Give us our rental rights

It's 11:30 Saturday night. After a week of planning, you've finally decorated your living room for that special two-month anniversary. The rose petals are scattered. An aromatic candle spreads its sweet scent. Marvin Gaye serenades in the background. \nJust as things begin to get interesting, in walks the landlord with a wrench in his hand.\n"Didn't you say your sink was broken?" he asks.\nUnder current law, scenarios like these happen all too often. Landlords are free to wander in and out of their rental properties as they please. \nBut this might soon change. A bill recently introduced in the state legislature would ban unannounced visits by landlords. The bill, introduced by IU alum and State Rep. Matt Pierce D-Bloomington, requires landlords to give tenants at least one day's notice before entering a renter's place of residence.\n But landlords can still slide through the door. The bill allows landlords to waive the 24-hour requirement and enter immediately "in cases of an emergency that threatens the safety of the occupants or the landlord's property." \nWe feel this bill has the right idea. While there are many local landlords who are respectful to students, unfortunately there are also a few who have no respect for their tenants. In the Jan. 29 edition of the IDS, senior Mackenzie Robinson recalled how, "once I was getting out of the shower in my robe and there were four huge guys and my landlord standing there ... They always say they try to get a hold of us, but it doesn't seem like they try very hard." \nMore than anything else, this bill will establish a working dialogue between tenants and landlords and hopefully lead to better tenant/landlord relations.\nHowever, the bill can still be circumvented by many overzealous landlords. Landlords can still barge in unannounced, as long they make some kind of call at least a day in advance. Also, the "emergency" exception is ambiguous enough to allow creative landlords unrestricted access to their properties. \nIt's important for the state to look out for renters' rights. We hope legislators will continue to support renters and tackle the more serious issues they face. There are some landlords who believe your security deposit is their personal property. Too many apartments and rental homes suffer a lack of needed maintenance, forcing tenants to live in sub-standards conditions. Worse yet, in an attempt to generate more rental revenue, some devious landlords try to cram as many students as possible into residences that should only be housing half as many.\nThe new legislation is a first step. It is not addressed to the majority of landlords, but rather the dirty few that prey on unsuspecting tenants. Hopefully, we will see more legislation like Pierce's bill that will increase protections for tenants while also allowing landlords to exercise their rights as property owners.