Living in an Apartment Guidelines

Before Moving into Your Apartment…
Students must do the following:

Note: The Housing Office takes care of paying the monthly rent and utilities, but students are responsible for final cleaning charges. These amounts will be calculated at the end of your stay and deducted from your security deposit by the Housing Office after a meeting with landlords before your departure.

Food Allowance

Students living in apartments will receive a food allowance of 1,350.00 Euro given in two amounts during the semester:

Legal Responsibilities
Apartment leasing requires students to be fully responsible for observing all rules stated in the contract and to respect the rights of other tenants in the building.

  1. According to police regulations, the apartment cannot be sublet nor can other people live in
    the apartment (or even spend a few nights) without notifying police authorities. The proprietor, not the lessees, must file the report.
  2. The premises must be kept clean and in good condition. If the apartment needs maintenance or servicing, students should contact landlords or the Housing Office for assistance.
  3. Neighbors should not be disturbed, especially at night. Remember that there is a law in Italy which allows anybody to call the police for excessive noise after 11:00 PM (SU is not able to offer assistance under such circumstances). As most apartments are located in large apartment buildings, all rules of the building must be respected.
  4. The owner will have the right to enter the apartment, after notifying the students, to ensure compliance with the terms of the contract and to show the apartment to future potential
    lessees.

Inventories
When entering the apartment, students should check to see if everything they need is provided (kitchenware, bedding, towels, etc) and to check for anything damaged to avoid being held responsible when the final check is made with landlords. If something is missing or damaged, bring it immediately to the attention of the housing office in Room 24 (by and no later than the first week of the semester).

Electricity
Please turn off the lights when you are not in the room or apartment. If water is heated electrically, you should turn the hot water on as needed during the day (i.e. one hour before your shower) or late in the evening to have hot water by morning. In any case, you should turn it off as soon as you are finished. Take brief showers (5-10 minutes max.) so that your housemates have enough hot water too.

Heating
To avoid an unnecessary waste of energy, do not keep windows open when the heating is on. Remember that heating in Italy is kept lower than in most American homes (approx. 60 - 65°F). Buildings in Italy are also much colder given the type of construction.
In most cases, a thermostat is used to ensure the proper heating. This will be shown to you when you are told how to operate the heating system. According to the Italian law, heating can be on for approximately 10 hours per day. You can tell landlords when you prefer to have it on.

Note: There is a law in Italy prohibiting heating in periods other than November 1st - March 30th. This same law also prohibits that the thermostat be set over 21°C.

Important: Should we find at the end of the semester that the utility bills are exceptionally high, the bill will be divided amongst the flat mates and forwarded in the U.S.

Guests and Social Life
No overnight guests are allowed. This is in accordance with the anti-terrorism law. If you need help to find an accommodation for your guests, you can ask the Housing Office or Student Life Office for help. Avoid having parties or having too many people over.
Whenever you do have visitors during the day, and especially at night, try and keep noise to a minimum to avoid complaints from neighbors. Remember that according to the Italian law anybody can call the police after 11:00 PM in case of excessive noise.

Please remember that you are not living in student dorms, but in condominiums where there are seniors, young children and couples who expect that the law be respected. You need to take care also to avoid excessive noise in front of the condominium, in the entrance & hallway, up the stairwell, and on the balcony or in the garden. Your relationship with your neighbors will be much easier if you follow these guidelines.

Management and Maintenance
Apartments are regularly checked by landlords to provide the appropriate maintenance assistance and to see that they are kept in good shape. Before moving into the apartment, you will be given the phone number of your landlord whom you should contact as soon as possible if anything breaks or any damage occurs. Although the Housing Office is always available to assist you with additional phone calls, remember that things get solved much faster if you contact your landlord directly and immediately.

Maintenance Do’s and Don’ts:

  • Do: Remove hair from drain after washing or showering.
  • Do: Avoid clogging the kitchen drain with food. (Drain pipes are smaller in Italy and
    therefore water drains slower and pipes are apt to clog. SUF apartments do not have
    garbage disposals.)
  • Do: Avoid moving furniture.
  • Don’t: Do not put tampax, sanitary napkins, cotton balls, Q-tips or anything else down the toilet.
  • Don’t: Do not stick or nail anything on walls.
  • Don’t: Do not use ‘Liquid Plumber’ in the drains as most pipes are plastic and such
    products can burn holes through them

Cleaning Your Apartment
Keep your apartment clean! If you clean the apartment regularly, it will be easier to avoid an excessive charge for cleaning expenses at the end of the rental period.

Note: Each housemate will be charged a minimum final cleaning fee of 35.00 Euro that covers linens and basic cleaning charges.

Apartments are equipped with basic cleaning supplies such as brooms and ‘floor cleaning cloths’. If your apartment is missing these items, please contact your landlord, or the Housing Office, and ask for them. You will have to, however, purchase detergent. Likewise, you are responsible for replacing light bulbs during your rental period.
Should the cleaning man discover any damages not reported at the check-out, a bill will be sent to your home address.

In Case of an Emergency:

  1. Contact your Landlord directly and immediately.
  2. If you cannot reach your Landlord, call or come to the Housing Office at School during office hours.
  3. If you cannot contact either, and it is an emergency, call ‘SOS CASA’, tel. 055-43.40.30.
    You will need to state the problem (please see the Bilingual Apartment Vocabulary), give them your address, and wait at the apartment until they arrive and resolve the problem.
  4. You will have to pay cash for the visit. You must get a receipt (ricevuta) when you pay the
    Handy Man. Only with this receipt will you be able to discuss a possible reimbursement.

    Note: Do not accept a hand written receipt on plain paper. Make sure you receive a business receipt that includes:
    • the name of business (nome della ditta)
    • receipt number (numero del ricevuta fiscale)
    • date (data)
    • explanation of services (lavoro eseguito)
    • repair man’s name (nome)
    • signature (firma)
  5. Bring this receipt to the Housing Office and explain what has happened. We will then be
    able to decide, with your landlord, who is responsible for the damages.

    Note: When you sign your apartment contract, you are also agreeing to comply with the
    apartment guidelines as stated above.