Landlord Issues

Ferlito says the biggest problem of off-campus housing is parties and trash.

“I don’t mind the (students) partying,” Ferlito says. “Just clean up after yourselves.”

Richie Brearton says the house he rents on University Drive has problems with heating and plumbing. {larger}

Houses on College Avenue have been cited for having garbage in the yards, he says.

During annual health inspections, the health department checks for certain violations. The owner or operator of the house schedules an inspection, and the department checks the house for any violations of the Housing Code.

“We go through and check the house to make sure there are no holes, screens are in the windows,” Ferlito says. “Most houses have been upgraded to the minimum standards we require.”

Licensed houses must have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. Ferlito says he notices during inspections that the batteries are taken out of a lot of smoke detectors.

Tom Beckett, a sanitarian at the health department, says after a house’s yearly inspection, the landlord has a certain amount of time to make any necessary repairs.

“If something’s not up to code, they are under orders to fix it,” he says.

Sill, Ferlito says, there are no real problems with the houses that most students live in.

“If tenants have a complaint, they can call us,” Ferlito says. “Usually they can be taken care of. We inspect once a year, so usually people complain to us before it gets that bad.”

Moneypenny says the health department is fair and gives ample time for landlords to fix any repairs, adding that asw has a good track record with the health department.

“One thing they see a lot of that they don’t like is using extension cords,” Moneypenny says. “And students like to have Christmas lights up all year. They make sure they are hung up properly and there aren’t any broken wires.”

“It’s kind of a two-way street. There are bad landlords and bad tenants. But it’s not that simple.”

Ferlito says the only time the health department condemns a house is when there is no water or heat, but usually no one is living there, anyway.

It takes three days to evict someone, and a notice is given that the house will be condemned. Ferlito says sometimes students are given eviction notices because there is no heat or water. Usually it is a communication problem, and someone forgot to pay the bills.

“Both tenants and landlords have responsibilities,” says Beckett of the health department. “Both sides can be deficient. It’s kind of a two-way street. There are bad landlords and bad tenants. But it’s not that simple.”

Moneypenny says he enjoys having students as tenants. “In general, students make good tenants,” Moneypenny says. “If they didn’t, I wouldn’t be working with them.”

Randi Petrello (rpetrell@kent.edu)

*The End›› 1, 2...