Oregon
DAILY EMERALD
Mondas . February 18. IWI
F.ugenc. Oregon
Volume 'I
Issue 102
Insid«
A lane County jury is
deliberating the fate of
University Professor Den
nis Gilbert, on trial for
criminal mischief and
trespassing charges stem
ming from a labor protest
in )uly.
See story, Page 7
More than 200 stu
dents and community
members protested the
Persian Gulf War Satur
day at a noon rally that
moved from the EMU
Courtyard to the Federal
Building in downtown
Eugene.
See story. Page 9
Gulf War
CBS is increasing its
efforts to locate reporter
Bob Simon and his crew,
who were captured by an
Iraqi patrol near the Sau
di-Kuwaiti border four
weeks ago.
See war briefs, Page 5
American pilots are
worried about the blaze of
anti-aircraft fire they will
have to fly into during an
all-out attack on Iraqi-oc
cupied Kuwait, only one
seabird in 10 is expected
to survive the mammoth
oil spill oozing its way
flown the Persian Culf.
and biologists fear entire
colonies of birds will be
wiped out.
See war briefs, Page 5
Sports
The Oregon men's bas
ketball team extended its
winning streak to four
games Saturday with a
win over Pac-10 cellar
dweller Washington at
McArthur Court, 67-64
See story. Page 10
The Duck women’s
team was not as fortunate
against its foes to the
north, as it suffered a loss
to Washington State on
Friday and another to
lOth-ranked Washington
on Sunday.
See story, Page 14
Because of space limi
tations. Calvin and
Hobbes. Hudson Van
Curen and the daily
crossword puzzle will not
run today. The Emerald
apologizes for any incon
venience this may cause
its readers.
Agencies respond to fee proposal
Owners use fee
to check history
By Rene DeCair
Emerald Reporter
first and last month’s rent,
deposits and application fees
can add up to a heavy financial
burden for a prospective renter,
particularly a University stu
dent on a tight budget
But if a bill recently intro
duced in the state House pass
es. Oregon renters would get a
break from paving non refund
able application fees
If it passes those seeking lo
cal apartments would get relief
from mounting fees, and Uni
versity area rental agencies
would lose what has her oine a
lu< rative sourt e of income
Rep. Bill Dwyer, D-Spring
field. said he drafted the bill
banning application fees for
rentals to prevent landlords
from making a profit off the
fees.
"This is another rash cow
that they can milk." said Scott
Bartlett. Dwyer’s legislative as
sistant.
Dwyer said he believes stu
dents and low-income people
are hurt by the application
costs, which are difficult for
them to pay. and that such
charges mas sometimes result
in people not finding a place to
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Krnt.il agencies charge a fee to proctrss an potential tenant's application, which some claim is
unfair and prices people out of housing Agency owners say the fifes are necessary to coyer the
costs of checking applicants' credit histories.
live
Not everyone agrees with
Dwyer. however Local proper
ty management companies
have have critici/.ed the pro
posal. denying they make mon
ey from the application fees
ranging from Sit) to $;to In
stead. they say the money is
needed to run credit diet ks on
prosper live ti'ii.ints
"We want to make sure
tti,it were getting tht* best resi
dents thiil we can." said Harrv
(tliiiilon. executive proporty
manager at Jennings and (to .
an agent v with many rentals in
the l 'niversitv area
Tilt; expense of checking a
person's credit "gets pretty
high" Hlanton said
Hut Dwyer, saying he is not
convinced that credit checks
are even necessary, believes
rental agencies should absorb
Turn to RENT. Page 4
Lawmakers hoping to banish rental fees
Rental companies accused of placing undue hardship on students, needy
By Joe Kidd
Emerald Politics Editor
l or many years, those looking to rent an
apartment or house have had to pay a non
refundable fee simply to 1m- considered as a
tenant Hut that will change if several state
legislators have their way
v^m,RT
While rental agencies suv the practice of
charging non-refundable application fees is
necessary, a handful of lawmakers believe
the screening method has become a money
making scam and have introduced legisla
tion that would outlaw such a charge
House Hill 2b3H. introduced in the House
two weeks ago by Rep Hill Dwyer, D
Springfield. would prohibit rental agencies
from charging non-refundable application
fees And the legislation goes so far as to es
tablish penalties as high as 10 times the
amount of rent or the possible revocation of
the business' license if such a charge is re
quited.
‘‘These fees are almost criminal, when
the vacancy factor gets low and there are so
many people competing for rentals." Dwyer
said. "It gets to be a scam Rather than just
to cover incurred costs, people want to
make a profit off the fact that these (appli
cants) don't have an apartment.”
With non-refundable fees ranging from
$10 to $30 dollars, Dwyer calls the applica
tion charges "an abusive practice" that
makes it difficult for people of lower-in
come levels to find housing
"Those till worse by it <ire people, includ
ing students, who really don't have a stable
source of housing and may have to apply in
numerous cases." Dwyer said
But managers in the rental industry sa\
the screening process costs money an ex
pense that individual applicants should
pay. rather than having to raise tenants'
rents to pay for the credit and reference
checks that are made when screening appli
cations
‘Those hit worse by it are
people, including students,
who really don’t have a sta
ble source of housing and
may have to apply in numer
ous cases. ’
-Rep. Bill Dwyer,
D-Springfield
"Why should someone who is not mov
ing have to increase their costs for someone
else to apply?" asked David Meissner, a
manager at (lateway Village Apartments in
Springfield "That cost has to lie borne by
someone Why shouldn't (applicants)
have to pay? The person who moves a lot
should pay the fee. An apartment house
can't run in the red. can it?”
But legislators who oppose the practice
sav the application fees are an expense that
make the difficult process of finding afford
able housing unnecessarily < nstly
"You could spout) up to $200 in applica
tion fees alone in a month of searching."
said Sen Grattan kerans. a Demotrat from
Eugene who is a sponsor of the hill "Peo
ple could spend up to the amount of the
first month’s rent on application fees for
needed housing just to get turned
down."
"Why should everything make money,
every aspect of every kind of detail make
money?” Dwyer asked
Sponsors of the legislation not only op
pose what they see as an unnet cssary hur
dle for those looking for housing, hut also
claim some property management agencies
charge the fees to make a profit.
Without citing specific cases. Dwyer saul
he believes some agent ics go so far as to
hold apartments open for extended periods
to gather more application fees
Hut Gateway's Meissner denied that
charge, saying rental agencies try to keep
them to a minimum to remain competitive
within the industry.
”1 don't know why they would jack up
the fees unnecessarily.” Meissner said.
"The person who can keep his expenses the
lowest with the liest quality is going to Ire
the most competitive. Everyone is working
to keep costs low
And as for holding apartments open to
collect more fees. Meissner said he has nev
er heard of an agency doing that
"I can't comprehend that, when you have
an apartment vacant." he said "It definite
ly wouldn't apply to a large apartment com
plex "
Turn to FEE Page 6