Bad housing
By Patrick Kelley
Originally published 01:54 p.m., October 1, 2007
Updated 01:54 p.m., October 1, 2007
Reader poll
Should the city of Emporia beef up its rental housing standards?
- Yes
- No
- Not sure
84 total votes.
This is a problem with housing in Emporia: Because there are not adequate enforceable standards for rental housing, poor people — including some students — wind up living in houses and apartments that are downright dangerous.
For proof, see the series that starts on Page 1 today.
If landlords are not required to keep the properties up to reasonable standards of health, safety and comfort, some landlords will cut corners to make a profit while charging rents that poor people can afford to pay.
If the city imposes its proposed standards for rental housing and couples those standards to a tough, fair, inspection program, will housing in the city be improved, or will poor people simply be priced out of the market as landlords either abandon dilapidated buildings or invest in improvements and then raise rents?
There is no question that the city has a duty to protect residents from unsafe housing, but setting standards and holding landlords to account is only part of what must be done. The city also has responsibility to set policies that not only require the renovation of old low-income housing, but also financially encourage those renovations and encourage the building of new low-income housing. That means pursuing more grants for renovations and backing developers willing to build decent housing for the people at the low end of the community’s pay scale.
Businesses also have a responsibility — to pay workers a living wage. Nobody wins when it costs more to live in a city than many workers can earn in that city.
The proposed rental housing standards are a good first step toward making Emporia a better community for all its residents, but there are many steps that must follow that first step.
A city that takes one step and stops is standing still again.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor
momto4 (anonymous) says...
We rented in Emporia and we had water coming in from our roof into our kitchen when it rained. We had water coming in to our living room from the floor when it rained. When we were moving out. I found a big mushroom growing from the side of our kitchen cabinets next to the floor. We had birds living in our outside vents. Anything decent to live in in Emporia was way too expensive. We ended up having to move to another town with better paying jobs and Very nice and affordable rentals. We now have a 4 bedroom house that is very well kept and affordable. Emporia needs to make some major changes to improve.
October 1, 2007 at 2:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bigearl2 (anonymous) says...
What apartment has so much Mold that a Mushroom was growing out of the rug? That is CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!
October 1, 2007 at 1:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gpaul519 (anonymous) says...
What "proof" do we have that people are living in "down right dangerious conditions ??" Who desides what is "downright dangerious" Has there been a comphensive study ?? Are people getting ill and injured ??? What do the records show ??? Is there a problem or just imgination ?? FACTS are needed before setting up an agency that will cost over $100,000 and have dubious value.
October 1, 2007 at 4:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tosie (anonymous) says...
GPAUL- Who are you? A slumlord? Is that why you're getting so defensive about this topic? I can't think of any other reason why you would get so upset.
October 1, 2007 at 4:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
gpaul519:
From your comments on this thread and in the post after the page one story, you sound way too defensive to me. There's plenty of proof in the horror stories people tell. Do you want pictures? There are two of them showing a bad set of stairs, and a mushroom growing out of a carpet connected to the story. MOLD, my friend is very dangerous and makes people ill. I'd say that a mushroom growing out of a carpet is a "downright dangerous condition" for sure.
What imagination are you talking about? Didn't you read the article and the editorial? FACTS? FACTS? FACTS? If you want more than complaints and pictures then that's what the agency will do, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT.
There have been lots of complaints. Apparently not enough to suit you. And who do you think is going to perform this "comprehensive study" you refer to? Whoever performs the study has to get paid. Do you think studies are conducted for nothing?
Are you a landlord trying to hide things that need to be fixed? I am a landlord and the apartment I rent out is always kept in excellent condition. In fact I just finished installing a new dishwasher when the old one threw craps last week. I didn't waste time making excuses, I didn't run all over town looking for a piece of used crap either; I called Sears and ordered a brand new dishwasher and had it installed. Period! On the other side of things, I can't begin to tell you the number of times I've been left with a filthy rat's nest to clean up after people move out, usually owing rent!!! BUT I DON'T HOLD THE NEXT TENANT RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT.
You have really made me mad. You are being unreasonable.
October 1, 2007 at 5 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sciguy (anonymous) says...
I wonder what fine residential community gpaul runs.
October 1, 2007 at 5:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
slipandslide (anonymous) says...
no one can deny there is a problem with the rentals in town and usually when the city talks of drawing up ordinaces on rentals, it s the slumlords that influence the outcome. moving into a slum starts a vicious cycle,spend money to move in then spend the money all over again to move to a new place plus all the packing and lugging the belongings around! if you have had the bad experience of moving into two dumps in a row, then a better landlord will look at your record of moving to often and there goes the chance to rent a decent place. renters are not jacks of all trades i check everything over when i look at a place, but there is no way to know until later if there are plumbing issues faulty wiring and malfunctioning appliances. we lived in a place that had raw sewage leaking, didnt want to get tangled up in the mess of calling the city waiting for them to tell me the place was being condemed and i would have to move anyway, so i left. the sewage problem never showed itself until after we moved in and used the plumbing, so how can i know just by looking at an empty apartment if it s okay to live in? we were some of the fortunate few who moved out on short notice and still managed to find a good place. the landlord here is excellent, place is well maintained, answers maintanece issues in an efficiente and timely manner. with hes ability to maintain things, we have to call him less than some landlords ive rented from.these people are worth their weight in gold!! i also make every effort to keep their property up, shampoo the carpet every year, and handle their applinces with kid gloves so they will last as long as possible. paul must be a slum lord! there is no other explaination for his defensiveness. that is exactly the attutude the city has to put up with when they want pass housing codes for rentals.maybe there should also be a list or number that people can look at to see what kinds of complaints landlords have sort of a good lord bad lord list.
October 2, 2007 at midnight ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Good lord, bad lord list. I love it! You nailed it, slip and slide! You're not far from it either, slip. As a one-time military family, we have lived in a number of towns near bases all over this country. They all had lists like slip suggests. Works!
October 2, 2007 at 8:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
suzyQ (anonymous) says...
my main question is that this has been going on in emporia for a long time ,why haven't the city corrected it yet? seems like every few years it comes up ,but doesn't get dealt with. JMO
October 2, 2007 at 8:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KristieR (anonymous) says...
Landlords definately need to be held to a higher standard, however the tenants need to understand that they are also part of the problem. My family owns many college campus located rentals (different city). We get young people in who stay one year and trash the heck out of a place and then leave behind their crap for us to deal with. We've gone into apts a week after they left and found their pets left behind!
Carpet, drywall, broken toilets, et al all cost money and we have to try to average that out and figure out what to charge for rent.
If a tenant would move in, take care of the place, and leave it in good condition for the next person.........we would wholeheartedly keep up repairs and fix problems. It gets disheartening to see how people take care of places though.
We are at the point of selling most of the properties to be developed into high rise/expensive condos that no student will ever be able to afford.
Fix the landlords sure, but fix the tenants while you are at it and you've got a win/win situation. Believe me, the one month security deposit will NOT cover most of the damages left behind.
October 2, 2007 at 8:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Reserve the right to make occasional walk-thrus to check for repairs that need to be made. Also, students need to provide permanent home addresses and parent information for contact purposes. Parents may not be responsible for their little damaging darlings, but at least you have a contact point. I had a tenant once who tore up my apartment, even down to the carpet. I called mom and dad. Dad was a physician, very embarrassed, and they took care of the problem with a check right away. That's probably what they had been doing for the kid's entire life, but that's not my problem, that's theirs. My point is that there are ways to get around things. But you are right, Kristie, some tenants leave the place in an awful mess. Nonetheless, landlords keep renting and making a profit.
October 2, 2007 at 9:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
Also, another way to ensure that tenants take care of the rentals is for landlords to use reputable real estate agencies to list their property and to draw up contracts beyond the standard contracts that are almost always ignored.
October 2, 2007 at 11:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LocalGuy (anonymous) says...
BILLS PAID/ NEAR ESU
1 - 6 bedrooms. Nice. $295. Ask details.
620-757-1220.
This guy is a Slumlord. He goes by Bill his real name is Billal Syed or something close to that. He is awful and has properties all over Emporia. I rented from him for a short period of time and I had a problem with the electricty. He sent over one of his friends who had know idea what he was doing and the guy actually asked me which wire is the Hot wire. Everyone beware of this SLUMLORD.
October 2, 2007 at 2:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KristieR (anonymous) says...
create~We own on the campus of UW Madison (WI) and believe me, we have NO idea who the parents of these kids are. And, if we did find them, "it's not my responsibility".
Our "profits" after repairs/taxes/non-payment/loan payments, etc is minimal. The true profit we have is the equity building in the properties.
Did you know you can squeeze 100 underage kids into a 2 bdrm flat all for the low, low price of $2 per plastic cup? Just make sure you do it the weekend before you move out so you don't have to live with the stale beer and burned (cigarette) carpeting for too long.
October 2, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Very Good greenday, I like the idea of parents co-signing the lease. I was lucky that one time I complained to the parents of the boy who trashed my apartment because his Dad paid the bill. I can see where others, like Kristie says, would just say they weren't responsible.
October 2, 2007 at 4:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Brooke (anonymous) says...
Why do we need more laws when the ones on the books are more than adequete, if they are enforced fairly and equitably? A license is just another tax, another way for those who have too much time on their hands to get into our pockets when being a landlord for the common people isn't a get rich scheme. If one reads the Landlord Tenant Act, the laws favor the tenants and the courts act as if the landlord is out to rip the tenant off. I just spent several thousand dollars to reroof a house and the tenant still is delinqent with the rent. I have no sympathy for such people. I work, they work. I have a mortgage due on a set date, they have rent due on a set date. It's called personal responsibility.
October 6, 2007 at 3:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
You're absolutely right, Brooke. When so many people don't pay their rent on time, it's easy to see that these same kind of people probably had a lot to do with the recent mortgage mess. Let's all not forget to go to the City Commission meeting this coming Wednesday on October 10th.
October 6, 2007 at 4:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
Anyone ever hear of buyer beware? It applies to renting an apartment, house etc. Walk thru and check the place out thoroughly, try all the light switches, turn all the faucets on and off, flush the toilets, look for evidence of roof leaks past and present, look for mold and mildew, use your senses of sight and smell. Check out the exterior, walks, garage etc. If your silly enough to believe you will be getting a nice 6 bedroom place for $295 with utilities paid, then you need to switch your Minor to Common Sense.
I agree, more laws and regulations means one thing, more government interference and higher rental rates, with little action taken to address the original problems.
October 7, 2007 at 9:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
stickerbush (anonymous) says...
Perhaps one should know that the current rental housing code is complaint driven and tennants are not very hep on complaining, and when they do the landlord sometimes lets them out of the contract, but the things that are wrong dont get fixed.
Also, in 1999 the League of Women Voters did a very comprehensive study which showed the rental stock going to the dogs. This was a study that cost a lot of money and was virtually ignored. So, now is the time to rectify the many years of rental housing slipping down the drain and get a policy in place that will clean up the bad ones.
October 9, 2007 at 12:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hartford (anonymous) says...
Since names are being thrown out here, if anyone wants to move to Olpe, DO NOT rent from Dave Moyer! You talk about slumlord!!!!!!!!! The guy doesn't ever fix anything! He wears the bling bling though! LOL! Seriously, he is a major slumlord!
October 9, 2007 at 1:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
hartford, I agree with you on this one. FOR SURE!
October 9, 2007 at 9:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )