Understanding Tenant Rights, Responsibilities of Immigrants, Refugees

When refugees and immigrants to the United States are renting an apartment or house for the first time, there are times when they do not know how to effectively navigate the process. For refugees, their resettlement agency will assist them in understanding their rights and responsibilities. But for anyone new to renting an apartment, there is a big learning curve that must be mastered to have a successful relationship with the landlord.

If you are a volunteer that helps immigrants or refugees as a cultural mentor or friend, here are a few tips and resources to help you best guide the newcomer as they learn about renting a home in the United States.

1) Rights of the Tenant-Tenants have rights that they can expect to be fulfilled by their landlords. These include fixing broken items in an apartment or house in a timely manner after they have been reported, responding to other tenant requests in a timely and satisfactory manner, being upfront about charges and fees, and refunding security deposits if a rented unit is left in good condition upon move-out.

2) Responsibilities of the Tenant-Tenants have many responsibilities when they rent an apartment, among which are paying the rent and utilities on time, reporting broken items that need repair to the landlord, keeping the home clean, being a good neighbor, and obeying property rules about noise, parking, trash, etc. They should understand the the consequences of not following the landlord's property rules can result in eviction or in other fees and charges.

3) Lease-The concept of a lease is foreign to some refugees, and maybe to some immigrants as well. These contracts spell out who is responsible for what in the rental process, how much rent is, how long the lease lasts, and other important information. The fundamental aspects of the lease should be explained in great detail to newcomers, in their own language, if at all possible. They should understand the gravity of their signature and initials on the pages of the lease, and that they are signing a legally binding document.

4) Some other considerations:

-Move-Outs-Moving out of a rented unit cannot be done whenever a tenant feels like it, and this is a concept that may be difficult for some newcomers to grasp. The lease must be fulfilled, and the apartment must be left in a clean and orderly condition on the day set for move-out in the lease. All money should be paid to the landlord that is owed as well.

-Paying Rent/Utilities/Other Charges-Paying rent, utilities, and fees is a logistical nightmare for some refugees and immigrants. Understanding that rent must be paid at the beginning of the month at the rental office either in person or in the drop box, that one should get a receipt to prove rent was paid, and that rent must be paid with a check from a bank account that has enough money in it to cover the rent or a money order can be difficult. (Even where and how to buy a money order can be difficult to grasp, especially if one has never done it before, or even heard of a money order.)

Finally, a good resource for those new to renting housing in the U.S. has been published by Mercy Housing. Check it out for more information: http://www.refugeehouse.org/Brochures/RefHouBro1.pdf.

Helping a refugee or immigrant understand all of the ins and outs of renting a place to live can be daunting. It is even more so for the newcomer him/herself. Work with the resettlement/social agency of anyone you are trying to help so that you have all of the right information to best assist in the rental process.