Rental saga continues

On Sept. 23, the Indiana Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of a Bloomington ordinance that bans housing rentals to more than three tenants, if tenants are unrelated. The law is supposed to limit the amount of trash and noise caused by occupants of single-family residences. \nAccording to reports from The Indianapolis Star and the IDS, the controversy surrounding the ordinance heated up in 1996 when landlord Peter Dvorak was sued by the city for allowing six IU students to rent his property. The investigation was prompted by a neighbor's complaint over the six cars that were parked outside the house.\nThe saga continued when, in 2000, the Monroe County Circuit Court ruled in favor of the ban, but in 2002, the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned that ruling. Finally, last week, all five justices of the Indiana Supreme Court declared the Bloomington ordinance constitutional.\nThe cap on rental occupancy boils down to a simple question: What proof exists showing that unrelated people are more prone to be a nuisance to their neighborhood? Even though the seven-year legal battle has ended, that question still has yet to be answered. \nBloomington is a city that relies heavily on its student population. Because of student influence, "three unrelated persons" on paper turn into three University students in real life. The ordinance is essentially singling out college students and denying them their right to purchase housing. For some college students, rent split more than three ways could be their only way to afford living in Bloomington. With the ban in place, the choice of housing possibilities and the economic benefit to students is destroyed.\nWhat if a landlord is struggling to make ends meet and he or she encounters four responsible college students ... is this landlord to slam the door in their faces? Why is the landlord denied even the opportunity to have faith in these students? \nFurthermore, if these students turn out to be rowdy and unkempt, a landlord will most likely evict them. Why? The landlord has an investment in his space; if the tenants wreck it, the investment depreciates. If the students are noisy, why not call the cops and issue tickets and arrests? If the students show no respect for the building they live in, put them out on the streets. If the students flood the neighborhood with unwanted cars, tow them. Neighborhood problems can be solved without this ordinance.\nTo justify its ruling, the Indiana Supreme Court referenced a law by the General Assembly that permits cities to use zoning laws so that "residential areas provide healthful surroundings for family life." The Court's agenda clearly favors families over students. Immediately following last week's ruling, Mayor John Fernandez said that the ordinance was a "common sense" approach to the neighborhoods' problems. If race took the place of age in this housing dilemma, several people would be behind bars.\nBloomington officials have disgracefully manipulated the law to cheapen the rights of both renters and owners. Those who will be hurt the most are students.