Housing

Your fellow students are your best source of information on where to live and how to find an apartment in Cleveland.  Numerous student organizations have offered to help new students with the transition to the United States.  Visit visas.case.edu (Terra Dotta) and go to the Learning Content section of the Student: Initial I-20/DS-2019 record for more information.

Your school or department (e.g. the School of Medicine, Department of Mathematics) may also be able to put you in touch with current students who can give you some advice.

Neighborhoods near CWRU include:

• University Circle
• Little Italy
• Cedar Fairmount
• Cleveland Heights
• Shaker Heights
• University Heights
• Fairmount
• Uptown
• Midtown
• Downtown

You can search “apartments near CWRU” or “apartments near 44106” as a start.  (44106 is the university’s postal code.)  There are also many websites you can use to search for apartments near the university, including:

• Steiner House -- student-run cooperative housing on the CWRU campus
• CWRU’s Off-Campus Housing website
• Apartments.com
• Apartmentfinder.com
• Zillow.com
• Trulia.com

It may be advisable to avoid sites where anyone can post, or places where a homeowner can rent out just one room (e.g. Craig’s List), as those sites are not monitored as closely as others.

Cleveland and the surrounding neighborhoods are generally safe places to live.  Cleveland is a large city, so you do need to pay attention to your surroundings when you are out.

The best way to learn about how safe an area is, is to search for “safety statistics” for a given region.  For example, you can search “Shaker Heights safety statistics” to learn more about safety within the city of Shaker Heights.

Your fellow students are also a great source of information on where to live and how to find an apartment in Cleveland.  Numerous student organizations have offered to help new students with the transition to the United States.  Visit visas.case.edu (Terra Dotta) and go to the Learning Content section of the Student: Initial I-20/DS-2019 record for more information.

Roommates can have an outsized impact on your emotional health and your finances during your time at university, so it is important to choose roommates wisely.  It is best if you know each other well prior to moving in together.  Your roommate should be someone you can trust fully.

Roommates should be on the lease agreement -- this is best practice.  Those on the lease can be held responsible for damages or unpaid rent or fees.

Roommates who refuse to pay rent, move out suddenly (leaving you to pay the whole rent bill), cause damage to the apartment and leave without fixing the damage, etc. can make it so you have to pay a great deal of money.

Roommates who do not clean up after themselves, invite guests unexpectedly, invite overnight guests when you are not comfortable with it, do not help take care of the apartment, etc., can cause you mental and emotional stress.

Family housing is not available on campus, which can be challenging for students. Not knowing the area, students can have difficulty deciding where to live with their families or knowing where not to live.

For students with families, we recommend your family arrive after you have had time to locate suitable housing for them. Arranging temporary accommodations for your family while you are looking for housing can be very difficult and expensive.

The cost is also a factor that contributes to decisions about your living situation. Having your spouse or family with you will eliminate the option of sharing the cost of your rent and utilities with another student due to the need for family privacy. You also will require a larger apartment, which will also mean a higher rent each month. Find out more about bringing your family to Cleveland.

These terms usually apply to whether the apartment comes with furniture or not.  Furnished apartments may come with living room or bedroom furniture, kitchen supplies, washer and/or dryer in the apartment, etc.

Occasionally “(un)furnished” may also be used in reference to utilities (electric, natural gas, hot water, telephone, television cable, air conditioning, etc.). It is more common to see utilities included in rent, rather than utilities being listed under furnishing.

An apartment that is "furnished" with furniture and/or utilities is more expensive because of the convenience it provides. Unfurnished apartments will require you to provide your own furniture and/or to pay your own utility installation fees, as well as pay the monthly cost for those utilities. These costs vary depending on the size of the apartment or house you rent and the number of people using the utilities.

That is an important question you will have to figure out once you move in! We bring it up to remind you- it’s very important to look around your space after you move in.  Here are some possible differences you might notice.

• There are no drains in the floor. If you pour water on the floor, the water will run down the walls into the apartment below you, causing expensive water damage and angering neighbors.
• The windows may or may not open -- before you try to force a window open, make sure it is not nailed shut.
• Appliances like stoves might work differently from what you are used to.  They may be gas or electric.  If you are not sure how to use an appliance, ask the management company to teach you.
• Take good care of flooring; you may be held responsible for any damage. You may want to use floor protectors on furniture: https://www.houzz.com/products/furniture-floor-protectors.
• Walls may be painted instead of whitewashed.

If you are able, it is best to communicate with landlords and management companies in writing whenever possible. This gives you a written (official) record of all communications you have had with them. If your landlord or management company explains something to you verbally, it is advisable to ask them to send you the same information by email, so you have a record of it, or for you to send them a follow up email.  Your follow up email should explain everything you discussed verbally, and you should ask for a confirmation reply.

If the situation is urgent and must be handled immediately, it is best to either call the management company or to go to their office in person to request assistance.

You may have to be persistent advocating for yourself if problems arise (e.g. heat is too low, sink is dripping water). Management companies are often busy, and they generally own many buildings with hundreds of apartments. You are one of many tenants, so you may need to bring up issues frequently in order to receive help. However, please remember American politeness practices still apply. When emailing or speaking with your management company, begin with a greeting (e.g. Dear sir/madam), be polite, and avoid using ALL CAPS, which looks like yelling, or red text, which conveys anger. If you email the company or landlord, wait at least 3-5 business days for a reply before sending a polite follow up email or calling them on the phone (except in case of a true emergency).

Remember, anything in writing is considered official, whether it comes from your landlord to you or vice versa.  Be careful what you put in writing.  You can be held responsible for any or all of it.

Typically, the answer is no.  A lease is a legal document. You cannot break the lease any time you want, nor can you change the lease if you change your mind.  If you decide you want to move out, get a pet, or do anything outside of your lease agreement, you can be held responsible by the landlord or management company for breaking the lease.

One main reason leases cannot be changed after they are signed is that, in the US, anything “in writing” is considered “official” and can be used as evidence in court.  Whether it is an email, a handwritten letter, a lease, or any other document, because it is in writing, that document is official.

Remember, leases are written to the landlord or management company’s advantage -- you will need to be assertive and advocate for yourself (or seek out help from ISS or others) if problems arise.  Landlords and management companies are busy, their time and funds are limited, and they leave much of the responsibility to you.

ISS staff are available to help you learn how to advocate for yourself or to help you understand communications from your landlord or management company. However, some situations may require you to involve a Landlord-Tenant Lawyer. The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association has a free referral service. They offer a free phone consultation with the attorney as well. 

If your landlord or management company is breaking the lease, you can contact them (best if in writing) to ask them to comply with the lease.  If they are unwilling to comply with the lease agreement, you may need to involve a Landlord-Tenant Lawyer.

The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association has a free referral service. They offer a free phone consultation with the attorney as well.

If your roommate is breaking the lease, you can contact them (best if in writing) to ask them to comply with the lease.  If they are unwilling to comply with the lease agreement, you may need to involve a Landlord-Tenant Lawyer.

The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association has a free referral service. They offer a free phone consultation with the attorney as well.

If you receive a written notice from your landlord or management company demanding money for damages or for other reasons, ISS staff are available to help you understand those communications. 

You may need to seek out legal representation by involving a Landlord-Tenant Lawyer.  The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association has a free referral service. They offer a free phone consultation with the attorney as well. 

It is important to remember that anything you put in writing can be used against you. It may be best that you do not admit doing anything wrong, verbally or in writing, until you speak with a lawyer.

If you would like to speak directly with ISS staff about a specific situation, please email international@case.edu, and an ISS staff member will respond as soon as possible.