Page Six THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday, August 27, 1968 SHA gains stre ngth for landlord, Y 11 , '' i e a se,- ()rm By JOHN GRAY In the winter of 1968 Ann Ar- bor apartment owners faced two things that they hadn't seen for a long time : a shortage of ten- ants and an organization of stu- dents actively attempting to force them. to change their leases and improve their service to the stu- dent community. Ilhe Stident Housing Asso- ciation, a committee of Stu- dent Government Council, sand its sister organization, the Stu- dent Rental Union (SHA-SRU) reacted in January to what it felt to be years of exploitation of the student by Ann Arbor Realtors by instituting a selec- tive boycott of Apartments Lim, ited, Ann Arbor's largest apart- ment management firm. SHA-SRU's success in achiev- ing its immediate aim, an eight- month laese from all landlordh, was limited. But this was not through lack of student support. Support for the SHA-SRU boycott was unified probably because private landlords have for a long time been recogited as Ann Arbor bad men. The case against the apartment owners and managers is a strong one, one that has 'been building since a construction boom start- ed in 1961. An enrollment surge triggered the construzction. Univer- sity enrollment has increased by 10,285 students since 1960, while only 1,465 new living spaces have been provided by the University in the same period. Small, poorly designed apart- ment buildings began to be built around campus, designed not to last but to yield a quick return on the builder's investment. In 1961 the largest apartment man- agers in the area banded together and formed the Ann Arbor Pro- perty Managers Association. At the same time all the managers began demanding that students sign a twelve-month lease fur their off-campus apartments. Rents began to soar as build- ing fought to keep up with the increased demand for off-campus accommodations. From 1960 to 1967 the average rent for a new apartment rose 27 percent from $55 to nearly $70 per person per month, one of the highest rent scales in the country, higher even than the average rent for an apartri ent in mid-town Manhat- tan. The apartment market in Ann Arbor is hardly 1 highly competi- tive. Three large firms manage, and effectively control, more than half of the off-campus housing in the central campus area. As rents have increased, profits have risen, and the hold of these firms on the market is, if anything, still increasing. Estimates of the profits of Ann Arbor's apartment owners and managers varies according to who is doing the figuring, but the best estimates available indicate that each apartment building yields an average of 18-25 per cent annual- ly. Other estimates vary from the very conservative 7-10 percent to the wildly improbable 75 percent. Students have felt the disad- vantages of the immobile Uni- versity market through more than rents. The fact that students have to live in Ann Arbor, frequently within walking distance of the campus, has forced them to ac- cept renting conditions and serv- ice they would, in a freer mar- ket, avoid. Managers, more often than landlords, are the center for stu- dent complaint. In a typical situation, the owner has his apartment built and just turns over control to the manage- ment firm along with 7-10 per- cent of the gross revenue and col- lects the profit or sells out when he wants to.3 Because of this arrangement, students rarely if ever come into# contact with their actual land- lord. The landlord's representa- tive is frequently one of the big three management firms-Apart- ments Ltd., Charter Realty or Campus Management. SHA-SRU, which serves as a student complaint service and gadfly to the apartment mana- gers, has built up a file of com- plaints that has led it to charge the major managers with a num- ber of inequitable practices. Most complaints filed with SHA-SRU are for poor mainten- ance and the withholding of dam- age deposits. When a student moves into an Ann Arbor apartment, he typical- ly is required to deposit one month's rent with the landlord as a damage deposit, which is to be returned when the lease ex- pires or used to cover the cost of damages to the apartment caused by the student. Many students have complained that they have been overcharged for damages or have been charged for normal wear and tear on the premises. Soma students have merely had their damage deposits withheld with no explanation. SHA-SRU expanded its com- plaint program to meet rising stu- dent's dissatisfaction with the renting situation. SHA-SRU soon became aware that in many cases where the student-tenant seemed to be in the right, he was legally in the wrong because of the nature of the lease he had signed when he moved into his apartment. Last fall the students got to- gether with the Office of Off- Campus Housing to produce a new lease--one which would be Uni- versity-approved and which would attempt to give the students a better break. By January the lease was ready, at least in a rough form. It was widely advertised by SHA1 RU as the "University eight-month lease." Eight month rental agree- ments, through the use of the new lease were to be the start- ing point for SHA-SRU's battle for better treatment from land- lords. The ironic part of SHA-SRU's fight was that the new Univer- sity lease was not really an eight-month lease. It was advertised as an eight- month lease because of some uni- que phrasing in the section des- cribing term and rent. The section is divided into three parts. Part A is an agreement to rent for a period not greater than eight months, B is an agreement to rent for a period not greater than four months and C gives the amount of rent. This means that if the land- lord and the student signing the lease want to rent for a twelve- month period they must complete parts A and B on the University lease. If they agreed to rent for only eight months, only part A should be filled out. Most, if not may be used to month period agree. all, private leases rent for an eight- if both parties Acceptance of the new Uni- versity lease, however, Lame to be synonymous for many stn- dents and landlords with auto- matic eight month leasing. The new lease does provide more protection for the students' than any private lease now on the market. This protection is most important in the areas of damage deposit and tenant withdrawal. The University's damage deposit clause requires itemization of all charges against the deposit claim- ed by the landlord, and that the unused portion be returned to' the student within 20 days of the lease's expiration. The lease currently used by Apartments Ltd. specifies only that itemized costs of damages be given to students and allows 30 days for repayment. Many stu- dents have complained that their damage deposits seem to be eat- en up by unspecified "cleaning" charges. The University lease provides students who are drafted or who withdraw from school for medical reasons with an automatic can- cellation of their portion of the lease. Although federal law al- lows drafted men to terminate their leases, most landlords using private leases will hold his room- mates responsible for his portion of the rent. Even though the new lease did not spell out a major pol- licy change, SHA-SRU had no expectation that the major management firms would ac- cept the new lease when it came "out-at least, not without some coersion. In order to try to ensure that some managers at lease accepted the lease, SHA-SRU started an educational progra mto acquaint landlords with the new lease and a student boycott of Apartments Ltd. Apartments Ltd. was chosen for the boycott not only because they were one of the major manage- ment firms to not accept the new University lease, but because they had been the source of many maintenance complaints. SHA-SRU got the backing of SGC and Graduate Assembly (the semi-official governing body for graduate students) and launched a publicity campaign to urge stu- dents to rent from anyone but Apartments Ltd. unless they adopted the University lease. Even bodies traditionally hesi- tant to back SGC action, such as the SHA-SRU boycott. Hunt Engineering Council, supported House Council and South Quad Council voluntarily contributed to SHA-SRU to defray the advertis- ing costs of the "Wait for Eight" campaign. When landlords threatened in- junction against the boycotters, University President R o b b e n; Fleming commented that he could see "no legal bar to picketing." He compared the plan to organ- ized labor tactics. "Two factors," he said, "will govern the students' success in the boycott: the extent to which students support it, and how much mutual support city land- lords will give each other." The possibility of University support for the SHA-SRU activi- ties was even discussed. Fleming commented, "The Uni- versity should definitely take a stand on minimal housing stand- ards, such as safety and health in privately-owned student apart- ments:" SHA-SRU and their support- ers hoped to drive Apartments Ltd.'s vacancy rate up to such an extent that it would be prof- itable for themn to accept the student demands. This action was planned be- cause of the new tenant short- age in the Ann Arbor apart- ment market. For the first time in nearly a decade, vacancy rates were be- ginning to approach a height where consumer pressure could be successfully employed. Although no completely accur- A Ann Arbor apartments prove su mptous but too expensive ate figures on vacancy rates are some rent increase was necessary available, University officials if landlords were to rent on an have estimated that it is as high eight-month basis, but they{ as five to ten per cent. charged that the 15-25 per cent Meanwhile, student interest in hikes that had been made were proper maintenance added a new unjustified. However, they're not dimension to the boycott when 51 that , worried about rates now.' residents in various Apartments Their plans are to first force ac- Ltd. buildings agreed to a rent ceptance of the eight-month lease strike. On the basis of mainten- and then to begin agitation forI ance complaints made as long ago lower rents. as August, 1967, the residents gave There have been, according to their rent to the University's Off SHA-SRU, some tangible bene-1 Campus Housing Bureau rather fits that have come from the boy- than Apartments Ltd. cott in the area of service to stu- They agreed not to pay rent dents from Apartments Ltd. They until all maintenance complaints contend that Apartments Ltd. has had been settled. been more attentive to individual Then SHA Chairman Michael complaints and perhaps a bit Koeneke, BAd '69, who is cur- more anxious to please than ever rently SGC president, called the before. rent strike "another pressure This isn't enough for SHA-SRU. point for an eight month lease," Next year they plan to have a l better-planned, , better organized However, despite all pressures, boycott of Apartments Ltd. New Apartments Ltd. did not feel construction in' Ann Arbor this enough of a pinch this year to summer should make the vacancy. accept the idea of an eight- rates even higher and student month lease even with increased leaders are at least moderately rents to cover the expense of confident that they can make a vacancies in the summer. But boycott work this year, many smaller firms, perhaps They plan to force Apartments out of a fear that boycott tac- Ltd. to accept their terms and tics would beused against them, td. to hp ther tem and cid accept the lease. then turn to the other twso major SHA-SRU had complaints even firms. If they are successful they about these apartments, though. will be in an immensely favorable The students recognized that bargaining position with the re- maining landlords..By next sum- mer, the students may have won The students have already won a certain tactical and moral victory. SHA-SRU, which was scoffed away only a year ago, has come to be accepted by the Ann Arbor landlords as a legitimate force to be dealt with. Renters tobo now recognize SHA-SRU as their agent in a sort of collective bargaining process. A basis has been built on which the students may count for innovative, determined action on their behalf. FAMILY RESTAURANT . AMBRGERs TEASUM CUMT H. 1C N CHIC N " CONEY ISLANDS SMILlNG SPEEDY SERVICE CARRY-OUT SPECIALISTS NO WAITING - PLENTY j of PARKING INSIDE SEATING OR EAT IN YOUR CAR OPEN 11 AM DAILY 662-0022 3325 WASHTENAW RD. ANN ARBOR 2 BLKS W. of ARBORLAND 1 I Michael Koeneke S A ,~ I'S A Ii - / i AMR !, No matter where you'll live in Ann Arbor, or .. and if you'd like a helpful "Get-acquainted- where your classes are, you're always near with-the-Campus-and-Ann Arbor" folder, use one of Ann Arbor Bank's four convenient this coupon or send usyour name and address campus offices. 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