von Klein Property
Management, LLC
CAMPUS RENTALS
Largest Selection - Personal Service
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Alderwood Manor
1884-1860 Alder
686- 0743
Blackstone Manor
1750 Alder
687- 0684
Campus Chateau
1668 Ferry
485-7776
Campus Plaza
750 E. 18™
485-4029
College Side
737 E. 16™
683-9546
Ferry Street Quads
1728 Ferry
485-7776
Fir Crest
630 E. 14™
485-7776
Flintridge
500 E. 18™
485-0060
Garden Terrace
1893 Garden Ave.
302-5713
Holly Court
1930 Onyx
485-7776
Lake Crest
1390 Mill
685-0922
Maple Arms
1345 Ferry
485-7776
Patterson Manor
611E. 11th
1085 Patterson
485-7776
Selma Apartments
361E. 14th
685-0922
Talisman
888 E. 18™
485-4029
University Manor
745 E. 15™
485-9773
1340 Mill
685-0922
944-946 E. 19th
485-7776
1365 Ferry
531E. 14th
485-7776
1881-1891 High
315-325 E. 19th
485-7776
1884 Garden Ave.
1210 Villard
302-5713
1911 Kincaid
485-7776
Campus Twins
735 E. 14th
485-7776
von Klein Property
Management, llc.
485-7776 • 1301 Ferry
Basic standards are basic rights
■ Oregon law provides fundamental
protections and responsibilities for renters
By Steven Neuman
for the Emerald
Eugeneans have been endowed with cer
tain inalienable renter’s rights.
Among these rights, the protection of the
tenant figures highly. However, many stu
dents just don’t know the rights they
already have as tenants.
ASUO Community Outreach
Coordinator Megan Hughes works actively
with renter’s rights issues.
“Students need to be aware of their
rights. Ninety percent of University
neighborhoods are rental properties, and
that means that it’s the primary housing
for campus,” she said. “There is a con
stant turnover from year to year, and the
problem is most students don’t bother to
learn because they’re in and out so fast.”
The current rights of Eugene tenants are
the result of the statewide Oregon
Landlord and Tenant Act, not a city hous
ing code. Several efforts are currently
under way to adopt a city ordinance or
ordinances to replace the Landlord and
Tenant Act.
According to the Oregon Landlord and
Tenant Act, a landlord is required to
make repairs, the rental unit must have
basic safety and it must meet sanitation
and livability standards. These include
effective waterproofing and weather pro
tection; hot and cold running water con
nected to a sewage system; safety from
fire hazards; working keys, locks and
window latches; no garbage or rodents in
the unit or public spaces around the
building when tenants move in or
throughout the tenancy; adequate plumb
ing, heating and electrical equipment
maintained in good working order; and
garbage removal unless otherwise speci
fied in writing.
“The landlord and tenant can agree in
writing that the tenant will fix certain
things if the agreement is not an attempt
by the landlord to get away from the duty
to repair. The written agreement must
state the amount of the payment for
repair, and it must be a fair amount,”
according to the Landlord and Tenant
Act.
In the instance that a tenant complains
about the need for a repair, the landlord
cannot retaliate by varying rent rates, with
holding services, serving an eviction
notice, threatening eviction or filing an
eviction case after a tenant.
A key right often overlooked is that
landlords may not enter a rental unit
without notice.
“One of the biggest problems I see is
access abuse,” said Brenda Woods, man
ager of the Rental Office in the EMU. The
landlord must give a 24-hour verbal or
written notice before entering, unless
there is a reason for not providing notice,
such as an emergency or instance where
the tenant has agreed to let the landlord
in without notice. A “notice” does not
necessarily mean a written statement;
notices may be informal conversations.
“Every instance when your landlord
enters the unit must be after a 24-hour
notice,” Woods said. “That includes if
they’re going to be showing it, say from
now until June. You must be notified every
time. If the landlord fails to notify you he
must pay you one month’s rate, so if your
rent is $1,000, and your landlord shows
the apartment 10 times then he owes you
$10,000.”
This right also applies to backyards,
which are private spaces and an extension
of a tenant’s rented property. The landlord
must also give notice before entering the
yard of a single-family residence or any
other space rented to one tenant. A repair
person hired by the landlord may also
enter, but the landlord must first give the
tenant a 24-hour written notice stating the
names of the workers and the work that is
Turn to Rights, page14B
• Major appliances
with 90-day warranties
starting at $99.
• New/used furniture
and re-built beds starting
at $99 a set.
• Name brand and
vintage clothes starting
at $0.99.
0067031
• Huge selection of used
cars at great prices.
dePaul’s
St Vincent dePaul Society
6 locations In Eugene to serve you:
• 1880 W. 11th, 683-8284 (great selection of appliances and new furniture)
• 705 S. Seneca, 345-0595 (lots of clothes and misc. household items).
• 2345 West Broadway, 284-5025 (huge warehouse of used furniture).
'k 555 High St., 344-2115 (our newest location, opening early June).
• 201 Division Ave., 762-7837 (clothes, computers, books, furniture, beds, appliances).
• 450 Highway 99, 607-4541 (our huge car lot).