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Rental deposits: let the tenant be wary
Recently, I moved from an apartment
managed by a well-known University area
management company. I had a security deposit
which was totally refundable. A little over a month
later (after I moved) I received a check for less
than half the amount of the deposit. I was quite
upset since I had cleaned the apartment thor
oughly.
This letter, printed in the April 16 Emerald, bears
the common complaint of the student/tenant. All too
often, students become the victims of unscrupulous
landlords and property management companies that
illegally keep renter s deposits. Some landlords and
property management companies see deposits not
as protection against property damage by the tenant,
but as another source of income
David Lesser, director of Off-campus Housing,
says in a month's time he "anticipates a flood of calls
to the office. ” No doubt nearly all of those calls will be
complaints involving deposits. But Lesser sees the
larger problem as being students, because they are
moving or in the middle of finals, don’t follow through
with a complaint. Usually students “let it go",
according to Lesser
Blood* wmous! what are we Supposed to do with tvmo hundred puppin' prisoners P'
Some Eugene landlords and property
management companies count on students “letting
go” a complaint. Landlords and property
management companies have been known to issue
an erroneous itemization of damages to a unit.
Former tenants have been billed for such things as
stray popcorn kernels, fingerprints, burned out light
bulbs, and less than shining soap dishes
In many of the cases Off-campus Housing has
been able to contact the landlord or property
management company and by reiterating the
complaint have most of the deposit returned to the
former tenant Off-campus Housing cannot represent
a tenant legally — they can only do para-legal
counseling. The threat that the landlord or property
management company may face small claims court,
usually makes them more amenable to negotiation
A most useful booklet, the OSPIRG Renter's
Handbook (now in its sixth edition and available in the
Off-campus Housing office, the first is free with a fee
card — a second costs $1 at the EMU Main Desk) can
answer any questions a tenant may have regarding
deposits A deposit, according to the handbook, is
refundable if the tenant meets specified conditions.
The deposit is the tenant’s money which the landlord
merely holds.
The tenant, says the handbook, must leave the
unit in the condition he or she found it, minus normal
wear and tear The tenant is responsible for unusual
damage, but not normal wear and tear The key
phrase is “normal wear and tear “ Normal wear and
tear often includes a worn-out rug, couch and
painting. But be warned — broken windows, cigarette
bums and broken furniture will not be considered
normal wear and tear. A record on the condition of
the unit when the tenant moved in and moved out,
with witnesses, is often helpful.
Students are easy targets for unethical landlords
and property management companies And they will
continue to be targets as tong as they don’t stand up
for their rights as renters.
letters
Dazzling
Regarding the “Editor's Note"
in your April 9 paper dazzling
personality profile on a day in the
life of a bar in Springfield, but what
happened to your topic
paragraph, or your topic for that
matter?
I reread the article, thinking
maybe I missed something the
first time, yet the point of it con
tinued to elude me
One thought was that your
intention was too deep for me to
grasp, but then, it was too deep
for anyone else I had read it to
grasp either
Another conclusion was that
the editor has nothing better to do
than sit in various bars around
town and write observations on
the patrons
If this is the case, why don’t you
write on something prevalent to
the University and your readers?
Perhaps travel to the Homefried
Truckstop, and stereotype their
patrons for a while? No,that may
hit a little too close to home.
Maybe you will do an article on
Duffys, however which would be
just as pointless, but would give
you antother marvelous oppor
tunity to demonstrate your ig
norance of people and their life
styles, and put them down at the
same time.
In essence, you should be as
concerned with your advertisers
and readers that may reside in
Springfield, as you would with the
majority of your readers or one of
your most important advertisers
If you are going to continue to
stereotype and categorize people
in an offensive manner, do it to
everyone, not just those in a min
ority group, or those who will
(hopefully) never see your paper
Jeanne M. Huey
Coverage
I have been less than pleased
with your coverage of University
sports action this year Does the
Emerald sports staff believe that
the only athletes on campus are
football, track or basketball team
members? Sorry, folks — what
about swimmers, tennis players,
crew oarsmen, cyclists and la
crosse players?
Sure, these may be only "min
or’' sports or (heaven forbid!) club
sports; but I’ve watched these
athletes train and compete, and
their efforts are no less noble than
those of the ’’major" athletes
Unfortunately, some of your
readers get tired of the same old
sports gossip day after day Come
on — a football season review in
the end of April? Let's share those
extensive coverage articles on the
sports page. boys, and add a little
variety to life by keeping the
student body informed about all
our campus athletes
Suzanne Ward
Junior, English
ron hunt
editor's note
In fishing it’s called "the one that got away ”
But this isn't fishing — it's politics And it's not a
fish darting away — it's Rubin Townsend
Townsend was running for the Republican
nomination for Oregon House District 40 against
Robert James O’Reilly If he won the primary,
Townsend would face incumbent Democrat Margie
Hendriksen in the November general election
Instead, Townsend is moving to Las Vegas
"I decided to withdraw my candidacy," he says,
explaining that it was a hard decision, but he used to
live in Las Vegas and he's buying a computer
company there "I had to make up my mind "
Townsend complains about the long, un
productive regular and special sessions of the
Legislature “I wasn't too happy with the political
scene I saw here, he says
"Any high school freshman class could have
done the same thing ”
He learned a great deal and met a bunch of fine
people while he was campaigning, he says, adding
that several groups backed him
"No question in my mind that I could have won
the district" in both the primary and general elec
tions, Townsend says
"One thing I'm happy about, " he says, is that he
didn’t take any contributions until after the primary If
he would have accepted contributions, he says he —
of course — would have reimbursed contributors
Too much money is spent by candidates, he
says, adding that “you can almost buy a seat ” All
contributions "should go into a kitty" and be dis
tributed evenly to all candidates, he says
Townsend doesn't hide his desire to get away:
"Oregon is a wonderful state, but the political scene
soured me ”
Well, not many anglers want to catch a sour fish
anyway
staff
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