“My Lease Says What” provides students with the tools necessary to ensure they understand the complexities of the contracts they sign with their landlords.
Being home to over 13,000 students means Laramie is home to countless rental properties, from demure and older houses to newer mega apartment complexes. Navigating the complexities of lease negotiation can be difficult for the generally inexperienced student population, and “My Lease Says What” organizers hope to help students through the leasing process.
The event, put on by Elizabeth Goudey, seeks to answer questions and pre-empt problems students may have with their landlords.
“This is the time of the year when people are looking for next years’ housing,” Goudey said.
Goudey works for the university as the students’ attorney, offering free or reduced cost legal services to fee-paying students.
Goudey said that there are, to her knowledge, very little municipal codes covering housing in Laramie.
“There are no rules requiring inspections,” Goudey said. “It sometimes feels like a free-for-all.”
As a result of the lack of municipal oversight regarding housing in Laramie, Goudey said she see many issues come through her office.
“I most often see issues with deposits not being returned or landlords that aren’t repairing something that needs to be repaired,” Goudey said.
Despite the lack of regulation, Goudey said she believes the problems students face with landlords are not uncommon for any town with a high population of college students.
“Issues with landlords are extremely common for any university community,” Goudey said.
Goudey said students need to be more proactive when moving in and need to document issues with their space. Additionally, she said students need to check the utility bills of prior tenants and determine what the actual cost of living in a space will be.
She said she hopes that students will come to the event with leases and questions ready, but she also has a presentation on successful renting ready.
“My Lease Says What” will take place in the Union Family Room today from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. In addition to free pizza, Goudey said she believes there will be time to go over individual leases with students to find out what their contract says. She will also answer any questions.
