Ask local tenant rights advocates about misconceptions tenants have about leases, and the first answer is always the same: Nobody reads the lease.
In truth, a lot of people, like landlords, lawyers and judges, do read leases, but precious few apartment dwellers take the time to pore over the fine print, experts say. Most just skim it to make sure the key items are correct–rent amount, dates, security deposit and the like.
“The thing we see the absolute most is that tenants haven’t read their leases,” says Ruth T. Woods, president of the Tenants Rights Organization on Chicago’s South Side. “What happens usually is that the landlord says, `This is a standard lease we use,’ then pushes it in front of (the tenants) and hands them a pen.
“They sign it because they figure they know what their rights are under the lease. Then they find out later when a problem comes up that they were wrong.”
By knowing their rights, and having a better understanding of what’s in a lease, tenants stand a better chance of being on equal footing with the landlord should problems arise. Join us, as we attempt to clear up a few common misconceptions that tenants hold about the legal contracts they sign regularly with their landlords.
Misconception: There are standard leases.
Truth: There are several leases in use in metropolitan Chicago, not including numerous outdated leases and customized leases that are in circulation, says lease author and fair housing advocate William Wilen. Some favor landlords, some favor tenants. Some are written to complement and comply with local rental ordinances, others are more general in nature.
Like so much else in life, sometimes you have to consider the source to figure the lease’s slant. If a lease bears the name of an attorney, or a real estate association, tenants ought to figure that it’s written to favor the landlord, Wilen says.
Misconception: Most leases are boring, unreadable and filled with legal jargon.
Truth: “There are a number of older leases that are almost indecipherable to lawyers, let alone lay people,” says Malcolm Rich, executive director of the Chicago Council of Lawyers.
To combat the problem of legalese-filled leases, the council offers, free of charge, a copy of its L-19 lease to anyone who requests it. (For a copy, call 312-427-0710.) The six-page document is written in plain English and is one of the most up-to-date leases available in Chicago.
Misconception: It’s in the lease and I signed it, so the landlord can enforce it.
Truth: In general, a landlord can’t enforce anything that’s illegal regardless of whether it’s written in the lease. For example, a landlord could not forbid you from subleasing your apartment just because such a provision is in the lease.
In Chicago, the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance makes unenforceable several clauses found in many leases landlords use today. For example, a landlord cannot insert a clause that limits his or her liability, nor can he include a clause whereby the tenant waives his or her rights if the landlord breaks the lease. Other common clauses that are unenforceable in Chicago are items where tenants waive rights to a jury trial or agree to pay a landlord’s legal fees.
If these clauses are unenforceable, why do landlords bother to leave them in the lease? “Lots of tenants don’t know their rights, and lots (of clauses) are old boilerplate from old leases,” says George Hausen of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing, a non-profit legal service provider. “Some landlords will point to the clauses if a question comes up because tenants don’t know their rights. What they ought to know is if the landlord tries to enforce these (unenforceable) clauses, the tenant can recover two months’ rent in a lawsuit.”
Misconception: The landlord can revoke amenities agreed to in the lease, such as use of the laundry room or free parking.
Truth: Admittedly, things get a little murky when you start talking about “amenities,” but legal experts say if it’s in the lease upfront, it’s there to stay.
“Most tenants understand that the landlord can’t raise the rent during the lease,” Hausen says. “What they don’t understand is that there can be no alteration of any of the terms and conditions–and that includes use of the laundry room–during the term of the lease. That laundry room may have been the inducement to sign the lease in the first place.”
His advice: “Ask the landlord to negotiate a new lease or add a rider that reduces rent by a certain amount for the loss of the amenity. These things are all negotiable.”
Misconception: The landlord can’t prevent me from cranking my stereo, having overnight guests, having a late party, etc.
Truth: Think again. Clauses limiting certain behaviors can almost certainly be part of a lease agreement, legal experts say, as long as they are not discriminatory.
If you sign a lease with a clause limiting decibel levels to certain hours, your only recourse is probably a pair of headphones. Be aware that the existence of such a clause doesn’t let you become enforcer if it’s your neighbor who’s pumping out the jams while you’re trying to nap.
Misconception: The landlord can charge me late fees, as long as they are spelled out in the lease.
Truth: This statement, on its face, is true. Landlords can charge late fees; however, they may be limited by local ordinance as to what can be charged. The Chicago Residential Landlord-Tenant Ordinance, for example, limits late charges to $10 per month for the first $500 in rent, plus 5 percent of rent over $500. So the maximum late fee for a tenant who pays $600 per month in rent would be $15 ($10 plus 5 percent of the additional $100).
Misconception: If a Chicago landlord doesn’t attach a copy of the Chicago landlord-tenant ordinance, the lease can be voided.
Truth: Call this misconception a bit of “fiction,” based on things tenants have heard about the ordinance. In Chicago, landlords are required to attach a summary of the ordinance when the lease is offered and when there are any subsequent renewals. If your landlord fails to do so, you may be entitled to an award of $100 in damages plus reasonable attorney fees if a civil suit is filed.
Two problems generally arise in this area, experts say. First, owner-occupied buildings of six units or less are exempt from the ordinance.
Second, many tenants sign the lease without getting a copy of the ordinance. Some leases have a clause acknowledging tenant’s receipt of a copy of the ordinance. By signing, you acknowledge receipt of the ordinance summary–even if you didn’t get it. That, in turn, makes it “impossible to prove you didn’t if you have to go to court,” says Hausen.
His advice: Either look for the clause (it’s usually buried near the back) and strike it out, or demand a copy of the ordinance summary.
If all of this marking, striking, revising and adding of addenda seems like it could make for a messy lease, don’t worry. A messy lease that’s legible is also legal.
“Tenants should be aware that the lease is nothing more than an offer–a contract–from the landlord,” Hausen says. “As with any contract, they ought to read it and know that they can make changes and be satisfied with the end product because they are going to have to live with it once it’s signed.”
