It may be the “summer break” at Western Washington
University but the students have not forgotten about the condition of rentals
as many of them prepare for another rental season and the ensuing crap shoot of
finding a place that is safe. Absent any
rental inspection law in Bellingham, students often vie for the best of the
worst. The city council voted recently
to push the noodle of licensing and inspection up the hill a bit more by
deciding to place the topic on the agenda of budget priorities for 2014. [More on that decision in an article later
this week.] Here is a recent editorial
opinion from the Western Front:
Students deserve decent housing
Everyone who’s rented property in Bellingham, Wash.
for more than a year probably knows at least two people who have had
problems with their rental company. Whether insects, leakage or the
ever-present black mold that is the scourge of our moist seaside climate,
renting in Bellingham can be a nightmare if tenants are forced to
deal with unresponsive rental companies. Never mind the unsightly or
unhygienic elements in living in such conditions; the health risks
associated with black mold inhalation can be serious, even
life-threatening.
It’s easy to understand a business’ reluctance to rent
to college students. Images of wild parties, cigarette-burned carpets and
gaping holes punched through drywall must dance through a landlord’s
head every time pen touches lease agreement. The large college
population in Bellingham leaves them little choice in tenants,
too. However, ensuring that a property is up to code is not
optional, and certainly in a landlord’s best interest. The
lawsuits that can result from shoddy maintenance can be
worth much more than mere cosmetic damage.
Having cleaner, safer apartments is in everyone’s best
interest. People will be more inclined to treat their apartments with
respect if it’s respectable to begin with. There is not a lot of
initiative for either landlord or tenant to maintain a disgusting
apartment, any more than someone would feel the need to repaint a car
in a junkyard.
Just because students typically rent lower priced units
doesn’t mean our health and well being are any less important.
The editorial board is comprised of Editor- in-Chief
Steve Guntli and Managing Editor Shannen Kuest.
This is not the first Western Front editorial on the squalor
that students meet yearly in their quest for housing. The
Editorial Board speaks to the students regularly from the pages of the
Front. You can read prior editorials by
clicking on each of the years: 2010,
2011, 2012. Perhaps a 2014 editorial may
announce the passage of a rental health and safety ordinance. With a city council election this fall that
will see new council members replacing Stan Snapp and Seth Fleetwood, who have
consistently opposed attempts to clean up Bellingham’s rentals, the students and all other renters may finally
get the legislation they deserve.
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