Cheney considering ideas on preferred rental list to help students

By DAVID TELLER

Staff Reporter

During the town hall meeting on Nov. 6, Cheney Mayor Allan Gainer said he wants to look into compiling a preferred renter’s list to provide students with reputable landlords.

Being the owner of the Tree of Knowledge, Gainer frequently interacts with Eastern Washington University students. After the town hall meeting, he said they regaled him with horror stories of intrusive, neglectful landlords. He said maybe half of them are aware that he is the mayor of Cheney.

Gainer said recently that he heard one student tell him how the property manager would walk in unannounced using his own key, “just to check up on things.” Another girl told him how the place she rented was absolutely filthy. It was apparent the previous renter had not cleaned before leaving it and when she moved out last spring she was bilked out of her deposit stating the shower was ruined, despite the fact she left the place cleaner than when she got it.

“Students don’t know (those are illegal actions), they’re just learning the rules,” Gainer said. “We have got to do something, because the students are being taken for granted.”

He added that some of the less scrupulous landlords bank on that lack of familiarity. That’s why he is suggesting the idea of a renter’s list to give students, as well as their parents, a choice. The list would answer questions of, “where’s a good place to put my kid?”

Though the idea is in the brainstorming phase, Gainer said he would like the list to be voluntary on the part of the landlords and property owners, and would contain a guarantee of ethical treatment and fair pricing. The list would also have information about renter’s rights, the property owners outlining their expectations about maintenance and upkeep and fire safety, plus a background of harassment and police calls at any address would be helpful too.

Community development director Brian Jennings said a lot of things have to happen before such a listing of landlords would be available.

“It’s not something that can happen overnight,” he said.

He said it would begin with identifying some of the issues, like how the students find their apartments. The obvious method is second-hand information, but Jennings said maybe follow that up and see what other methods students use to find an apartment. He added that looking at the models used in other university towns would provide good information. He said some of them have a full-blown rental registration.

“Which I think is a little draconian,” Jennings said, adding that the overhead required to manage something like that is a big concern too.

Establishing a preferred renter’s list is a new process. Jennings said there is no established procedure to start something like that but he said they do exist. He said another element is working with the city and EWU to implement the list effectively, which is an arduous task with 900 to 1,000 new students arriving every year.

Jennings stresses the idea is only in the discussion phase and it would not be until at least next year before he started actively pursuing compiling the list. He said he and the mayor are just exploring ideas.

The focus is providing a quality guarantee. Both Jennings and Gainer want Cheney to be a place for high quality living, but there are a lot of other factors to consider too.

“Not all living arrangements are the same,” Jennings said.

David Teller can be reached at [email protected]

By DAVID TELLER

Staff Reporter

During the town hall meeting on Nov. 6, Cheney Mayor Allan Gainer said he wants to look into compiling a preferred renter’s list to provide students with reputable landlords.

Being the owner of the Tree of Knowledge, Gainer frequently interacts with Eastern Washington University students. After the town hall meeting, he said they regaled him with horror stories of intrusive, neglectful landlords. He said maybe half of them are aware that he is the mayor of Cheney.

Gainer said recently that he heard one student tell him how the property manager would walk in unannounced using his own key, “just to check up on things.” Another girl told him how the place she rented was absolutely filthy. It was apparent the previous renter had not cleaned before leaving it and when she moved out last spring she was bilked out of her deposit stating the shower was ruined, despite the fact she left the place cleaner than when she got it.

“Students don’t know (those are illegal actions), they’re just learning the rules,” Gainer said. “We have got to do something, because the students are being taken for granted.”

He added that some of the less scrupulous landlords bank on that lack of familiarity. That’s why he is suggesting the idea of a renter’s list to give students, as well as their parents, a choice. The list would answer questions of, “where’s a good place to put my kid?”

Though the idea is in the brainstorming phase, Gainer said he would like the list to be voluntary on the part of the landlords and property owners, and would contain a guarantee of ethical treatment and fair pricing. The list would also have information about renter’s rights, the property owners outlining their expectations about maintenance and upkeep and fire safety, plus a background of harassment and police calls at any address would be helpful too.

Community development director Brian Jennings said a lot of things have to happen before such a listing of landlords would be available.

“It’s not something that can happen overnight,” he said.

He said it would begin with identifying some of the issues, like how the students find their apartments. The obvious method is second-hand information, but Jennings said maybe follow that up and see what other methods students use to find an apartment. He added that looking at the models used in other university towns would provide good information. He said some of them have a full-blown rental registration.

“Which I think is a little draconian,” Jennings said, adding that the overhead required to manage something like that is a big concern too.

Establishing a preferred renter’s list is a new process. Jennings said there is no established procedure to start something like that but he said they do exist. He said another element is working with the city and EWU to implement the list effectively, which is an arduous task with 900 to 1,000 new students arriving every year.

Jennings stresses the idea is only in the discussion phase and it would not be until at least next year before he started actively pursuing compiling the list. He said he and the mayor are just exploring ideas.

The focus is providing a quality guarantee. Both Jennings and Gainer want Cheney to be a place for high quality living, but there are a lot of other factors to consider too.

“Not all living arrangements are the same,” Jennings said.

David Teller can be reached at [email protected]