Off-Campus Housing

Off Campus Housing Map

Interactive Map of Campus

Directions around Clark

Living Off Campus at Clark University

Finding an Apartment

Before you start your apartment search and sign a lease, consider these important factors. Leases are legally binding, requiring you to live in and/or pay for a specific room or apartment for a fixed period. Be prepared:

1. Reflect and Investigate Options
   Living on campus provides essential amenities for student success. Off-campus living comes with hidden costs such as Wi-Fi, furniture, 24-hour security, facilities repairs, emergency housing, phone, electricity, expanded cable TV, laundry facilities, hot water, and heat. While off-campus rent might seem cheaper, budget for all the extras.
2. Review Finances and Set a Budget
   Ensure you account for all possible costs.
3. Communicate with Potential Roommates
   Have open and honest discussions with potential off-campus roommates or apartment mates to ensure everyone is ready for the financial commitment.
4. Visit Multiple Apartments
   Look at a few apartments to get a sense of what might be available.
5. Request the Certificate of Occupancy (C/O)
   Ask the landlord to provide proof that the rental meets all local, state, and federal housing guidelines.
6. Read the Lease Carefully
   Before signing, read the lease thoroughly. Consult trusted adults or an attorney if you have any questions.

What is a Lease?

A lease is a contract that outlines the agreement between a tenant and a landlord. It specifies the responsibilities and obligations of both parties and sets the rules for living in a particular house or apartment. Here’s what you need to know:

• Responsibilities and Obligations: The lease details what both the landlord and tenant must do and provide for each other.
• Rules and Restrictions: It also outlines what landlords and tenants cannot do.
• Legal Binding: Once signed, the lease is legally binding. In case of a legal dispute, courts will hold tenants to the terms they agreed to.
• Breaking a Lease: Generally, landlords are not in favor of breaking a lease and allowing tenants to leave before the agreed-upon date.
• Sample Lease Agreement in Massachusetts.

Sharing an Apartment

Living with a roommate can be either enriching or challenging, whether on-campus or off-campus. Unlike on-campus living, off-campus leases financially obligate you to pay a portion of the rent for an extended period, making it crucial to discuss the following with potential roommates:

1. Values and Lifestyle
   Discuss views on alcohol, drug use, smoking, and overnight guests. What will be allowed?
2. Private and Common Spaces
   Define private and common areas and establish any different rules for each.
3. Financial Obligations
   How will rent and utility bills be paid? Set deadlines and accountability measures.
4. Household Chores
   Divide chores like cleaning bathrooms, kitchens, and taking out the trash. Decide who buys cleaning products and establish a cleaning rotation. Discuss food sharing and personal item boundaries.
5. Study Environment
   Will the apartment be a place for studying? Set rules for quiet hours, guests, messages, and cleaning.

Tenant’s Rights

In Massachusetts, tenants and landlords must adhere to laws and regulations that ensure a safe and respectful living environment. Here are your basic rights as a tenant:

1. Right to Privacy
   You can deny the landlord entry to your apartment unless they give notice and are inspecting the premises, making repairs, showing the apartment to prospective renters, or have a court order.
2. Protection Against Retaliation
   You are protected from retaliation by the landlord if you make a formal complaint.
3. Right to a Habitable Environment
   You are entitled to a living space with working water, heat, safe kitchens, a pest-free environment, safe structural elements, and reasonable snow removal.
4. Tenants Rights and Property Owners Responsibility – Massachusetts
   
5. Legal Tactics: Tenants Rights in Massachusetts

Renters Insurance

If you’re a college student renting an off-campus apartment or house, or even living in on-campus residence halls, consider purchasing renter’s insurance to protect your personal property from damage, fire, destruction, or theft. While your parents’ homeowner’s insurance might cover you in a college residence hall, it usually won’t apply once you sign a lease for off-campus housing.

Why You Need Renters Insurance:

• Landlord’s Insurance Limitations: Your landlord’s insurance won’t cover your personal property if it’s stolen or damaged due to fire, flood, theft, or other unexpected events. Without renter’s insurance, you’ll have to cover the replacement or repair costs of your belongings.
• Affordability: Renter’s insurance is relatively affordable, averaging between $15 and $30 per month, depending on the location and size of your rental unit and your personal possessions.

What to Do:

• Consult: Talk to your parents/guardians or a local insurance agent about renter’s insurance before moving into your new apartment.

Grad Guard College Renters Insurance offers unique student-focused coverage through an exclusive student endorsement. This means you’ll have access to features not typically found in standard homeowners insurance or other companies, such as:

• Low Deductible
• No Credit Scoring
• Worldwide Property Coverage
• Personal Liability Coverage

Grad Guard College Renters Insurance

Utility Providers

• Cable TV, Internet, Phone: Spectrum
• Electricity: National Grid
• Telephone: Verizon or call 888-583-8111
• Telephone: T-Mobile
• Natural Gas: Eversource.

Moving into a New Apartment

Before signing your lease, note any existing damage and necessary repairs. If you move in and find new or unaddressed issues, document them, take photos, and notify the property owner immediately, preferably in writing.

Move in Checklist

Moving out of an Apartment

As a tenant, you are legally obligated to notify the property owner of your intent to leave. This is usually done around the time the lease is about to expire. Pay attention to the lease for specific deadlines (some require three months’ notice). Proactively communicating with the property owner about your plans is beneficial.

Your notice to move out should include:

• Names of all persons on the lease
• Address of the current unit
• Anticipated move-out date
• Forwarding address for security deposit or other communications

Ensure the apartment is cleaned according to the lease conditions. Do not leave large furniture or items in the yard or on the sidewalk, as this can lead to fines and forfeiting your security deposit. Whenever possible, have the property owner present during the final inspection to transfer keys, return the security deposit (if everything is in order), and settle the lease termination.

Move out Checklist