses a payment. For this reason, subletting
is risky because the original tenant,
in effect, becomes a landlord.
Make sure your sub tenant
has a copy of the original lease so they know all the terms of your
agreement with your landlord.
Tenants
who wish to find spring-summer sub tenants
are usually able to do so if they have a decent place,
advertise early, and are willing to discount the rent. Since so
many places are available during the summer months, tenants
usually get between 50-80% from sub tenants
and make up the difference to the landlord
themselves. "Fall only" sub tenants
are usually easy to find; "winter only" sub tenants
are difficult to find. The Housing Information Office is the central
source of subleasing related resources. We provide information on available
spring/summer subleases (free to
advertise for current students), sublease forms, inventory
checklists, written guidelines, and advice. University of Michigan students
can post sublet
ads on this web site on the Tenants
Advertising page. A UM email account is required.
Landlord-Tenant Rights and Duties
A complete description of rights and duties of tenants and landlords is too monumental for this introduction to off-campus housing. Briefly summarized below is basic information to give you an overview of some of the most important issues in rental housing. For more information about your rights and duties, refer to the booklet "Rights and Duties of Tenants" which should be provided by the landlord when the lease is signed, and is also available on the General Information section of this website.
It is illegal under federal, state, and/or local law for a landlord to refuse to rent to you because of race, religion, disability, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status, student status, source of income, or because you have children. Application of laws may differ in some respects in owner-occupied dwellings. The landlord still has the right to screen all tenants as to individual responsibility and to select the one most suitable for the unit, as long as all tenants are screened equally. You have recourse if you are concerned that you may have been discriminated against during your search for housing. The City of Ann Arbor Human Rights Office conducts investigations and hearings where there are complaints about off-campus housing discrimination. The Fair Housing Center of Washtenaw County investigates, advises, advocates, conciliates, and refers attorneys for il legal housing discrimination. The Housing Information Office will suspend or terminate the registration status of any rental landlord/agent who discriminates. Further, the Housing Information Office reserves the right to act on the registration status of rental landlords/agents where a pattern of concern based on discrimination involving University of Michigan students appears, whether or not formal action is initiated with the Human Rights Office or Fair Housing Center.| (734) 994-2803 | ||
| Fair Housing Center of Washtenaw County | (734) 994-3426 |
Privacy
Your landlord does not have the right to enter your apartment under most circumstances without advance notice and/or permission. Tenants are legally expected to allow reasonable access for legitimate purposes, such as a water line break.
Security deposits
Landlords may require a security deposit of up to one and one-half month's rent equivalent. The landlord must obtain a surety bond or deposit the money in a financial institution and notify the tenant in writing where the money is held. The landlord may collect interest on the deposit but does not have to give any part of the interest to the tenant. The landlord must provide tenants with inventory checklists at the beginning of the lease and must notify them of their obligation to provide the landlord with a forwarding address at the end of the lease. Tenants must complete and return the checklist within 7 days of taking occupancy. Landlords must return the security deposit, minus any deductions, within 30 days of the end of tenancy. Deductions can be made only for unpaid rent, unpaid utility bills, and damage not reasonably expected in the normal course of occupancy. Normal cleaning costs cannot be deducted from the security deposit. If the tenant disagrees with the withholding, there are specific procedures to be followed to dispute the charges and preserve legal rights.
Cleaning fees
Landlords are required to provide tenants with a clean and sanitary apartment at the time of move-in. Similarly, tenants are required to maintain the apartment in a clean and sanitary condition while occupying the apartment. Some landlords charge cleaning fees to cover the costs of cleaning an apartment after it is vacated. These fees generally range from $50 to $150. Ask the landlord if it is possible to "earn back" the cleaning fee by doing the cleaning yourself. Some landlords will offer this option.
Contact a PRIVATE WASTE HAULER or Reuse Operation.
Many haulers are listed in print and Internet "yellow pages" under "Rubbish and Garbage Removal" or similar heading. Several haulers are recognized as Washtenaw County Waste Knot Partners, and provide waste pickup and recycling services the current Waste Knot list is posted on the web at recycle.eWashtenaw.org Another County resource at the same website,Trash to Treasure, lists area operations accepting selected items for reuse, resale, or donation.
1-800-GOT-JUNK
For help during Move-Out. 1-800-Got-Junk will take away large items, such as furniture and appliances, that you no longer want.
TDF II Hauling & Plowing
(734) 994-3484 Provides pickup and disposal/recycling services for many items. including appliances, computers, furniture, yard waste. Also donates items such as cleaning products, toys,clothing and books to local charities. tdf2@aat.net
Calvert's Rolloff Containers, Inc.
Rents larg containers to handle construction debris. Processos collected materials for recycling and disposal. Provies some residential pickups and accepts drop off of bulky items on a for-fee basis. Operated by recycle Ann Arbor.
Recycle Ann Arbor
Provides curbside bulky waste pickups at the following cost: $70 for up to 2 cubic yards; $25 for each additional yard; $25 per Freon appliance. Also accepts bulky items at the Drop-Off Station.
Honeymoon Hauling
(734) 846-5864 Will assist with any kind of clean-out, including: brush and bagged leaf removal, furniture, and appliances.