By Nathan Walch
Students and landlords do not always see eye to eye, but the BYU Off-Campus Housing Office has legal teeth to compel negligent landlords to abide by housing standards.
Lynsey Davis, a junior from Boise, Idaho, majoring in accounting, learned this when she and three roommates had to share study space at the kitchen table.
?I was annoyed that we did not have desks in our apartment,? Davis said. ?I looked online at the BYU Off-Campus Housing Handbook and found out that each tenant is supposed to have six square feet of desk space.?
Davis called her landlord, but was told ?there must be a mistake? because the apartment was already approved. She then called the housing office, and they came out to measure all the available study space. When they found the space lacking, they contacted the landlord, giving him 14 days to comply.
?Within the week, we had our desks,? Davis said. She also said they received a letter from the housing office, telling Davis to notify them immediately if the landlord did not rectify the situation within 14 days.
?When the university obtains sufficient evidence, we take action,? said Craig Thomas, an official with the Off-Campus Housing Office.
There are approximately 1,559 BYU approved landlords. Each one of them should meet the standards in the handbook, which lists all the features an apartment needs before BYU will approve the facility. It also explains what to do when the apartment does not meet the standards.
BYU students are entitled to a specific bedroom size, insulated basement walls and three feet of shelf space. When apartments have more than six students, it should have two refrigerators, two bathrooms and two stoves.
?If landlords say, ?No one has complained about it before,? don?t take that as the final answer,? said Gabe Black, a senior from Colorado Springs, Colo. majoring in computer engineering. ?Go above them and get others involved.?
Thomas said when a facility loses BYU approval, the university immediately notifies all the tenants of the change. When BYU withdraws approval, the landlord agrees that any student may move out with five days? notice.
Landlords are legally obligated to refund students all rent after the checkout date, as well as their deposit, minus legal deductions. Finally, the landlord can no longer use the resources BYU offers to apartment managers.
?Every problem is handled individually,? Thomas said. ?The landlord is given a reasonable period of time to correct the problem.?
He said this is usually about 14 days. If the repairs are not acceptable, the landlord is given another 14 days. If the problem is still present, they risk disapproval.
?The university and the landlords are regulated by contract,? Thomas said. ?The landlord agrees to provide services to the students as outlined in the BYU Off-Campus Housing Handbook.?
The handbook also lists what the tenants agree to when they sign housing contracts. If tenants breech this agreement, similar consequences apply. In this case, the housing office will step in on the landlord?s side.
Students can find the complete BYU Off-Campus Housing Handbook by going to www.byu.edu/offcampushousing. By using this resource, students can learn how to handle conflicts with their landlords.
?First, if it is not an emergency, read your contract and the BYU Off-Campus Housing Handbook,? Thomas said. ?Second, talk to your landlord about the problem and try to work out a solution. Third, if negotiations come to an impasse, call Off-Campus Housing.?