RENTERS BEWARE
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By Sheldon Travel • Freelance Reporter
Walking up the steps of
her Eugene apartment,
senior Alyson Harding
expected confrontation. She
inched closer to the door and
heard the footsteps of the beast
she was about to confront: 60
pounds of matted black lab
with growling, dirty yellow teeth
snarling in the window.
"I end up crying and shaking
every time I see it," Harding
said. "It's the spawn of Satan."
Harding said her fear of
various dogs that have shared
her living space has forced her
to move.
"I've had to move eight
times in four years," she said.
To avoid situations such as
this, renters should be wary of
the housing situations they
may be considering.
OSPIRG is working on a
renter's rights project at the
University and Lane Commu
nity College. Oregon Student
Public Interest Research
Group Campus Organizer Kit
Douglass said the group re
ceived 150 calls on its renter's
rights hotline in April.
"We had one renter who
had a toilet that would back up
constantly and overflow into
the kitchen and kitchen cabi
nets," Douglass said.
She said OSPIRG has seen
houses with enough structural
damage that the front door
would not close, and added
that it is important for renters
to be assertive when choosing
a rental.
"The landlord — according
to law — is supposed to pro
vide a habitable place to live,"
Douglass said.
History major Jeromy
French said he wishes he
would have known more
about his rights prior to mov
ing into an old apartment.
"The roof was rotting, and
there was a hole in the corner
of my roof," French said.
To remedy the problem, he
bought plastic to make a fun
nel for the torrent of water that
would come when it rained.
"One evening I came home,
and it had funneled into a cor
ner and onto my roommate's
bed downstairs," French said.
Fortunately, his roommate
was able to find a dry spot to
sleep until the mattress dried.
"The owners said they
would get to it; however, it was
never very high on their priori
ty list." French said.
He lived with the problem
for a year before finally moving
out.
OSPIRG suggests students
carefully examine their poten
tial rental and write down any
necessary repairs and when
they will be fixed. For housing
questions, call 346-HELP for
free assistance.
Harding said she will meet
her neighbors before signing
any new agreements. For now,
she said she hopes others will
learn from her bad experi
ences.
"I live in a place where my
neighbor's dog is evil and
tries to kill me," Harding said.
"It can't get much worse than
this."
Sheldon Traver is a freelance
reporter for the Emerald.
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