- Finding a potential place to live
- How can you find a place to live? These are several places that list apartments for rent:
- The University of Delaware's Office of Housing and Residence Life (5 Courtney Street) keeps lists of apartments for rent. The list includes apartments to share (which usually includes cooking facilities), rooms for rent in private homes (which may or may not include cooking facilities), and apartments for rent.
- Newspapers, such as The News Journal, list apartments for rent.
- Department offices have bulletin boards which sometimes include advertisements of rooms for rent.
- Housing Assignment Services: http://www.udel.edu/has/
- The University of Delaware's Classifieds (under housing): https://primus.nss.udel.edu/classifieds
- Signing a Housing Agreement
- Once you have found a suitable apartment, you'll be asked to sign a lease, a legal agreement commiting you to live in a place for a certain time at a certain price per month. You may also be asked to pay a security deposit, which is often equal to one month's rent. Here are a few things to remember:
- Be sure that you understand the terms of the document you sign.
- Most area apartments require a year-long lease.
- You must pay the rent for the entire amount of time you agree to live in the apartment. Most leases state that the tenant may not vacate the apartment until the lease expires. If you do, and you are unable to find someone to rent your apartment, the law requires that you still have to pay. You may not just vacate one apartment because you find another one you like better.
- The landlord-tenant law usually favors the landlord in a dispute. A copy of the landlord-tenant law is available at OFSS.
- Some apartment or room owners will ask for a "reference" before allowing you to rent their quarters. You may use Mrs. Susan Lee, OFSS Adviser, as a reference.
- If there is something you do not understand in the lease, ask someone at OFSS before you sign.
- Setting up Your Apartment
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- Apartments are usually unfurnished; rooms are usually furnished.
- Good, but used, furniture may be found at second-hand stores for inexpensive prices.
- Services: you'll need to get your electric and phone services connected.
- Electricity: It is your responsibility to have the electricity connected when renting an apartment. The location of your apartment will determine which electric company provides the service: City of Newark (located at Utility Billing on the 1st floor in the Newark Municipal Building at 220 Elkton Road, tel. no. 366-7085) requiring a minimum $75 deposit (electric heat) or $50 deposit (gas or oil heat) for Newark. If outside Newark contact Delmarva Power (454-0313) requiring no deposit. Check with your rental office to find out which one it is.
- Telephone: Bell Atlantic Telephone (1-800-633-4330). You will have to purchase your own phone, available at many stores. If you live on campus, you can obtain a telephone card to make international calls. Information is available at Student Telephone Services, Student Services Building, Lovett Avenue.
If you have any questions about the housing process, please contact the housing office.