Problems with your new apartment? Can’t get in touch with your landlord? Tenant Resource Center can help.
Follow these quick simple steps to help protect yourself during this hectic and often frustrating move-in weekend…
1. Fill out a check-in form (get one from your landlord or from TRC). Madison landlords are required to provide a check-in form, but in case they haven’t given you one, make your own or get one from TRC.
2. Take photos and document everything. You may need to later prove the condition of the apartment when you moved in, in order to get reimbursed or compensated by the landlord. Document, document, document! Take photos and write everything down. You have at least seven days to inspect and notify of pre-existing damage or other problems.
3. Don’t start spending your own money on your own cleaning supplies and minor repairs until you have an agreement with the landlord that they will reimburse you. Negotiate clear deadlines for completion of the work or reimbursement from the landlord.
4. Difficulty contacting the landlord? Keep a log of your calls or other efforts to reach the landlord. Again, this information might help you later in your efforts to recover expenses related to the initial condition of the apartment. Stop by TRC for suggestions we might have for figuring out how to contact your landlord—we can’t guarantee you will find your landlord, but we may be able to help with new strategies to find contact information for your landlord. (Believe it or not, there is no comprehensive landlord registry or database for the City of Madison, so finding a landlord can sometimes be a challenge!)
