Downtown landlords fail to keep student housing up-to-date

As a college student in Mount Pleasant, Mich., I rent housing from company contractors or private contractors.

As a home renter with a private contractor, I must say that I am absolutely appalled by not only my landlord, but by the city itself for the seriously diminishing standards of what is considered “habitable housing.”

In a pamphlet titled “Living in Mt. Pleasant,” the city states that it is within the landlord responsibilities to “provide the tenant with a clean, healthful and safe dwelling.” Furthermore, the landlord is obligated to “maintain the dwelling and its area in a clean, safe and sanitary condition”.

Upon the beginning of my lease, I was living in a home that had raw sewage in the basement. It contained no functioning fire alarms and had no screens on many of the windows. The house also contained an abundant amount of garbage in and around the house.

If these conditions are what the city considers to be “clean, safe and sanitary,” I fear for the health and safety of students.

When I approached my landlord about the sewage on my basement floor, I was simply told, “I can not handle it tonight.” Upon inspection from a private plumber that evening, I was told that the house contained health code violations. I was told my roommate and I were putting our personal health at risk by staying in the house.

While the problem was fixed, it has reoccurred. The house in which I reside had human waste on the floor for four days without attention from the landlord or plumber. As for the other numerous damages and disgusting aspects of the house, I am still awaiting reply from my landlord as to when they will be dealt with.

It seems to be the case that landlords who rent to college students are simply taking advantage of them. Yes, college students often have no other choice than to rent out these clearly uninhabitable homes.

We as students are forced to pay astronomical rent prices for homes that are subpar and often filthy.

It is a disgrace that the city inspects every house yearly to ensure student safety, yet homes such as mine remain standing.

It is time for students to take a stand; we must demand higher standards from our landlords and our city. Landlords such as mine are using these low standards to do bare-minimum upkeep on the homes and essentially rob students of their money.

It is time for a change, and it is time for the students to exercise their renter’s rights and ensure that future students are not obligated to rent housing from these criminal landlords.

Alexandra Kopack
Livonia Senior