Fourth-year College student Jarrett Allen looked forward to moving off Grounds into a house with her friends two years ago. Then a second-year student, Allen was shocked at the state of her newly rented Stadium Road house upon move-in day.
"When we went to start moving stuff in, it was not cleaned," she said. "And by this, I mean that it was filthy-most of the house had not be painted ... and [HasBrouck Real Estate Corporation] did not change the locks on the house, so who knows how many keys were floating around Charlottesville?"
But this was only the beginning of the new tenants' housing woes. When a pipe broke in an upstairs shower, they called HasBrouck and the house's owner, Jeanne Davis, to repair the problem.
"We called [Davis] and HasBrouck repeatedly regarding the pipe and the ceiling," Allen said. "We really had no choice but to use that shower, so it continued to leak into this girls' bedroom, and the ceiling began to warp and sag."
Repair crews fixed the pipe several months later after one of the girls' parents threatened to sue.
HasBrouck did not return phone calls from The Cavalier Daily. Jeanne Davis could not be reached for comment.
Although the transition from on-Grounds housing to an apartment or house may be a liberating experience for some, other students have been met with immense frustration in dealing with landlords. Frequently citing loss of a security deposit, unannounced visits from landlords, infestation problems, unresponsive repair needs and expensive repair fees, many students say they feel left without recourse.
Numerous students with landlord woes have opted to consult with an attorney at Student Legal Services. Last year, SLS helped more than 700 students - 38 percent of its total consultations - with landlord/tenant problems. The problems ranged from property damage to eviction, lease termination and rent disputes, SLS attorney Lester A. Wilson III said.
Wilson first acquaints students with the Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act, which details all aspects with regard to renting property, including rights and obligations for both the landlord and the tenant. The act applies to most leases, including those of large companies, such as Wade Apartments, Management Services Corporation and Woodard Properties.
"I don't think a lot of landlords" take advantage of students, Wilson said. "There are some who seem to have more problems than others, but they also seem to be dwindling in numbers. I have the impression that the problem is improving."
The most common claim was landlords withholding security deposits for alleged property damage. In past years, some graduating fourth-year students have contacted SLS after landlords failed to reissue security deposits, but that problem also seems to be less common than in the past, Wilson said.
"The landlord will claim damage beyond wear and tear that is in dispute by the student or that the apartment wasn't clean when left," Wilson said. "I try and encourage students to videotape or take photographs of their apartments when the move in and when they move out."
Most matters are worked out without going to court, Wilson said. To avoid problems, students should familiarize themselves with their rights as tenants and seek counseling from Student Legal Services before landlord problems continue to worsen.
"Large landlords have so much incentive to have good relationships with their tenants," Wilson said. "The large, professional landlords seem to do a better job with that, although there are a number of wonderful, small landlords, but there are some poor small landlords as well."
However, some local landlords say they have positive relationships with most student renters.
"We find by having the residents involved we have relatively few disputes," Wade Apartments general manager Wade Tremblay said.
For example, many rental agencies review leases with potential tenants and allow inspections before moving in.
Because local companies often rely on student referrals for new tenants, most rental agencies try to maintain their properties in a timely manner. Nevertheless, many admit that with so many demands, repair crews may not be able to respond immediately, Tremblay said.
"We rely on word-of-mouth, so it doesn't make sense for us to do anything but be responsible," he said.
Landlords also said they have had problems with student renters. Cleanliness issues as well as noise problems and general apartment upkeep have caused landlords to implement stricter policies for their residents.
"There are at least an equal number of tenants from hell," Tremblay said. "For many young people, this is the first time they're out from under Mom and Dad and the big brother of the University, and a lot of students go through an endemic slovenliness. It's really a learning process for them."
Agencies also cite cases of roommate disputes in which landlords must intervene. Landlords are affected directly by roommate woes, as parties may not be willing to accept responsibility for rent and other maintenance. Landlords also have problems dealing not just with one tenant, but multiple roommates and their parents, said Connie Dunn, Management Services Corporation regional manager.
"For one four-person apartment, you could be dealing with up to 12 people involved, and that is a major time constraint," Dunn said.
Problems also may be worsened due to the sheer number of students looking for housing, said Del Price Harvey, Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority executive director.
If a landlord does not fulfill his legal requirements under the Landlord/Tenant Act, a renter may have cause for lease termination, but those situations are extremely rare, Wilson said.
"I've known of situations where students move in to the house and not be told of significant problems," he said. "Repair people showed up unannounced to work on the place for several weeks, and the students wanted to get out of their lease. But that was pretty egregious."
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