Summer sublets easy for some students

Russell Ottalini and Alexa Klein thank the website Craigslist for their summer housing… Russell Ottalini and Alexa Klein thank the website Craigslist for their summer housing contract.

Ottalini, a sophomore sociology and Japanese major, said he began “poking around” for a place to sublet in November, so that he could stay the summer in Pittsburgh to take classes.

“I didn’t start looking too seriously until January or February,” he said. “It then only took me a day or two to find Alexa’s listing.”

Ottalini will live in Klein’s apartment in an apartment above IGA from May 1 until August 1, so that Klein can return home to New Jersey for the summer without the burden of paying rent.

The tale of Ottalini and Klein, a sophomore media and professional communications major, is similar to that of many students on campus looking to either get out of or get in on a lease for the summer months.

They turn to the Internet, their friends and sometimes strangers to stay in their apartments for a few months.

Ottalini cited Google and The Pitt News’ Rental Guide as “useful” tools in finding an apartment. He said he also went to Pitt’s Off-Campus Living’s website as an add-on to his hunt.

One thing that seems to be a general rule when subletting an apartment is to have a contract including tenants’ rights and legally obligating the person subleasing to pay rent.

Whitney Hughes of the Allegheny County Bar Association said that most residential leases are pretty standard.

“They’ll list things like the amount of rent due, where it is to be paid, the penalties for late payment,” she said in an e-mail.

If students sublet their apartments when they are specifically forbidden to by the landlord, Hughes said the repercussions vary depending on the landlord, and such repercussions should be specified in the lease.

“It may have a financial penalty or it may simply be considered a violation which would break the lease and the landlord then would have the option of evicting the tenant,” Hughes said.

OCL serves as a referral service for students to find apartments off-campus. Their website, ocl.pitt.edu, lists available sublets, apartment listings and a renters’ guide.

Trisha Margiotti, who works at the office, said that when students go to rent an apartment, they should take note if the landlord permits subletting in the lease.

“More let you sublet than don’t,” she said.

Students can either call or e-mail the office to get their apartments listed on the site. Many students offer e-mails and their phone numbers to allow interested tenants to contact them.

Margiotti suggested students “be cautious” when signing into a contract.

“Ask a lot of questions,” she said. “Don’t jump the gun.”

Klein and Ottalini entered into a generic contract provided to Klein by her landlord Ron Levick. Klein said her landlord allows sublets, but basically said it’s “up to you” to find someone to sublet.

She then asked him for a sample contract, put up her free Craiglist advertisement and, after hearing back from a bunch of “weirdos,” Klein plugged in all of the response e-mails into Pitt people finder. Once she found Ottalini, a real Pitt student, they both sat down with a contract.

“The terms are easy to follow,” Ottalini said of the lease. “I’m responsible for the rent and the utilities; basically I’m paying what Alexa would be paying.”

In the sublease, Ottalini is the under-tenant, and Klein is the over-tenant. Ottalini said he has “no real rights” to the apartment. He will pay the rent every month directly to the landlord who lives in the same building.

The landlord, Levick, said his only specific subletting rule is that he asks his students to rent to other students, who are normally taking summer classes.

“If there are people in the building that aren’t taking classes, there can be parties and music and whatnot, and it can be pretty annoying,” he said.

Klein was able to sublease her apartment under the contract with her landlord, but this situation is not the same for everyone.

Elisabeth Soose of Rockwell Realty said that tenants, whose leases run for a year starting Aug. 1, are only permitted to sublease if they agree to renew their leases for a second year.

Soose said the realters are willing to “help long-term tenants,” but they do not want a “transient person for a couple of months” if the current tenants are only planning to lease the apartment for one year.

If tenants do plan to stay for more than a year, Rockwell Realty has to approve the tenants subleasing the apartment, who are required to fill out a basic application and go through a credit check.

“We want to know who’s living in the property,” Soose said. “Who’s moving in and out.”

On the other hand, Oakland’s Glickman Real Estate provides its tenants with all of the necessities to lease their apartments, regardless of how long the tenant will stay with the realtors.

Landlord Steve Glickman said his tenants have never had a problem subletting their apartments.

“We have free subletting, and I don’t know of anybody who has not been able to get their apartments rented for the summer,” Glickman said.