Action ticket proposes landlord review

Bloomington students have been at the mercy of landlords ever since the first student decided to live off-campus. Action, a ticket in Tuesday and Wednesday's IU Student Association election, hopes to make next year different.\nThrough the implementation of a landlord review available for all IU students, Action's goal is to educate potential renters on the process of renting and rate Bloomington landlords on whether they treat their tenants respectfully. \n"Everywhere in Bloomington, landlords take advantage of students, plain and simple," said junior Liz Weikes, Action vice presidential candidate. "For what students pay, the landlords owe it to them to maintain upkeep to the houses and provide a good living experience."\nWeikes and the rest of the Action ticket have talked to many student renters. Many of their tales involving landlord negligence resemble each other, according to Laura Walda, presidential candidate for Action.\n"I"ve heard horror stories," she said. "I know the basement of one girl on our ticket has flooded twice, and the landlord still has not done anything."\nCurrently, many landlords provide students with short tours and vague floor plans before having them sign leases. Many students, thinking they have thoroughly researched the property, will unwittingly sign unfair leases, Walda said.\n"Too many students go into their contracts blind," she said. "Some might look at their contracts and say, 'Hey, this looks great,' but if a parent or lawyer were to look at it, they would find it unfair."\nOther aspects to be covered by the review in addition to peer reviews of landlords include liability information, maintenance responsibility and joint and several liability. Action congressional secretary candidate Sam Patel said understanding these issues will help students be aware of their rights as tenants. His own understanding of tenant rights has helped him in the past.\n"I have a washer and dryer in our house, but the landlord refuses to pay it," Patel said. "Because we take care of them, they're technically in our possession. We can take them when we leave even though they were here before we moved in."\nTo inform students, Action plans to gear the information toward the first-time renter, ultimately providing quick online access to lawyer advice and a solid base of student reviews of landlords.\n"It's about educating the students so they will know what they are getting," Weikes said. "We want to be as comprehensive as possible, so a lot of research will be involved."\nThe review will be a compilation of hundreds of student interviews. An IUSA task force, led by a director, will be appointed to ask students for their testimonials regarding the quality of their landlord's service.\n"I hope the landlords who continually screw over the students have no one sign with them next semester," Walda said. "Hopefully, they will be forced to change."\nIn the review, the landlords would be given a chance to respond to student critiques, a system that will reveal as much about the landlords as the student reviews, Walda said.\n"I'd like to hear what they have to say for themselves," she said. "Because some of the things I've seen landlords force students to live with are just ridiculous."\nIn addition to identifying questionable landlords, the Action plan would also seek out and identify the best landlords, possibly inviting them to campus to speak to students about renting.\nIf implemented, the landlord review will help all students, even those living in dorms or in greek houses for four years as its renting advice could benefit those students after graduation, Walda said.\nAction ultimately hopes to spread enough landlord information that young people entering leases for the first time will be as knowledgeable as experienced renters.\n"I think the students will make better choices on where to live," Weikes said. "Landlords will be stunned when they talk to students who are as knowledgeable as we hope to make them."\nThere are a few sites currently critiquing the Bloomington rental market, but few students provide reviews. The Action plan would be a large step forward -- a step that, according to Weikes, should be given heed no matter what the election results later this week.\n"I hope this will be implemented no matter which administration takes office on April 15," she said. "This is something much needed in Bloomington. It will benefit all students whether they use the knowledge we give them while in college or after they graduate"