Students have recourse in landlord disputes

When dealing with a landlord, students should pay close attention to their contracts and keep everything in writing. When students move off campus they need to think about buying furniture and paying bills for the first time. They also they have to accept a new person into their lives -- a landlord. Mihaela Farcas, director of the Office of Off-Campus Living, advises students to be cautious and educated when dealing with landlords and signing an off-campus housing lease. The Office of Off-Campus Living, Farcas said, helps students fully understand a lease before agreeing to it. She said leases sometimes contain unfair and illegal clauses. Since last year a new program of University-subsidized legal assistance has been implemented. The Office of Off-Campus Living also attaches a rider to all leases, which is designed to protect tenants from unfair clauses. She also said that when tenants look over their leases, they should pay attention to renewal terms, obligations, security deposits and subletting clauses. And Farcas emphasized the importance of documenting all complaints and prior damages in writing. She said students may spend hours on the phone when a letter would be more effective. In real estate, it is what is written that counts. She also added, "There are certain clauses and laws a tenant has to obey. The bottom line is, with negligence comes liability." Adam Malka, a College sophomore and off-campus resident, said his main complaint with living off-campus was some of the clauses in his lease. "Our lease was pretty harsh," he said. The lease included a clause stipulating that a tenant could not allow smells to escape from his apartment. It also included a clause that said if a fire occurred in the building and a tenant's smoke detector was not functioning, he could be held liable even if he was not responsible for starting the fire. Malka also said he had some work done on the apartment before he moved in. He asked the landlord to put in ceiling fans, a new fridge and a new door for the fire escape. Malka himself did some work on the apartment, and he said his landlord gave him one week to assess damages before signing the lease. Elizabeth Norris, a College senior, also lives off campus in a rented house with six of her friends. She said she had several complaints about the house, including a rodent problem. "We had major infestation?. I think we killed seven mice. [The landlord] left it up to us," she said. She also said she had to negotiate repeatedly to have her landlord put in new carpet and often she and her housemates had to resort to working on the house themselves. "We painted 80 percent of the house," she said. She added that she had some trouble with heating as well. "Our furnace could break at any moment," she said. "[My housemate] woke up and the temperature on the thermometer was 41 degrees." Jason Cohen, manager of Campus Apartments, a popular area realtor, said, "We have management staff who take care of all customer service." He said Campus Apartments follows fire safety codes with an annual building certification. He also said Campus Apartments follows the legal procedure of holding an outgoing tenant's security deposit for 30 days until the new tenant has assessed all damages. "We try to stay on top of it right away," he said, referring to any problems tenants may have, including heating and hot water problems. College senior Troy Madres is conducting a student landlord survey to rate various landlords in the area, including some of the major establishments such as University City Housing, University City Apartments and Campus Apartments. "The great thing about it is that landlords also take note of it," Madres said about the survey. The survey, which consists of 27 questions, was taken last November and early December on Locust Walk. Madres said he plans on surveying again in April and then publishing the landlord guide on the Internet. It will also be available in the Office of Off-Campus Living, he said. Madres said he is looking to include students from the University of the Sciences and Drexel University in the future and hopes the survey gains credibility as a reliable source of information for students looking for housing in the area.