Moving In

• About one month before your lease starts, contact the public utility companies to arrange to start service on the day your lease starts. Call Ameren IP for gas and electricity at 800-755-5000. Call Illinois American Water Company for water service at 800-422-2782.
  
  
• Call the landlord in advance to arrange a time and location for picking up your keys. If the landlord had promised to do any work before your move-in date, such as painting or carpet cleaning, this would be a good time to remind her/him about the promise.
  
  
• Complete a condition report of everything that is not 100% perfect, when you move in (read information on Damage Deposits). You must KEEP YOUR OWN COPY of the condition report for your records. It's best to either have your signature on the report notarized, or get the landlord to sign your copy. If anything looks really bad (a stain in the carpet, a hole in the wall, broken furniture) photograph it. Many leases REQUIRE that the condition report be returned to the landlord within 2 or 3 days of your picking up the keys. Check your lease and comply with the time period required.
  
  
• If your apartment is not clean, TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS to show exactly what was dirty. Don't make the mistake of destroying your evidence by cleaning and then asking for reimbursement. If you want to be paid to do the landlord's cleaning job, ask the landlord to sign a written agreement promising to pay you a certain amount of money for cleaning before you do any work. Then photograph everything before you clean it. Many tenants get into disputes with the landlord about how dirty the apartment was AFTER they've done all the cleaning. If you do your own cleaning at move-in but expect that at the end of the lease you can give the place back in something less than sparkling clean condition, you must photograph all of the dirty items at the start of the lease and again at the end to show you gave them back in same or better condition than you received them.
  
  
• Conduct a security assessment of your unit, using the checklist in this publication under Security and Safety. If you find any problem with locks, peepholes, or other security devices, tell your landlord immediately and then follow up by sending the landlord written notice of the need for maintenance attention to these items. Keep a copy of your notice. Your landlord should repair or replace inoperable locks immediately. Insist on it.
  
  
• Check all drains (sinks and tub) to make sure they are not clogged. If you find any drains are draining slowly, report the problem to the landlord in writing (and keep a copy). Many leases hold tenants responsible for unclogging drains. If the drain already had a problem when you moved in, you would not want to be responsible for fixing it. NOTE: often a product like Drano or Liquid Plumber solves the problem; either try it yourself, or contact the landlord, but don't ignore the problem unless you want to pay for it later. It's also a good idea to buy a plastic drain cap for the shower/tub to catch hair before it goes down the drain. You can buy one at any drugstore or supermarket and it will help you prevent your drain from becoming clogged. Pouring grease from cooking pans into a container rather than washing it down the kitchen sink is another good idea to prevent a clogged kitchen drain.
  
  
• Check your smoke detector and carbon monoxide alarm to be sure each has a working battery. If a battery is missing, replace it. Push the test button on each detector to be sure the batteries work. If the alarm does not sound, you need to put in a new battery. Change the batteries every 6 months. Properly working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors can save your life. State law requires landlords to provide smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms for each apartment.
  
  
• If for any reason the landlord cannot give you keys to the EXACT apartment that you have leased, you do not have to accept an alternative, unless your lease says so. Accepting the alternative could compromise your rights under the lease.
  
  
• If you will accept a different apartment temporarily, be sure the landlord signs a written statement that describes exactly what you and the landlord have decided. Will you stay in apartment B4 for 10 days and then move into the leased apartment C7? Did you accept a place of lesser quality as temporary housing in exchange for reduced rent? These are agreements you will be unable to prove unless they are in writing.
  
  
• Buy some roach traps and place them in the kitchen and bathroom as directed on the box. You can buy these at any supermarket or hardware store. You are not the only new tenant moving into the building. If even one of your neighbors moves from a place with roaches, you may start seeing roaches in your apartment. Take this preventative step to avoid infestation in your home.
  
  
• Do not use poster putty, tape or any other adhesive to hang posters on the wall. Check your lease to see what it says about using nails, tacks or push pins and do not use any method of hanging pictures that is prohibited in your lease.

 

Tenant Union | 326 Illini Union, MC-384, 1401 W. Green Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801 | 217.333.0112