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University of Idaho senior Olivia Hodges said she chose her new apartment because it was cheap and located downtown. A few months later, she was sleeping with her stove on to keep warm until she could afford a plug-in heater.
“I could see my breath,” she said.
Overall, Hodges said she is disappointed with the way her apartment turned out.
“At first you think ‘yay, you’re living in a central district,’” she said. “But then you know the drawbacks.”
Hodges said the building and appliances are old and dirty — the electricity goes out often, the smoke detector in the bathroom goes off whenever someone takes a shower and the walls are thin, allowing outside noise to keep her awake at night.
“The first night I stayed here, we got to experience the people who go to the bar,” she said — the noise can continue until 3 a.m., sometimes three nights a week.
Hodges said when she was first shown the apartment by her landlord, T.J. Young, she was shown a newly re-modeled bathroom on a different floor and told by Young the bathroom on her floor would be re-modeled in a few months. It remains the same more than a year later.
Young said the bathroom project was delayed and will be completed in the coming months. He said he is in the process of fixing up the entire building and has just finished installing some new windows and doors.
“I’ve got a manpower problem,” he said.
Young said he has fallen on hard times financially and to make ends meet, has to do renovations and repairs himself to save money.
Tenants in Hodge’s building complain to her about their maintenance problems, she said. They expect her to talk to the landlord for them.
“Sometimes I feel like call monitor,” she said. “It’s almost like you have to constantly remind him.”
Students often move into a new apartment without being fully aware of what they are getting into, said Carol Alexander, a building official for the City of Moscow.
“If you think it is too good a deal, it probably is,” she said.
Young said he is open and honest when showing an apartment.
“I show (apartments) to people,” he said. “If they like it, they take it … they have a free choice.”
Other students who live in Hodge’s building acknowledge the drawbacks, but are content to stay because of the cheap rent and flexible lease periods.
“I’m pretty easygoing,” said Joel Slocum, a UI senior. “When I’m home, it’s just to sleep.”
Slocum and Hodges said working electrical outlets are limited, and the cold tap water in the building tastes like sulfur.
“It tastes terrible,” Slocum said. “I always use hot water for everything.”
Justin Goodwin, a building inspector for the City of Moscow, recommends doing a thorough personal inspection of a residence before you sign a lease and move in.
“When you’re looking to rent a place, flick every light switch, flush the toilet, try the water,” he said. “If it takes you an hour and a half, you’ll go in more prepared and ready.”
Health and safety issues
Living in an old building can be more than just an inconvenience — it could be unsafe or even deadly.
Alexander said the unfortunate thing about old structures is the building codes that apply to them are for the year they were built — not present day housing codes.
“Where you’re going to see violations is in older homes that have fallen into disrepair,” she said. “If you get a feeling something is unsafe, it probably is.”
Fire hazards are also a concern in old buildings.
While Idaho code requires landlords to provide working smoke detectors, Joe Williams, fire marshal and division chief of the Moscow Fire Department, recommends tenants check their own smoke detectors.
He also said landlords need to provide fire extinguishers and have them inspected by a certified company every year. Williams said landlords usually cooperate, “because it is such a big liability.”
The fire extinguishers in Hodges’ building have inspection tags that were last punched November 2005.
“I assumed (the inspection company) came,” Young said. “I don’t know why they didn’t come.”
A representative for Bob’s Fire Equipment, a company certified to inspect the extinguishers in Young’s building said inspections are done only at the request of the landlord.
Young said he didn’t call the company because he never had time.
“I’m so busy, I never got around to it,” he said.
Candles cause two to three fires a year, Williams said.
“If you hear an alarm then you need to evacuate immediately,” he said. “In a fire, seconds count.”
Landlords are required to “maintain electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and sanitary facilities in good working order,” Idaho Code Sec. 6-320(2) said.
Regulation also requires a heating system that can heat a room to 68 degrees fahrenheit two feet away from the wall, and three feet off the floor, Alexander said.
It is also legally required the landlord deal with rodent and insect infestations to maintain a healthy living environment.
Hodges said that she saw a mouse in the bathroom.
“I screamed my brains out,” she said.
Hodges said she wrote a letter to her landlord but never recived a response.
“Over the summer, a mouse lived in one of my drawers,” Slocum said. “I found some fun little treats when I came home.”
Young said he dealt with the mice by patching a hole in the rear of the building with wire mesh to prevent them from getting into the building.
Hodges said she fears for her personal safety because her landlord does not perform background checks on the other tenants in the building.
“Parole officers sometimes show up asking about them,” she said. “You become the go-to person … There was that murder across from the Conoco a few years ago. You think about those things.”
Landlords are not required to execute background checks on tenants and Young said he wants to offer people a second chance.
“I don’t check your background,” Young said. “Everybody deserves a first time. Each person has troubles.”
Gas-burning appliances require proper ventilation to avoid gas-leaks and carbon-monoxide poisoning.
Goodwin recommends that tenants who have concerns about gas-related issues call a utility company.
“If you are going to rent an older home, have Avista Utilities come out and take a look,” he said
House molds can also be a health threat to residents if they release toxic spores. Alexander recommends getting a sample of the mold and sending it to a lab for analysis.
“You can’t eradicate it if you don’t know what it is” she said.
“We usually turn that over to the Health Department,” Goodwin said.
Landlords have problems too
Young said he is still recovering from financial hard times from when he was forced to sell most of his properties.
“I couldn’t get finance from the bank,” he said.
A few years ago, a fire destroyed one of Young’s houses on Jefferson Street, he said. Although the loss of the house was insured, he said he lost a valuable source of income. The fire started during a tenant’s party because of a barbeque grill, he said.
Also, a tree fell on a mobile home owned by Young.
“I got a lot of accidents,” he said. “It’s not good business to have a rental here. Returns (are) small, you just lose more.”
Young points out despite his problems and the rising costs of utilities, he has not raised rent in years.
Young also said he had other problems, such as tenants putting holes in walls and breaking doors when they couldn’t find their keys.
“It’s hard to charge people (for damages),” Young said. “When you don’t push them, they don’t (want) any revenge.”
Chris Yockey is a manager at University City Rentals, a property management company. He said students have misconceptions about property managers.
“They think that we are the ‘evil landlord,’” he said. “We’re just people too, and we’re just doing a job.”
Yockey said students can have misconceptions about the quality of their rentals as well.
“(Students) from well-off backgrounds have a certain grade of expectations. They want it to be like mom and dad’s house,” he said
University City does not have the resources to respond to all tenant requests, Yockey said, such as replacing out-dated two prong electrical outlets.
“I can’t re-wire an entire house so you can plug in your plasma-screen TV,” he said. “Go to Wal-Mart and get an adapter.”
Young said he thinks of his tenants as his equals in business.
“You’ve got to tolerate other people,” he said. “Make compromise.”
What tenants can do
Goodwin said city building inspections can sometimes benefit tenants, but it doesn’t always work in their favor, and there is often a fee that could total up to several hundred dollars.
“If they have been trying hard and the landlord is unresponsive, then write a letter to our office,” he said.
Alexander added, “They have to be true, life-safety issues.”
Many attorneys agree one thing is crucial.
“Document everything,” said Ritchie Eppink, an attorney with Idaho Legal Aid Services.
Without documentation, he said, any agreements between landlord and tenant are hard to argue in a court of law.
ILAS is a non-profit organization that provides legal aid for low-income Idahoans.
Eppink said under Idaho law, a landlord cannot refuse to offer housing to a tenant based on gender, race, nationality, religion, disability status or if you have or are expecting children.
“(Discrimination is) a problem you might not even know you have,” he said.
When moving into a rental, tenants can neglect planning ahead to get their security deposit back down the road.
“When you’re moving into your new home, schedule time for a walk-through,” said Selina Davis, also an attorney with ILAS. “Have a checklist … whatever defect you notice, record it, and if at all possible, give it to your property manager to sign.”
The best way to record existing damages in a home is by placing a tape measure or ruler next to damages and photographing, or videotaping them, Davis said.
Davis also recommends reading the lease carefully before filling it out.
When filling out a lease, cross out any unused blank spots, Davis said, so the landlord cannot write in them after the lease is signed.
It is required both landlord and tenant have a copy of the lease.
While living in a rental, it is important to either e-mail or hand-write and copy a letter to request maintenance, Davis said. That way the tenant can later prove the request was made.
Eppink said it is crucial for tenants to pay their rent on time and to save receipts on rent payments, so landlords cannot pretend they did not get payment.
“Do not ignore an eviction notice,” Davis said.
Yockey emphasizes the importance of communication with your landlord or property manager.
“Our job is to collect rent, not to evict people,” he said. “If you let us know, we’ll work with you.”
If a tenant is unable to make a full rent payment, Yockey said it is best for them to offer what money they have.
“If you’re vested, if you’re trying, they’ll understand,” he said. “It’s a huge matter of effort and honesty.”
Yockey said tenants should also be open and communicative about maintenance issues.
“If there’s something wrong, all you have to do is ask,” he said.
Landlords are not required to repair damages caused by the tenant, their family or their friends.
When a tenant moves out, it is often required they clean their rental to allow for the return of a full security deposit. Normal wear and tear cannot be deducted from a deposit.
“Clean thoroughly and completely,” Davis said.
Yockey said the most commonly missed places during a move-out cleaning are under the stove and refrigerator.
After moving out, the security deposit should be returned within 30 days, Davis said. If any deductions are made, they should be listed and itemized.
“It’s a real problem in college towns,” Davis said. “Property managers will try to keep the security deposit.”
If a tenant wants to contest a withheld security deposit or has any other financial conflicts with a landlord, they can file small claims. This is only for claims of less than $5,000 and should only be filed after negotiations have fallen through. To file, a plaintiff usually has to pay a $35 court fee and a $32 service fee to have the defendant officially informed of the charge. Most cases are settled out of court.
Davis suggests tenants leave their relationship with their landlord as positive as possible so they can be used later on as a reference.
“Do what you can to work it out,” she said. “Mend that relationship.”
More information about Idaho Legal Aid Services can be found at www.idaholegalaid.org. The UI College of Law also offers a clinic for legal assistance to students.
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