Hill topics
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 10A FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1997
EVENTS • ENTERTAINMENT • ISSUES • MUSIC • ART
Are students getting robbed?
Each year, thousands of students look for a new place to live. Many look at off-campus housing in apartments or houses. They sign leases, move in furniture and enjoy life in rented abodes.
But when leases expire, students find themselves battling with landlords on every detail, from cracks in plaster to holes in walls.
Keeping records and maintaining a rental unit could save students from trouble as their leases expire.
Finding the perfect home
There are 23 real estate management companies listed in the Lawrence phone book, and countless other properties are managed independently.
So how do students find a home they want?
Often, they rely on friends' advice or contact property managers they like. Or they peruse advertisements in local newspapers to see which properties are available.
Student Senate is also involved.
A Landlord-Tenant Task Force was established three years ago to match prospective renters with landlords.
Michelle Galus, chair of the task force, said it offered a wealth of information to students who were hunting for apartments.
"Landlords are there to help students with housing, and we are there to bridge that cap," she said.
The task force has information on 45 apartment complexes.
This year the task force will focus on adding rental houses and property management services to its database.
"We'd like to add rental houses because that's more of an issue for students who want to live close to campus," she said. "We hope to have a system where students can go to find a place to live."
Home Sweet Home
Once tenants settle in to new homes, it's important to make an effort to maintain the dwelling. If tenants do not, they could be saddled with charges when they move out.
Braxton Copley, Legal Services for Students attorney, recommends that before students move to a new home, they do a thorough check-in inspection of the property to prevent being charged for damage present before they took occupancy.
"New tenants should do a check-in walk-through, and not just look around and say 'Hey,' this looks fine,' but look at it as if they were a landlord at the end of the year and think, 'What can I charge for?'" Copley said.
Galus agreed.
"I think students at some point expect leniency, but they need to be responsible." she said.
Copley said tenants should read and reread their lease so they understand what is their responsibility and what is their landlord's. If there is any question or any special agreement reached on maintenance, he said, get it in print.
"Get it in writing," he said. "A lot of times a landlord will take a tenant that they will fix the plumbing or install new screens, but most leases have a provision that says oral agreements are not binding. They need to get it in writing."
Lidia Faverman, Overland Park junior, said her landlord last year, David Gage of Gage Management, charged her for internal problems.
"He's a alumlord," she said. "He never fixed any problems — he'd just cover them up. He charged us for things like plumbing that were his responsibility to fix."
It's possible Faverman's lease said plumbing was the tenant's responsibility.
Moving Out
The end of a lease can be frustrating, and students are often surprised to find they have been charged for minor details.
Lesli Chapman, Tonganoxie senior,
said her landlord was unfail and did not give back her entire security deposit.
"We put a lot of time into cleaning and keeping up the apartment, and he only gave us $400 out of nearly $1000 back," she said.
Chapman, who lived in the apartment for two years, said her landlord told her when they moved out he place looked fine, but then piled on assorted charges costing almost $200.
What irritated Chapman was that none of the cleaning her security deposit paid for was performed.
"He charged us $200 for carpet he said was completely ruined and would have to be replaced, but he never replaced it. We felt like if he charged us the money he should have put new carpet in," she said. "He also charged us $60 to remove stickers — 60 bucks to remove stickers!— but when we went back and checked, he hadn’t removed them."
Chapman is pursuing legal action against her former landlord.
Legal Services is funded entirely by student fees. Copley said 15 to 20 percent of the 3,000 cases they see each year deal with landlord-tenant issues.
Students keeping the faith in the house of the holy
By Sarah McWilliams
By Sarah McWilliams
william@karen.com
smcwilliams@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
When it came to finding a place to live at the University of Kansas, several students were not just looking for a place to keep their stuff. They were looking for a place to share their faiths.
Justin Kaplan, Memphis, Tenn., senior, was one of those students. Kaplan chose to live in Hillel House, a Jewish living community at 940 Mississippi St.
"After being in Israel, I felt like a needed a place to come to where I felt more comfortable." he said.
Kaplan moved there this semester after spending a year in Israel.
The students living in the houses moved in for different reasons, whether it was failed housing
arrangements or just a desire to try something new.
Hillel is one of the four religionbased houses at the University. The other houses are Canterbury House, Koinonia House and Engel House, all with Christian emphasis.
The house is sponsored by the Lutheran and Episcopalian ministries, which accept residents of all faiths. Mitchell said.
"It's kind of like the Real World on MTV with a religious twist," said Clark Mitchell, resident of Canterbury House. 1116 Louisiana St.
Sometimes sharing their faith is not the biggest challenge for these students.
Mitchell said he wasn't sure what to expect when he moved into the house.
"It's nice knowing that there are other people here you can rely on."
Mitchell said.
Kaplan agreed.
"It's easy to be on campus and not think about your religion," Kaplan said. "But when you come home it reminds you once again that you're with other people who share your faith."
One way to share their faith is by sharing a communal meal at least once a week to pray. They discuss what's going on in their lives and bring up concerns about house chores.
Beyond that, the members are usually left to find ways on their own to bring religion into their houses.
At Koinonia House and Canterbury House, members volunteer at Jubilee Cafe, a food program for the underprivileged. They also spend their spring breaks together doing a community service project in a prese-
lected city through Alternative Spring Break, a project of the Center for Community Outreach.
Koinonia House residents also discuss topics that at times can be controversial and at others personal, said Thad Holcombe, campus minister for Ecumenical Christian Ministries.
Steve Jacobson, director of Hillel House, said the three current residents hold traditional Jewish dinners every other week, and at this time of year celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Several residents said diversity was another important part of living in religion-based housing.
Griffin said the six people in the
Dan Griffin, Fort Washington, Md., graduate student, lives in Koinonia House at 1204 Oread Ave. The house is sponsored by Ecumenical Christian Ministries at the University.
Living
Four religion-based living communities have been set up around the University of Kansas.
They include Canterbury House, Koinonia House, and Engel House for Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, or other faiths with a Christian emphasis, and Hillel House, a Jewish Living community.
house come from a wide range of backgrounds, from China to Guatemala, which has led to a number of lively discussions among the group.
"You can't have a community without communication." Griffin said.
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