For more than 30 years, Esther Patt has counseled prospective renters in Champaign and Urbana about their rights and things to look for when renting.

"It's not very often that people complain about crime," said Patt, coordinator of the Tenant Union at the University of Illinois. "Crime doesn't get you out of the lease."

Still, Patt said Tenant Union workers occasionally hear about crime at the larger complexes that market their apartments to college-age students.

"People have come in and told us about it," she said, adding she also sees newspaper reports.

"(At University Village in north Champaign) a man said someone stole his car (in September). Our main concern is making sure that the person reported it to police and to management," she said. "We had a couple people come in complaining about roommate problems because they are matched with stranger roommates or complaints about roommates with drugs. It's not uncommon for people to be upset about it and not want to call the police.

"It's been our impression here at the Tenant Union, ever since the development of these places that rent by the bedroom, that there's more crime at those places. Town and Country (apartments in Urbana) has 640 units, and Country Fair (apartments in west Champaign) has 450, and we don't hear about crimes at those places nearly as often as you hear about it at places that rent by the bedroom."

Although she has no real answer as to why, Patt speculated that burglars may perceive the students living there to be rich and the apartments easy to get into since many buildings don't have locked main entrances.

Champaign police Lt. Jon Swenson advises people looking to rent to do their homework.

Calls for police service to a specific address or neighborhood can be obtained from the police department, he said. Websites also often have places where people can submit written opinions about a place.

Patt said most leases have language that says a landlord does not promise security and is not liable for crime.

"Before you sign a lease, read it carefully. Get it changed or don't sign. That's real hard to give that advice to someone who is desperately poor or homeless. But UI or Parkland students shouldn't settle for anything less than exactly what they want," she said.

Mitch Kesler, property manager at University Village, said the lease there doesn't guarantee personal safety, and perceived threats to personal safety are not grounds for breaking a lease.

"Are you just going to run every time something happens? Even if you have security 24 hours, things are still going to happen," he said. "It's like the mall saying, 'We're not going to charge you rent because someone shot a gun here.'"