Landlords accountable for student renters means rough road for first time renters
Double double, toil and trouble, landlords get burned and students get hustled.
A decisive 6-2 vote by City Council members this week strengthens a 2003 ordinance that holds Boulder landlords accountable for major quality-of-life violations like uncollected trash and Bluto Blutarsky-style social gatherings that can give homeowners bigger headaches than the empty bottles of booze in their lawn. That’s the latest magic potion the Boulder City Council will force feed residents in an effort to curb the underage drinking and partying that have many Boulder residents up in arms.
Anyone who has seen a renter’s front yard (or paid $20 to park in it during a football game) knows that it’s next to impossible to get a student to care about the image of their temporary residence. The original ordinance gave fed-up homeowners some teeth, allowing them to guard their neighborhoods against the worst of the worst. The legislation was directed toward the type of ruffians that do doughnuts in flower beds at 3 a.m. and collect more trash in their grass than in the local landfill.
But the new and not-so-improved law gives Boulder homeowners some nasty fangs, and it’s the students that will get bitten.
The new measure not only increases the number of violations landlords will be held accountable for, it cuts the level of proof needed to indict “guilty” renters. Landlords are now nearly as accountable as the students they rent to, facing court dates and fines if their tenants get busted twice in a calendar year.
So what happens when a landlord is running a background check on applicants? The law doesn’t discriminate. A minor in possession of an alcohol ticket is a minor in possession of an alcohol ticket; it doesn’t matter if the violator got it while urinating wildly on the neighbor’s lawn ornaments or while sipping wine coolers with grandma. The landlord will have to assume the worst.
And what happens to students who might pose a threat to the landlord’s assets? At first glance it may seem as simple as a barring applicants with violations, but it’s not. In 2006 alone the Boulder Police Department issued 1,643 tickets to citizens for drug abuse, liquor law violations and public drunkenness – all offenses that should now grab a landlord’s eye.
While it’s worth noting that there are repeat offenders and non-students included in those numbers, it’s probably safe to assume that the vast majority were one-time violations assessed to students and the occasional city council member.
Let’s do a little role playing. You’re now your landlord. Ready?
First, multiply the number of violations by the four or five years most students spend in school, and you get about 6,000 to be conservative, or right around 25 percent of CU’s undergraduate population. Now add the fact that just one of the eight students moving into your property needs a violation to pose a viable threat.
The equation comes out to zero. Zero students left to rent to.
So what can you do? Even if you own a lot of high risk properties like those on University Hill, you can’t afford to get too picky. You might as well get acquainted with your new seat in the defendant’s chair at the Boulder County Courthouse because no level of babysitting on your part will deter real troublemakers. Your attorney charges $200 an hour to defend you – where do you go for the money?
The answer is the renters. They’re a liability, but a liability you’re now forced to accept. No matter if they work three jobs to pay the bills or work three minutes to evoke daddy’s sympathy, that’s the nature of business.
So get ready to fork over the cash students. Don’t blame your landlord, but don’t feel sorry for them either. You’re the one who will be paying heartily for the city’s latest misguided attempt at keeping you under control.
