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You can write whatever you want in your lease, but that does not mean a judge will uphold it as a legal contract. Tenants have a right to do (mostly) what they please.
You will not be able to evict a tenant for being loud, I guarantee it.
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion
Ohio State To Require Sophomores To Live On Campus
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SusanB
Hungarian Village, Columbus' fastest growing Gayborhood!
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Unfortunately Peter is correct. You can put whatever you want in the lease but is very difficult to evict someone in Columbus for anything other than non payment of rent. I know this first hand. The key is to really check people out before you rent to them. For landlords who don't care the only thing the neighborhood can do is call the police enough times to be able to threaten to have the property nuisance abated. Takes forever and a lot of work, but it can be done. But then you have a boarded up house, which sometimes is better than what you had before.
Posted 4 months ago # -
leftovers
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Vestanpance is right, the police have better things to do and code enforcement has 3 officers for the entire UD area with a giant backlog of complaints. Generally speaking they don't look for trouble they just respond to complaints they receive.
Similar to the broken window theory, I think all it takes is a few bad houses on a street to keep traditional middle class renters (let alone families) away. I doubt sophomores moving back on campus will change the character of the neighborhood much. Even the students that live in campus dorms 'play' in the off campus areas of the UD.
The cost of dorm living is still very expensive as are the new apartments going up. Even with raises in rent the old housing stock in the south campus areas will remain the affordable alternative. That they are still targeting students on Indianola near 7th makes it seem that the campus landlords aren't really worried.
I am saying this as someone who loves the proximity of the area to so many things. I would love it if moving the sophomores created some major changes, but I doubt it will.
Posted 4 months ago # -
rory
Weinland Park
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leftovers said:
That they are still targeting students on Indianola near 7th makes it seem that the campus landlords aren't really worried.
I think there's a fine line between worry and wishful thinking there. The guy that owns those predicts a bloodbath in the campus rental market if the sophomore rule happens. The question is what do you with a house that's been converted to 10 bedrooms without a yard?
Posted 4 months ago # -
leftovers
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@Rory
That is a good point and one that begins with the damage already done. I am not sure how costly it would be to reconfigure those houses. My guess is that they would look to bringing in students from other campuses (CCAD, CSCC, etc) and others of that age range who would be enamored by the student infrastructure in the area (everything from tattoo parlors to hookah joints). To someone in there early 20's campus is a cool place to live. :u
Posted 4 months ago # -
lazyfish
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rory said:
I think there's a fine line between worry and wishful thinking there. The guy that owns those predicts a bloodbath in the campus rental market if the sophomore rule happens. The question is what do you with a house that's been converted to 10 bedrooms without a yard?Remember that much of Vic Village and Dennison place was full of student tenements (that high density so many seem to love) and that many of the old house were carved up into multiple units. Part of the revitalization of the neighborhood was down zoning to single family houses. I expect that something similar could happen on campus, but it will take a lot of effort from the University commission, code enforcement, and OSU. Hope springs eternal.
Posted 4 months ago # -
rory
Weinland Park
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Dennison Place is a good example of what could happen. And you're right it will take a lot of effort from the UAC, code enforcement and OSU. Unfortunately, the UAC voted against supporting the sophomore rule and I believe the University District is down to two fairly overwhelmed code enforcement officers. So, I don't see any help coming from the commission or the city. Ohio State and the Weinland Park Collaborative are the wild cards. While it would be nice to see houses reversed from student tenements I'd be thrilled just to see more houses not converted into new student tenements in the University District. And that's been a losing battle so far.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Coy
Discovery District
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rory said:
Dennison Place is a good example of what could happen. And you're right it will take a lot of effort from the UAC, code enforcement and OSU. Unfortunately, the UAC voted against supporting the sophomore rule and I believe the University District is down to two fairly overwhelmed code enforcement officers. So, I don't see any help coming from the commission or the city. Ohio State and the Weinland Park Collaborative are the wild cards. While it would be nice to see houses reversed from student tenements I'd be thrilled just to see more houses not converted into new student tenements in the University District. And that's been a losing battle so far.OSU has plans to have their own inspectors look into off campus housing that students are in as a service to students and safety measure beginning this summer.
There also is legal aid available for students that feel they have been unfairly charged (security deposits, etc).Posted 4 months ago # -
lakeerietransplant
On the outskirts of Yuppieville (Weinland Park)
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Ohio State University is aiming to improve graduation and retention rates with a new rule requiring sophomore students to live on campus.
= We need to force students to spend more money on their college education.
Posted 4 months ago # -
labi
Weinland Park
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peter said:
You can write whatever you want in your lease, but that does not mean a judge will uphold it as a legal contract. Tenants have a right to do (mostly) what they please.You will not be able to evict a tenant for being loud, I guarantee it.
As in many aspects of life, the strict legal outcome of an extreme case is a lot less important than what happens in the 98% of situations where things don't go that far. The presence of that clause in the lease is just part of my attitude that tenant behavior that disrupts the neighborhood is unacceptable. I screen tenants (within legal limits, obviously) to avoid it, I emphasize that point when I'm meeting with them about the property, and I respond immediately when there are any problems.
It's a completely different attitude than saying "landlords don't really have anything to do with that." I see your attitude as being just one step away from the landlords who readily say "who else would want to LIVE there other than students and section 8?" when faced with complaints about their "vision" for the neighborhood. Maybe that's an overreaction on my part, but it comes from my experience as a often-frustrated resident of a high-rental neighborhood dominated by nonresident landlords.
Posted 4 months ago # -
peter
Downtown
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many of the old house were carved up into multiple units. Part of the revitalization of the neighborhood was down zoning to single family houses.
Just to clarify this a bit - most off-campus student housing is already single-family. There are just multiple (sometimes up to 7 or 8) bedrooms.
I'm not aware of zoning requirements that prevent multifamily residential from being built in Vic Village (aren't there several apt building under construction there?) but I could be mistaken. Basically - zoning is not the answer here.
The presence of that clause in the lease is just part of my attitude that tenant behavior that disrupts the neighborhood is unacceptable. I screen tenants (within legal limits, obviously) to avoid it, I emphasize that point when I'm meeting with them about the property, and I respond immediately when there are any problems.
Our lease also includes a clause about not disturbing the neighbors, and we definitely screen for tenants who seem like they will be cool cats. But loud students need to live somewhere, and college kids are going to party. I view that more as a law enforcement problem than a landlord problem. There are strong laws in Ohio that prevent nosey/prude landlords from telling tenants what they can and cannot do in their home.
Maybe that's an overreaction on my part, but it comes from my experience as a often-frustrated resident of a high-rental neighborhood dominated by nonresident landlords.
I feel your pain. I got into the business mostly as a reaction against the same type of landlord/slumlord companies. We take pride in keeping our properties well-maintained and being extremely responsive to the concerns of our residents and the community.
OSU has plans to have their own inspectors look into off campus housing that students are in as a service to students and safety measure beginning this summer.
There also is legal aid available for students that feel they have been unfairly charged (security deposits, etc).I'm actually really excited about this and I hope it comes to fruition. Anything that will run the slumlords out of town is a positive in my book. They give the rest of us a bad name and their run-down properties are bad for the neighborhood.
Posted 4 months ago # -
rory
Weinland Park
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peter said:
Just to clarify this a bit - most off-campus student housing is already single-family. There are just multiple (sometimes up to 7 or 8) bedrooms.
You've hit the two problems on the head. Most if not all of those single family homes were not 7-8 bedrooms when they were constructed. They were not made with that many people, especially with cars, in mind. The attics, parlors, and basements were converted into bedrooms after the fact, usually in the late 1940s and 1950s for returning veterans and it continues to this day. And it's also what the University Area Commission and the University Area Review Board blindly ignore is that type of conversion does not make a attractive, in the residential sense, neighborhood. However, it does make a very profitable one. It continues the pattern started in the 1950s of capitalizing on the highest and best use of each parcel regardless of its effect on the neighbors which resulted in the whole mess spreading. And it continues to spread with the blessing of the UAC and the UARB.
Our lease also includes a clause about not disturbing the neighbors, and we definitely screen for tenants who seem like they will be cool cats. But loud students need to live somewhere, and college kids are going to party. I view that more as a law enforcement problem than a landlord problem. There are strong laws in Ohio that prevent nosey/prude landlords from telling tenants what they can and cannot do in their home.
If I had a dollar for every time a campus landlord told me that the kids are just going to be kids. And once again I think it's a money issue. Are the kids going to rent substandard housing if they can't party like rock stars? Would it affect enrollment? I've seen studies where the police have instituted zero tolerance for trash/noise etc. and it turns out that loud and dirty students can be tamed but it takes a concerted effort of code enforcement, police and landlords. I don't see that happening anytime soon because landlords are going to have to ask for help and that would cut into the bottom line.
On the other hand, I believe that landlords can appoint the CPD to be their agents so that if there is a problem they can go in. I wonder how many campus landlords would do that? But in light of not being to control student rentals once they happen why let it spread farther into the University District? Unfortunately, it's been a very profitable business model. I see a combination of money, the "it's always been like that attitude" and "the kids are going to be kids" thinking and until landlords and the boards and commissions become a little less greedy and more visionary it's going to be more of the same; a neighborhood strictly for 18-21 year olds and Section 8.
Posted 4 months ago # -
peter
Downtown
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the University Area Commission and the University Area Review Board blindly ignore...
I'm not sure it's a case of them blindly ignoring the problem, in as much as it's a jurisdiction problem. Even if they made it their top priority, do they really have the right or legal authority to tell a homeowner how many bedrooms they are allowed to have? I am not sure there is a precedent for such a thing (though I could definitely be wrong).
Existing code requires that any room advertised and used as a bedroom must have a closet and safe egress. Safe egress meaning a window large enough that the fire department could enter in full gear. We recently spent several thousand dollars to install egress basement windows in one of our Upper Arlington homes, because the previous owner had finished the basement and constructed 2 bedrooms, but there was no egress. How many of the rooms being used as bedrooms are campus meet those requirements? That might be an avenue for shutting down some of those 7-8 unit SF homes.
If I had a dollar for every time a campus landlord told me that the kids are just going to be kids. And once again I think it's a money issue. Are the kids going to rent substandard housing if they can't party like rock stars? Would it affect enrollment? I've seen studies where the police have instituted zero tolerance for trash/noise etc. and it turns out that loud and dirty students can be tamed but it takes a concerted effort of code enforcement, police and landlords. I don't see that happening anytime soon because landlords are going to have to ask for help and that would cut into the bottom line.
Well, I mean come on. Kids ARE going to be kids. I don't care what you do, OSU students are going to party, and they're going to party hard. That doesn't mean it has to disturb the neighbors or be unsafe, though. That being said, it's hard for me to feel THAT sorry for UD residents who complain about every little beer can and Friday night party. It's like people who move in next to an airport and then complain about the noise. You live next to a top-5 US college campus. There's going to be activity. I do feel a little bit sorry for people who have owned and lived in their homes for years and years before OSU was "a thing" - but then again, they could move somewhere else and make a killing in home appreciation profits. Again, hard for me to feel all that badly. There are tons of great neighborhoods in Columbus if the UD is not your thing.
Completely agree wrt police involvement and I welcome that. Landlords don't like destructive, noisy parties any more than local residents do. It brings property damage and unwanted attention.
The true way to "fix" this would be action by the State Legislature to raise the minimum standards for rental properties and landlords.
Posted 4 months ago # -
SusanB
Hungarian Village, Columbus' fastest growing Gayborhood!
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There are a variety of ways that the City of Columbus could legislate to solve some of the "house packing" problem. In Kent, Ohio there is a limit on how many "unrelated" people can live in a one family home. Also the city could adjust the current housing code for occupancy. I believe at the moment the city requires 100sq ft per person in each home. Not bedroom space mind you, just total sq. footage. So an 800 sq. ft. house can have 8 people living in it. Boggles the mind, really. How do I know this? Because at one point in our neighborhood we had 12 people living in a 3 bedroom 1 bath home total 1200 sq. ft. house. Fortunately they left and the landlord has realized the error of his ways. But the city would need to legislate on it and I'm not sure that they ever will.
Posted 4 months ago # -
mrpoppinzs
Arena District
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The city has three definitions for “rooming house” because different city departments oversee zoning, building and housing codes, but all apply the term to residences in which at least three unrelated people live and sleep.
Many landlords avoid regulation through a loophole that some officials call the “buddy lease,” said Andy Baumann, who supervises city code enforcement for the area. Those landlords create one lease for a tenant who effectively sublets the building to roommates. A dozen people could be living in a building, but it appears on paper that there is one tenant.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2010/09/05/osu-area-housing-hazard.html
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I believe if you have 3 or more unrelated people living in a rented house/apartment in Columbus you are supposed to pay a $100 fee and register it as a 'rooming house' - that said, I doubt very many landlords do this.
Posted 4 months ago # -
mrpoppinzs
Arena District
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Columbus periodically (and randomly) inspects rooming houses...
http://www.city-data.com/forum/renting/1388226-rooming-house-inspections.html
I currently rent a room in what I guess is a boarding house in Columbus,Ohio. I have lived here for a couple years. It's very affordable and I am fine with living here except for one thing.
This week I got a note on the door saying I was to expect an inspection the next day. I knew it wasn't an owner inspection but a government inspection. Last year when they came I didn't have any notice at all when the inspectors knocked on the door and demanded entry into my home.
This year they sent two inspectors and came in with clipboards and large police style flashlights. They went through my entire room. Lifting up mattresses and looking at every corner. As they left they thanked me for having a clean litter box for my cat.
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From my experience the U.S. Post office also will not forward mail addressed to an occupant of a rooming house. Odd but true...
Rooming houses are on the bottom of the housing rights totem pole.
Posted 4 months ago # -
rory
Weinland Park
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peter said:
the University Area Commission and the University Area Review Board blindly ignore...I'm not sure it's a case of them blindly ignoring the problem, in as much as it's a jurisdiction problem. Even if they made it their top priority, do they really have the right or legal authority to tell a homeowner how many bedrooms they are allowed to have? I am not sure there is a precedent for such a thing (though I could definitely be wrong).
Existing code requires that any room advertised and used as a bedroom must have a closet and safe egress. Safe egress meaning a window large enough that the fire department could enter in full gear. We recently spent several thousand dollars to install egress basement windows in one of our Upper Arlington homes, because the previous owner had finished the basement and constructed 2 bedrooms, but there was no egress. How many of the rooms being used as bedrooms are campus meet those requirements? That might be an avenue for shutting down some of those 7-8 unit SF homes.
The ingress/egress is the way to control it. Most historic houses in the University District have basement windows that do not comply. They have to be a certain size for ingress/egress. So, the landlord makes window wells, oversized dormers, or jacks up the house to meet the code. If the University Area Review Board did their job according to the City Code and preserved the historic nature of the neighborhood and didn't approve these alterations it would be difficult to make basements and attics into bedrooms under the existing code.
peter said:
Well, I mean come on. Kids ARE going to be kids. I don't care what you do, OSU students are going to party, and they're going to party hard. That doesn't mean it has to disturb the neighbors or be unsafe, though. That being said, it's hard for me to feel THAT sorry for UD residents who complain about every little beer can and Friday night party. It's like people who move in next to an airport and then complain about the noise. You live next to a top-5 US college campus. There's going to be activity. I do feel a little bit sorry for people who have owned and lived in their homes for years and years before OSU was "a thing" - but then again, they could move somewhere else and make a killing in home appreciation profits. Again, hard for me to feel all that badly. There are tons of great neighborhoods in Columbus if the UD is not your thing.
We're not that far apart here. If I had moved to 15th Ave. I would have known exactly what I was walking into. My complaint is that since revitalization has made Weinland Park safer investors are continuing to do these renovations, gravel the yard etc., where there used to be a single family home with a single family in it. This would be impossible to do in Victorian Village because of their guidelines and stricter enforcement whereas the UARB has always approved these renovations for landlords. It's no problem for them especially since the majority don't live in the area. What I would like as a homeowner and rental house owner in Weinland Park is for it to be more like Italian Village and less like campus but there is little support for that politically so far. And its true that I could cash out and just rent to students; if you can't beat them join them mentality but that's not exactly why I moved here.
Posted 4 months ago #
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