NOTE: The I-Center has NO facilities for providing housing or assistance to find housing. Please contact your host department if you have concerns about finding housing.
Renting Housing
When an individual becomes a tenant (renter), he or she and the owner of the housing unit enter into a specific legal relationship. Many of the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants are spelled out by the written or oral agreements that the two parties make. Oral agreements, however, are not binding on the parties if they attempt to change the terms of the written agreement. All agreements between the landlord and tenant should be in writing and should clearly state the mutual obligations of both the landlord and the renter at both the beginning and the end of the rental period. You should keep a copy of the rental agreement and inventory for future reference. If you are renting for a period longer than one year, a written lease is required.
The landlord may establish basic standards for accepting a tenant, including consideration of credit, job stability, family size, etc. These standards must be applied equally to all rental applicants and they must have a rational basis. Under the law no person may be denied the right to rent property because of age, race, color, religion, national ancestry, marital status, or disability.
Many landlords require deposits, either as a security that the terms of the agreement will be performed or for cleaning once the tenant moves. Cleaning and security deposits cannot be non-refundable. Deposits cannot be used or invested by the landlord. A landlord may only keep that part of the deposit necessary to pay for the unpaid rent, repair damages caused by the tenant, and to clean the apartment. You should receive the portion of the deposit owed to you within 2 weeks after you have moved out of the housing along with an itemized written statement explaining what the landlord did with the deposit. Normally if you rent an unfurnished place, you cannot be required to pay more than 2 months rent for deposit. If you rent a furnished place, 3 months rent is the maximum for deposit.
Prospective renters often give deposits to hold an apartment until they are ready to move in. Make sure you really want the apartment or house before you make a deposit. Depending on the facts involved, such deposits may or may not be refundable. Generally, if the tenant changes his or her mind about the housing unit and demands a refund within a reasonable time after the deposit was made, the landlord must refund the money if the landlord finds another tenant within a reasonable time.
Almost all renters fall within one of two categories– either they are under leases or they are "periodic" tenancies. Both leases and periodic tenancies have advantages and disadvantages you should consider. Period tenancies are usually on a month to month basis. In this kind of rental agreement, the landlord can evict you, raise your rent, or change other terms of the agreement. Normally, if you are renting on a month to month basis you should give your landlord a written notice that you intend to move out 30 days in advance. Oral notice is legally not enough. If you do not give proper notice you may have to pay additional rent. Leases give renters some protections that a periodic tenancy will not. With a lease you are assured that you can stay in the housing unit for a specified period of time and the rent cannot be raised during this time unless the lease says otherwise. However, with a lease you are legally responsible for the whole term of the lease. Therefore, it is not advisable that you rent a housing unit with the long-term commitment of a lease if you are not prepared to stay for the full duration of the lease. Theoretically, no mitigating circumstances will excuse your legal responsibility for the whole term of the lease. However, you may be able to move out early and terminate the lease if the landlord agrees to it. Moreover, if you do terminate the lease early, the landlord has a duty to mitigate the damages for which you are responsible by making a reasonable effort to secure new tenants. Nonetheless, terminating a lease early can result in a bitter and costly feud.
It is usually not possible to secure housing before arrival, as landlords are interested in interviewing potential renters.
If You Have Housing Problems
If you have rental housing problems, contact the Rental Housing Mediation Task Force in your city.
If you feel you have been discriminated against, contact Mid-Peninsula Citizens for Fair Housing, 457 Kingsley Avenue, Palo Alto (650) 327-1718.
If you would like to make a complaint or to ask advice contact Community Housing Services, 630 Serra St, Suite #110, (650) 723-3906.
Utilities and Services
Gas and electricity are usually NOT INCLUDED IN THE RENT, and must be paid by the tenant each month. There is a deposit, which is refunded when notice is given that service is to be discontinued.
Water usage and trash collection are usually included in your rent. For information or connection of services call:
City of Palo Alto Utilities (650) 329-2161; Recycling Program (650) 496-5910.
• Menlo Park: Pacific Gas & Electric Company (800) 743-5000; Recycling (650) 330-6763; Water (650) 367-6800.
• Mountain View: Pacific Gas & Electric Company, (800) 743-5000; Garbage and Recycling (650) 967-3034; Water (650) 903 -6317.
• Redwood City: Gas, Electric Company (800) 743-5000; Garbage and Recycling (650) 592-2411; Water (650) 780-7210
Recycling
Concerns about waste, scarcity of materials, and the volume of dumped garbage have led to a recycling effort. Please join. Recyclable things that are collected include newspaper, junk mail and magazines, glass, cans, #1 and #2 plastic (check number in triangle on bottle or jar bottom), white paper (photocopies and print), cardboard, and plastic bags. Near the dumpsters and in the laundry rooms of Escondido Village youcan find containers for recyclables; many cities have curbside collection. You can take cardboard to the Recycling Center at Serra Road (next to the Fire Station). Some supermarkets (eg. Safeway) take plastic bags for recycling. Buying a few reusable shopping bags might also be a good investment. They are more convenient and reduce waste.
Establishing Telephone Service
Land-line:
Contact SBC to establish phone service: www.sbc.com
If your residence is already wired for telephone service, they will arrange to activate your phone line for local and long distance telephone calls. If you make frequent long distance calls, it may be economical to use a long distance carrier such as AT&T, MCI, or Sprint. Refer to the yellow pages in the phone book for more information. Prices can vary, so ask about services and special charges.
If your residence is not wired for phone service, SBC will install and maintain your wiring for a charge, or you can arrange to have the wiring installed yourself. If you are living on-campus the University maintains its own telephone service. You will receive information on this service when you arrive on campus.
If you do not have your own telephone, you can buy one from a department store, at the Stanford Bookstore, or for a lower price at places such as Payless, Sears, Target, etc.
Cell phone companies:
Verizon Wireless www.verizonwireless.com
Cingular Wireless www.cingular.com
Sprint www.sprint.com
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