University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, November 17, 1987
9
IKE HOME
ing houses takes time
Another house Munsch bought at 1209 Ohio St. had a history of code violations. A year before he bought it, the city declared the house substandard for such problems as infestation of insects, improper wiring and fire hazards, records show.
Munsch said he was not aware that the houses had code violations when he bought them. "I'm aware of it now, and I'm working to correct them." he said.
So is Lee Maniloff. And he's doing it for a break in his rent.
Maniloff, Chicago junior, pays Munsch $280 a month for a one-bedroom apartment in the standard house at 1209 Ohio St. Maniloff is helping to renovate the house that Munsch owns next door at 1213 Ohio St.
"When he starts letting me remodel this place, I'm going to put screens on the windows," Manloff said. "I paid my entire August rent by working on the house next door."
Munsch said he knew that his properties needed extensive repairs but that he had owned them less than a year. "There's a limit to how much you can do in a year."
He said many landlords let their properties run down. "I don't do that," Munsch said. "If I can't take care of them, I'll sell."
Dick Lynch, who owns six apartment houses in the Oread neighborhood and six in other parts of Lawrence, said all the properties he owned needed a lot of repairs.
"Anything I buy I put in a lot better shape than when I buy," Lynch said. "Sure we put out money, but it pays out in the long run."
Lynch blamed students for some of the damage to old Oread homes.
"Every year we get at least one trashed," he said. "We try to watch pretty closely the type of students we get; but every now and then, you get some garbage. That's what I call them. they're the potholes and the pillboxes, the ones that party all the time."
Lynch said some Oread houses were damaged by students during the '60s. "It was burn and plunder. If they didn't like the landlord, they'd burn the place down."
He also blamed landlords for letting the properties deteriorate.
"They figured they were going to get trashed out, and so they never fixed them up." Lynch said.
James Dunn, president of Landlords of Lawrence, Inc., the local affiliate of a state lobbying group, said landlords should not be blamed for poor maintenance if students did not report problems.
He said he recently went into an apartment he owns to spray pesticide, and while he was there, a student said water had been dripping through the ceiling. Dunn said that when he went upstairs, he discovered a leaky faucet that was causing the damage.
"I hadn't been called on of any of these things," he said.
Dunn speaks from experience. He has been a landlord for 20 years and now owns 21 rental properties, eight of them in the Oread neighborhood. He still lives at 936 Tennessee St., the house he first rented and later bought in 1967, while he was a KU student.
Dunn said students should be more aware of the risks and responsibilit-
"Most landlords would like students to be more aware of what they're renting." Dunn said. "They need to see what's in that apartment, not what they'd like to see there, but what there's."
oest ceiling where pigeons have broken through. General dilapidation and maintenance in violation of the city housing code.
Renting an apartment is the first business relationship many students have to deal with.
"Students need to think that they are part of the process," Dunn said. "They should think about the next people who will live there."
Students like Blake are one reason the city has had a surge of apartment construction.
The 372-unit apartment complex, which opened last spring, is evidence of a building boom in the city's rental market. Builders have responded to an increasing supply of students with the construction of 2,963 rental units in the last seven years. Last year, rental-market construction hit a record high when 800 new units were built, city records show.
Blake is one of them. She said that her apartment in Colony Woods was smaller but nicer than the one that she rented last year in another complex.
Market for apartments may be reaching peak
by Lenexa-based L&M of Hieronvmus Inc.
The demand is there. Sally Bryant, assistant dean of educational services at the University of Kansas, said that 11,526 students lived in off-campus rooms or apartments.
The carpet is new. So is the microwave. And the refrigerator with ice maker. In fact, everything in Martha Blake's apartment is new.
Graphics by Dave Eames, Chris Gotsill and Bill Skeet.
Blake lives in Colony Woods, one of the largest and newest apartment complexes in Lawrence.
"It's almost like living in a dorm," Blake said. "It's so loud sometimes, but it's a fun place, really friendly."
For $370 a month, the Kansas City, Kan., senior has a two-bedroom apartment with two bathrooms and the use of a recreation room, a weight room and an indoor-outdoor pool.
By STORMY WYLIE
Where tenants can go for help
Special to the Kansan
City Planning Director Price Banks said that the apartment market had changed dramatically in the last few years.
I'd say the apartment market is at a saturation point now. We don't need any new apartments.'
d. uwrote will investigate written customer complaints involving violations of the Consumer Protection Act and will answer legal questions in consumer transactions. The address is: State Office Building, Tampa 66612.
9
Banks predicted more construction of singlefamily homes and more renovation of older homes in the future.
Tom Galyardt, manager of Kaw Valley Management, echoed Banks.
The association will provide information and assistance with consumer problems.
Lawrence Tenpape Associates
manager of Kaw Valley Management
Source: Consumer Affairs Association
"I'd say the apartment market is at a saturation point now," said Galyard, whose company manages rental properties. "We don't need any new apartments."
In the past few years, the rental market has profited from increased enrollments at KU. But state officials are predicting that enrollment will decline in the next decade.
that most growth in the last year," he said.
But the apartment building boom may be over,
he said.
These local agencies can assist in solving landlord-tenant disputes:
KU enrollment, which now is at 26,306, excluding the University of Kansas Medical Center, is
"Apartments are the one housing area that has
- Check for adequate lighting and ventilation.
·Check for signs of insects.
·Check for fire exits and working fire alarms.
·Check for adequate screens and storm windows.
Minimum Housing Inspection, 841-7722, ext. 109.
Morgan Swarts, housing inspector, will inspect dwelling units in the housing code after a receiving written complaint. The address is 60044 Massachusetts Street, Boston, MA 02118.
Legal Services Inc., 301 Washington Avenue, New York, NY 10017.
*Check for working stove and refrigerator.
Tom Galyardt
Consumer Affairs Association, 843-4608.
- Lawrence Community Development Office of Minimum Housing Inspection, 841-7722, ext. 109
Marcene Swarts, housing inspector
- Check floors, walls, ceilings and the foundation.
Structures should be waterproof,
weatherproof and rodent-proof — free of holes and cracks in the
walls and floors. Baseboards and
floors should be checked for
rodent droppings.
Landlords must provide tenants with a plumbing system connected to the city water supply. Rental units must have cold water and hot water that reaches a temperature of 120 degrees. Drains in the kitchen and bathroom should allow water to flow freely.
Check plumbing
·Check heat.
The city housing code requires at least two outlets in every room.
A checklist for renters
Check electrical wiring for safety and number of outlets.
Landlords must provide heating that can maintain a room temperature of 70 degrees. Heating units must be properly ventilated
-Kansas Attorney General's Office, Consumer Protection Division, (913) 296-3751 The office will implement this policy.
Before renting, tenants should:
- Legal Services for Students, Burge Union, 864-5665.
The office will provide legal assistance and information.
projected to increase by 1,624 students next fall and by 581 students in 1989, according to estimates from the Kansas Legislative Research Department. But in 1990, enrollment is expected to decrease by about 200 students and continue to decrease by a few hundred students each year through the rest of the decade.
if disputes cannot be resolved through these agencies, it may be necessary to go to court for a settlement. small claims court is an informal court where individuals may file suit to recover money or property from an individual or business when the amount of damages claimed by the lawyers are not allowed to represent individuals in small claims court, but they may be consulted • Douglas County District Court • the main court for landlord-tenant disputes involving evictions or appeals based on a small claims court de
The office will provide legal assistance and information to KU students.
Planning Director Banks said that the city needed to be responsive to students because its economy was dependent on them.
In general, on-campus housing is not a problem because the community has responded by taking in students, he said.
And with KU housing booked near maximum capacity, the rental housing market in Lawrence will continue to flourish. he said.
"Students are like water," Banks said. "They have to go somewhere."
KU might, however, build two scholarship halls within the next three to five years if it can raise the money. Stoner said.
Julian Efird, principal analyst for the research department, said that the enrollment projections for KU were based on a declining pool of Kansas high school students.
For the next few years, however, housing on campus is expected to be overbooked. But KU officials are not planning to build more dormitories.
Ken Stoner, director of student housing, said. "The future is not in building new housing but in renovating existing facilities."
Area tenants and landlords strive to protect rights
By KEITH ROBISON
Special to the Kansan
That's the penalty for breaking a state law that went into effect July 1.
A tenant who writes a bad check for rent to a landlord could wind up in jail.
And that law made Gregg Stauffer angry. Stauffer, a 32-year-old Lawrence sophomore, said he thought that landlords had too much power. So last spring, when the Kansas Legislature passed the bill protecting landlords' rights, Stauffer formed the Lawrence Tenants Association to protect the rights of renters.
"Landlords have one of the biggest lobbies in the state," Stauffer said. "The tenants just don't have that kind of representation. It just wasn't fair."
Stauffer said that the law reflected landlords' power to lobby the Legislature.
Under the law, a tenant who fails to pay rent that exceeds $150, or who pays with a check that is not covered by his bank can be convicted of a felony, punishable by imprisonment. Before July 1, it was a misdemeanor, punishable by fines.
"They (landlords) have gone too far in trying to protect their rights." Stauffer said. "They've created someone who is not like people "people and students."
James Dunn, a local landlord who also is president of Landlords of Lawrence, Inc., said that he was indirectly involved in lobbying for the law. Landlords of Lawrence, Inc., is a local offshoot of the Landlords Association of Kansas, a registered lobbying group.
"When you see some of the property that has been left for me to try to re-rent, you really start thinking about a boulder," he said.
Dunn said that legislators recognized the need to protect rental properties and their owners.
"Landlords do not put people in
he said. It would be our
elected governor."
Both Stauffer and Dunn said that the law was vague.
Stauffar said that his organization had sought help from State Rep. Brianson, D-Lawrence, to question the constitutionality of the new law.
Branson said that she asked Attorney General Bob Stephan to review the law. She is waiting for his opinion.
"The law is vague, and it will make it tough for prosecutors to know what to do," Branson said. "If the sheriffs go around collecting all the people, the prisons wouldn't hold them all."
"It can be translated into a debtor's law. People can't be imprisoned for debts. This changes the law and might make it unconstitutional," she said.
Branson has been in contact with area landlords since she asked Stephan about the law.
Cynthia Harris also tries to get tenants and landlords to compromise.
"I just hope the tenants and landlords can get together and work together," Branson said. "They may have to compromise here and there, but they could improve for the wider."
Harris, consumer specialist at the Consumer Affairs Association, 819 Vermont St., said that her office had received about 1,100 complaints against landlords last year.
"The main problem is with repairs that landlords don't make; it's good
that landlords don't make, she said.
She also receives many complaints from students about landlords who require 12-month leases.
"They know full well that the students are only here for nine months, and still they insist on year leases," she said.
However, Harris said that she was sympathetic to landlords when tenants failed to pay rent.
But landlords have more protection than tenants, she said.
"The tenants don't realize that the landlord has to make payments and the tenant has to pay."
"The landlords usually don't suffer any losses, and the tenant usually does. Many students have to forfeit their deposits," she said.
Although the law makes it a felony for a tenant to owe a landlord rent, landlords legally can arbitrarily withhold a tenant's security deposit.
"That's the inequity," Harris sait. Harris said that when her office received a complaint, she advised the tenant to try to informally settle the problem with the landlord. The second step is to direct the complainant to the appropriate agency, or to write the landlord a letter about the problem. The Consumer Affairs Association has no enforcement powers. The association is supported by KU student activity fees and by Douglas County revenue-sharing funds.
If tenants have complaints about the condition of their apartments, the city has a department that will provide help. The Community Development Department's Office of Minimum Housing Inspection is responsible for investigating complaints from tenants about the condition of the property and enforcing the city housing code. The code outlines minimum standards for construction and maintenance of rental properties.
However, before the department can inspect property, a tenant must file a written complaint. If housing code violations exist, the department will cite the landlord and require repairs within 30 days, unless the landlord is granted an extension.
Where KU students live in 1987
On campus
Residence halls Stouffer Place
Scholarship halls University-owned apartments
Off campus
Apartments Sororities
Priv. residence halls Fraternities
Commuters Parents' homes
"Figures are for KU students enrolled at the Lawrence campus only. Does not include students enrolled at the Regents Center or the satellite office in Topeka.
Source: KU departments of Student Housing and education services.