For many college students, an apartment lease is the first legally binding contract that they will ever sign — and a hefty one at that. When it comes to leasing, there is a lot to know, and as University students, we have a few people in our corner of the ring at all times: The Tenant Union.

The Daily Illini sat down with Esther Pratt, Coordinator of the Tenant Union, and asked her about the organization, her recommendations for apartment leasing and how students can avoid problems.

*Daily Illini: What’s the purpose of the Tenant Union?*

*Esther Pratt:* The primary purpose of the Tenant Union is to stimulate fairness in landlord-tenant relations and to serve as a resource to students renting housing. You should be treated fairly by the place that you rent from and the place you rent should not be a dump, and we’re trying to help bring that about. We’ve been at it for 40 years and it’s actually made a difference.

*DI: What do you do to accomplish this?*

*EP:* We help students when they’re searching for apartments and help them find good places that meet their needs. But, a big part of what we do that stimulates fairness in tenant-landlord relations is that we provide a vehicle for students to not only get our help advocating on behalf of them to resolve problems, but also to put on record what their problem was so that they can share their stories with other students who are thinking of doing business with the same landlord.

*DI:* How do the complaint workers serve the students?

*EP:* The complaint workers serve students in two important ways. One way is, when you’re looking for housing, you should check the complaint records. Second, it gives landlords an incentive to settle disputes with students because the conflict between the landlord and the tenant isn’t just a secret between the landlord and the tenant. When a landlord takes advantage of a student, it’s not something that no one will ever know about — it could be public information.

*DI:* When should students come in to the Tenant Union?

*EP:* We really want students who are shopping for apartments to know that you don’t just come to the Tenant Union when you have a problem. It’s not that we don’t want to see them with their problems, but if we can just help you with the complaint records, make a selection of an apartment that you will like, where they will treat you well, if we can go through your lease and point out to you the potential problems and you can make an informed decision … if through those things we can help people avoid problems in the first place, that’s really the most help that we provide to students.

*DI:* Why does apartment leasing start so early in the year?

*EP:* From the time the Tenant Union started in 1971 until 1995, leasing was in the spring for the following August … and that was so much better for students and actually, a lot of landlords thought it was better too. In 1996, one large company did it in December. And as soon as students get a renewal notice from their landlord, they assume everybody else got one too and all the apartments are going and they’re not shopping. In 1998, the company moved it up to November … and by 2000 it was moved up to October. The higher the vacancy rate, the more power tenants should have in shopping, so by creating this unnecessary panic, it’s reversed so that the students are still the ones that feel desperate.