 

,pRentér ripOffs in Grinnell: know your rights

‘Most of the claims of landlord negligence have no legal recourse, because the renter has virtually sold his

£5

soul to the landlord in the lease he has signed . . ,

But no matter how absurd the stipulations in the

contract (except in cases where they are clearly contrary to existing law), they in effect become law on
signing by both parties. ”

maginc being told by
your landlord that she
would never sleep in
the house that she
rents you, because it's

haunted One ienter in Grinnell

thought it was iunny. until she
C suggested that she might pay a
proiessionai excorcist irom
Chicago hundreds of dollars to
banish the evil spirits from the
premises. This particular renter
had been pleading for months to
have his broken plumbing
repaired.

This is just one oi the lighter
little tidbits or a neverending tug-
Volswar between landlords and
Student renters in Grinnell. Some
of the other stories distinctly lack
this one's humorous aspect. To
begin with. it should be made clear
that not every landlordrtennant
relationship in Grinnell. or even
the majority, reﬂect great con-
ﬂicts or gross negligence on the
part or either party. But over the
@ycars there has been a steady,

almost predictable stream of in
Cidents related to the lack oi
renter's rights that would curdle
the blood of any (air, responsible
'landlord,

of the many complaints that
have been sent to the Office of
Student Affairs by oil-campus
students, most relate to negligence
on the part cl lhelandlord to eiiect
necessary repairs on the premises,
In a student's apartment, the
reirigerator quit working during
the first week of school last year,
Repeated calls ll) both the landlord
and the repairman brought nothing
but runrarounds and complaints

Q‘abﬂut the tenants. As it turned out,
the students went without a
reirigerator the entire semester.
0n returning second semester.
they discovered a working tridge,
which had been in the basement all
along.

This year, in the same house, the
tenants were often without heat for
the ﬁrst few months of school. This
involved sleeping in numerous
sweaters, coats and blankets in an

- attempt to find respite from the

cold in this case, too, complaints
only brought either verbal abuse or
sob~stories about how hard it is to
maintain an apartment.

.1’

The list oi landlord negligence in
Grinnell continued ad nauseum
’inciuding broken plumbing,
heating systems, kitchen aps
pliances. etc,. which have
remained that way tor an undue
length oi time Most oi the claims
oi landlord negligence have no
legal recourse. however. because
the renter has virtually sold his
soul to the landlord in the lease he
has signed. Some oi the leases that
people sign in this town are simply
incredible The adyoining excerpts
irom one lease are a conspicuous
example oi a tenant’s nightmare.
This document is designed with no
roteclion ior the.tenant, and puts
the landlord’s iool in the door
toward making his miserable. But
no matter how absurd the
stipulations oi the contract texcept
in cases where they are clearly
contrary to existing law). they
become law on signing by both
parties. Worth pointing out,
however, are a few inconsistencies
with iowa law in the adjoining
excerpts which makes them
legally uneniorceable.
in Section 12, the clause stating
that the landlord may hold lien
upon the tenant’s personal

property is contrary to iowa Law
and is untorccahie. Likewise. in tlic
tinal statement at the lease, the
right oi immediate cvirlion is
granted to the landlord. 'l‘he lowa
laws concerning the eviction ut a
tenant are very speciiic and state
that written notice must be served
hetore even lit-ginning eviction
proceedings. aiter which the
landlord musl llle a suit and take
legal action known as a “torctble
entry and detainer." Actual
eviction cannot take place until the
end of this court action A tenant

1.

the apartment.

lirs.

the wiring.

for guests a

cloiged, or destroyed. .l.

the tenant's absence.

like fee will be Chi

If a pet is or has

by C! ' Loner

to cvict any tenant on personal
whim Section 8 is so vagucly
worded that any nitront to tiie
landlord ctluld well cnd in lerv
urination oi the lease, Section ii
gives the landlord total access to
the apartment at all times in thc
eyes ni tlic law. on the lensing oi an
apartment. it usst-Illiiilly lwk’tinics
thc private iii-opt y oi tho tenant

, thus to he entered only in an
emcrgency or will prior notice and
with good cause tie. main-
lenancel. Many Grinnell students
have complained ot being our»

and lessee in consideration of said leasing agree
To pay lessor rental for said term as iollous
a fee or n? if rent is not paid when due.
be deducted from the security fee when tenant moves from

llot to sublet the arartment or allow other persons to use
the apartment or liavrt overnight guests without first contacting
: or Mrs. ‘1 and getting 7n OK.

the nggsjtg 5g; 91" the tenant will rot: be allowed.

hot to permit the premises to be damaged or depreciate
in value by an act or negligence by lessee or guests;

to have repaired cr replaced any part of premises,
firtures, or appliace, therein broken. damaged, frozen,
fee oi e} per month for TV
electricity is due if tenant has TV and does not pay

his own electricity as TV is not considered as utilities.
No heater or air conditioner may be used a:
nil lights are to he turned off in the
absence or tenant if he is not paying his own light bills.
gfee of 32 will he assessed if lights are found on in

In all aprtments where owner

p3 s electricity,L overnight guests will be charged bl

per night to cover utilities used.
;revious arrangements must be made with the owner or a
«.hcre arrangements are made
charge or 50c per night will be made.

:rged.

not to keep pets or animals of any kind on the premises.
been kept an the premises a fine of 2.10

will be assessed and such net may be picked up bl' the oldnor
and removed from the 1:

raises.

It: is exrreusly unnerstzood thIlt lessee iSIf (good moral

Overnight; ggests of

In other apartments

ucicr has to leave simply because
the landlord says so. and a landlord
can ncw-r lock a tenant out

Other features nl this contract
are unorthodox. but upon signing.
become legally binding These
teaturcs are n i always strictly
cninrccd, but iolalions may be
held over the tenant's head in the
event oi the lenanlrlantllord
tritium Ultimately, the overall
eiiect of the adjoining lease is to
give the landlord complete rights
prised at odd hours tnnd odd
situationsl by snooping landlords

This fee 15 to

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or —used on

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rution or no .

ch=roctor, the untruth or which shall '3 grounds tor the
rix'ullrioh of the tent-int, as shall also intoxic' tion. or
ing in or allowing any unlawiul acts

That lessor, his erento, or workmen my enter premises at
any time to inspect some, mike rep rs or improvements or
to show the property to persons desirous of renting.

That, rents due or to come due or for damage time to the
apartment or furnishings or permitted by the lessee in
excess or the original security fee paid
' . ' ‘tion to the landlord's lien Ler—
m t_ted by law a lien upon all person 1 iropcrty kept in
Sclid premises (turnip the tenant' s resident:
belengingipjlgssee whether such property is exempt:
the amount or damage is to be de

The lessor shall not be held rest onsible in any way for
temporary suspension or heat, hot watnr, electricity. or

bummer holdings for students assure the student of occupancy
when desired but the lessor reserves the right to rent
out the apartment during the reservation period...Fees
paid for holdings do not: apply on rent.

.‘lny failure on lessee's part to comly with any of the

terms or conditions of this lease shall be reason for the
lessee to move immediately without refund on the part of
lessor of any moeny paid as rent or security deposit and
without the customary 3 day notice.

h_"“—e given orally or written."‘I—r written the notice may be

placed in the door or in the apartment.

Ell. note: These are excerpts Irom an actual rental agreement. The emphasis are added.

on said premises.

on renting,

Notice to vacate may

and

 

 

\lllii enlerod Without
knocking

Section l2 gives the landlord a
right to conﬁscate virtually all
pct-sonal properly in an apartment,
it ith the amount of damage land so
the amount oi s zui-cl belng
determined solely by the landlord.
'l‘lus. again is contiaiy ln iowa
Luv. ns iniplicd in its very uording.

is horinr stoiy builds on itself
with each provi on in lhe lease
Next time you re hoi ed you might
’ly playing a little ginnc viith this
lease ll 5 called ‘Yt-u Ctlnl Win
itir Losing" and is played thusly.
lcnch player has to invent a
srcnarin involving compliance
nith various aspects oi this con»
‘i'act, with points being awarded
tor originality and inventing the
most perilous situations
lii‘llﬁlnal’lle ftir the lenter. Just to
gel you started. look at Section 13,
in which the landlord talges no
rcspnnsiliility iurihc temporary
suspension at heat i. w look at
Section 3, where it states that you
cannot plug in an clcctric heater
in order to comply with the tease
you ireczc. llzt‘ What tun Now you
Iry it t

it by now. renting in Grinnell
sounds aboul ills attractive as
gelling tine's teeth drugged across
the pavement. it is only because
there CXISI a iew conspicuously
irresponsible landlords who have
laken advantage of a student‘s
vulnerability in a renting situation.
Actually there are many good
landlords in Grinnell who would go
out at their way to help a Student in
case or problems or complaints.
But how can volt knmv beiorehand
it you are getting into ii good
arrangement when apartment
hunting in ( nncll? The most
tihl/lnlt‘ swcr is to talk to present
tenants at the dwellings you’re
considering. About the only other
evidence you have, other than
hearsay, is the lease itseli.
Knowing what too look ior in a
lease could save you Clidless
Hassles.

There have been numerous
“standard leases” drawn up in the
last few years by tenant protection

tinizaliuns, one Ht “inch was
, ptcd to the Grinncll area a
couple or years ago by Bob Jacobs
l'tirnici' llousmg dean, in
cooperation with Rick Bierman,
the school's lawyer. Tins slanr
tlardized lease was circulated
ilmting Grinnell's landlords and
‘hey were asked to respond to it,
making any recommendations and
changes they deemed necessary.
The response to this was very poor.
Alter all, it a landlord can till
vacant space year alter year under
a tyranical contract. why should he
go out oi his way to increase his
responsibilitiesv So the situation
remains the same today as it has
been tor years, with the only hope
l'nr change resting on the students.
The standard lease provides ex»
Ccllcnt protection {or both lessor
:Ind lessee, and there is no valid
reason why it should not .be
adopted as the standard lease in
student apartment situations,

The oil'ice iii student affairs has
(’(lpiES of this standard lease as
well as literature from I‘enter’s
rights groups around lowa. Belorc
committing oneself to any legal
cnntract. students are advised to
familiarize themselves with their
rights and to check thoroughly into
the situations they will be com»
mitting themselves to. Many a
miserable senior year has resulted
by'not ‘tak’m‘g' these ‘simple steps,

t‘Ven

 

