By Mark Woodland
Students paying higher rent are not guaranteed fewer problems.
This conclusion comes as the result of a study performed by graduate student Erin Johnson.
Surveying almost 2,000 students who live in housing registered under the BYU Off-campus Housing Office, Johnson gathered data relating to the amount of rent students pay, the kinds of problems related to housing conditions and how these problems were handled by landlords.
Although students may believe more expensive housing guarantees a high quality of living, the results of Johnson?s study show this is not always the case.
According to the study, students in different rental price levels failed to report a significant difference in the kinds of problems reported and how well landlords did in correcting those problems.
The results of the survey fail to prove that paying higher rent will mean fewer problems with a given housing unit, Johnson said. There appears to be no correlation.
Problems reported to landlords range from flood damage to broken appliances to pest infestations, according to the study. Of the students surveyed, over 32 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed when asked if their landlord resolved problems in a timely manner.
Some student tenants in Provo report that a landlord?s failure to correct problems has even resulted in physical ailments such as headaches and sickness.
?One time our heater was broken for three weeks,? said Kourtnee Jewett, a junior from Council Bluffs, Iowa. ?Because of this, all of the roommates eventually got sick.?
Because the level of rent you pay cannot guarantee a problem-free environment, many Provo managers and landlords advise students to do their homework about housing options and shop around.
?I have to give equal service to all units, no matter what price bracket they are in,? said Debbie Bishop, owner of Mountain View Management. ? all depends on landlords. That?s why students need to shop around.?
BYU provides valuable information for students including an online housing guide, Bishop said. Students need to be familiar with these documents so that they know their rights as well as the landlord?s rights.
Students also need to be aware of what they are agreeing to when signing any kind of legally binding document.
?Students need to read their contracts and rental agreements,? said Liberty Square office manager Jody Thornock. ?A lot of students don?t read it, they just sign their name.?
Once they are tenants, students must also remember their obligations to landlords.
?If students ever have a problem, it is their responsibility to let us know,? Thornock said.
Liberty Square offers a 24-hour maintenance team to help meet student needs. Students everywhere should learn the proper means of reporting concerns to landlords as soon as possible.
For more information about BYU off-campus housing, including an online version of the off-campus housing handbook, visit http://www.byu.edu/offcampushousing.