Local
Off-campus slums ignite campaign
By: Michael Neibauer
Examiner Staff Writer
August 20, 2008
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| University of Maryland Student Abe Attenoukon, 18, works in his dorm room to figure out the details of his class schedule while roommate Austin Magaro, 18, left, and friend Chris Pesce, 19, give him some advice. (Greg Whitesell) |
At thisshouldbeillegal.com, visitors are linked to listings of licensed landlords, inspection request forms, complaint forms and fire safety tips. The Web site, an initiative of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, also has a Facebook page and a Twitter feed — both popular social networking tools.
The agency, which licenses landlords and inspects rental properties, expects more than 10,000 students at various schools to live off campus during the upcoming year.
“Too often students are the target of off-campus landlords trying to make a quick buck at your expense,” Linda Argo, the department’s director, says in an introductory video on the site. “So we want to put the power in your hands.”
Undergraduates are particularly vulnerable to slumlords, given their limited cash and need for short-term leases, spokesman Michael Rupert said. Students accept lesser lodging to save money, he said, but that does not mean they should tolerate potentially deadly code violations.
The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs announced it would conduct regular inspections of all rental properties in Washington, but the government still depends on tenants to anonymously report violations landlords refuse to address.
Dangerous conditions can fuel tragedy. In October 2004, Georgetown University senior Daniel Rigby was killed in a fire in the basement apartment he was renting. Inspections of the row house at 3318 Prospect St. revealed metal bars on the windows, blocked exit doors, faulty wiring and inadequate smoke detectors.
About 2,200 George Washington University undergraduates will live off campus this year, the school reports. And many will bring their leases to the Office of Off-Campus Student Affairs for review before signing, said Emerald Christopher, the office’s assistant director.
“There’s commonsense questions we think they should ask that students are not aware of,” she said.
George Washington offers students a wealth of information on leasing, absentee landlords and “what they should look for and what they should stay away from,” Christopher said. The “major target” for slumlords, she said, is the international student.
“Unfortunately, many times they find a place before arriving and send in payment before ever seeing the place,” she said. “They get here and there are holes in the walls.”
