Lease lingo

Some terms commonly found in leases:

  • Application fee: The fee charged to process your application. Some properties that cater to UA students will waive this fee as part of their recruiting strategy.
  • Activity fee: The fee charged to cover the programs and services within a housing community.
  •  Sublease: This is when you have someone else take over your apartment during the regular term of your lease. The landlord or property manager typically will have to agree to the person taking over the lease.
  • Guarantor: Many of the properties that rent to students will ask for a guarantor or co-signer.  This person could also be held responsible for paying the rent if you do not make the payments.
  • Normal wear and tear: This is a term that describes what would be the reasonable amount of usage within an apartment. Basically you should leave the apartment in the same shape that you rented it.
  • Quiet enjoyment: The term used to talk about making sure you are not doing anything that would cause a disruption to your neighbor or the community.  Usually refers to noise or illegal activities.

 

SOURCE: The University of Akron Off-Campus Student Services