Off-Campus Housing Part Five: What’s Included?

"Off-Campus Housing Part Five: What’s Included?", January 2008

So now you have found your dream house; or at least somewhere you can sleep at night. But now comes time to sign the lease (unless you are reading this just to be informed, and not piece by piece as it pertains to what is occurring in your life), and there are some other things you will need to know when it comes to signing a lease.

First, what sorts of utilities are included when you sign this lease? Is your lease all-inclusive? By that I mean all of your utility bills are covered in the cost of your rent. Are none of them included? This means that your rental fee per month does not include any of your utilities. Or perhaps is it some intermediary of the two? I will tell you now, you are lucky if your rent has all of your utilities included, and is still less than $375 per month. Very, very lucky. Especially if you’re in Westdale. AND if the place is a nice one.

You will also need to know who is responsible for the utility bills. Some landlords pay them, and you pay them back, in addition to what you pay for rent. Others have nothing to do with the utilities, and the tenants are responsible for setting up the accounts with the companies themselves. Set-up fees are expensive, however you often get the deposit back after a year, so it tends to work out in the end (provided of course you choose to stay in the house).

Finally, you need to know what kind of a rental you are paying for, as there is more than one. A room rent is exactly what it sounds like. You are paying to rent your room, and are responsible for only that room. The kitchen and any common areas are a kind of “bonus”. A property lease is all of the tenants in a house splitting the overall monthly cost of rent on the house. Should someone leave, this means everyone is stuck covering the cost. Ideally, you are safer having a lease that is a room rent, in the event that someone leaves.

How long do you plan on living in this house? Are you planning on working in Hamilton in the summer, and not moving in until September? If you answer was the latter, this would mean you will want an eight month lease. However, this kind of lease is somewhat hard to come by. Most often, the rental term you will be signing will be for twelve months, starting on May 1st. For those four months then, your house is either a) going to be sitting idle, and you’re going to be losing money b) a place used to party some weekends, where the parents can’t get you in trouble, or c) being rented out to someone else for the summer. There will be more information on sublets coming up in a subsequent article, sometime in the spring.

Something that needs to be considered, and usually isn’t a pertinent matter to one’s lease is parking. Does anyone, or will anyone in the house have a car? Does anyone have a partner from out of town who visits often? What about frequent parental visits? Can you park on the street overnight without getting a ticket? I have found that parking can be taken for granted in university houses. And for some people very expensive.

It is also worth mentioning who is responsible for maintaining the property. Some landlords have the grass mowed and the gardens maintained as part of the rental agreement, while others believe it is the responsibility of the students. Snow removal is also something that must be considered, as the City of Hamilton will fine homeowners who do not shovel their portion of the sidewalk.

And there you have it. You are now (at least somewhat) well-informed in making a sound choice for living off-campus for next year. As in previous articles, this list is by no means exhaustive. If you have other questions, please feel free to ask. Additionally, there will be more articles to this series later on in the spring (as previously mentioned), but they will pertain to other issues.