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The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 28,2009

The drug den next door

y first foray into off-cam-
pus housing in Ann Arbor
was both devoid of local
knowledge and poorly thought out.
I transferred to the University in
summer 2008, and my only criteria
for living quarters were that they be
centrally located and not too much
like a dungeon. I settled on an apart-
ment within a house across from
Liberty Plaza on South Division
Street and soon found a roommate.
The location was perfect - right
in the heart of urban Ann Arbor, not
too far from Main Street or Central
Campus. I had a large bedroom with
skylights and a comfortable balcony.
I thought I deserved a pat on the
back for my wonderful find.
But before classes had even start-
ed, things got fishy. We assumed
that students occupied the other
apartments in the house, but we
were the only ones. Nearly all of
the other residents were part of the
state's Section8 housing program -
state-subsidized housing that helps
low-income households.
The problems ensued from day
one. Excruciatingly loud, violent
confrontations took place on a
nightly basis between residents on
lower floors. They threw furniture
often, the crashes shook my room-
mate and I awake at night. Shady
characters entered the house - by
either invite or force - at all hours
of the night and compounded the
violence through what were obvi-
ously illicit drug deals.

. It was general knowledge around
the neighborhood that a fairly long-
standing crack ring operated from
within my house, and that one of
the other residents was a prostitute
despite clearly suffering from men-
tal illness. The police were constant-
ly paying visits due to complaints.
There was no denying where I lived
the day I kicked a used syringe off
the front steps.
An older, scruffy-haired resident
had a habit of panhandling near
Borders, posing as a "hungry home-
less man" in order to fuel his drug
problems. Another resident was a
middle-aged woman who drifted in
and out of rehab and sometimes dis-
appeared for weeks at a time. During
one of her disappearances, a group
of rough men who clearly knew her
broke open the door and lived in her
apartment, indulging in drugs and
violence for weeks on end.
My friends and family suggested
that I move out, even if that meant
hiring a lawyer to get out of my
lease. Neither my roommate nor I
could study in the house because of
the noise and smoke wafting from
downstairs. And to top it all off,
both the heat and plumbing posed
major problems.
A young couple next door actu-
ally did move out in early October,
taking the time to warn me that
a murder could take place in the
house at any time. I wasn't as fearful
as they were, but any time I walked
outside at night, I clenched my fists

and stayed sharply aware of my sur-
roundings. And since my roommate
often spent weekends at home, Ikept
a large knife nearby where I slept.
I relentlessly called my land-
lord asking for help, and he always
acted appalled by what I told him
and repeatedly promised to end
the problems. Unfortunately, his
laziness meant that nothing ever
changed. One night, my roommate
and I awoke to a violent domestic
My apartment
building doubled
as a crack house
and brothel.
assault in the room below us, which
was normal except for the sound
of shattering glass and a man yell-
ing that he was bleeding to death.
Before we were able to respond, the
police and an ambulance arrived
outside to treat the victim.
The woman living downstairs
was arrested for assaulting the
man. I told mylandlord if she wasn't
evicted, I was done paying my rent.
Thankfully, he obliged. However,
she clearly wasn't the only major
problem. There was a rape allega-
tion that resulted in an arrest and
various assaults, most of which

went unreported. Once, a shady
guest threatened violence toward
me for being disrespectful after he
said he was going into my house to
do a drug deal.
One of the most absurd inci-
dents occurred when I awoke to
the screech of the alleged prosti-
tute exchanging obscenities out the
window with a woman in the park.
Police arrived, and in the morn-
ing I learned that the two women
had been flashing each other
across South Division throughout
the whole argument and had been
reported by a passerby.
Finally, after several months of
fearing for my personal safety and
repeatedly calling the police to
report the white van that showed up
at the house to make drug deals each
night, I learned about how I might
be able to get out of my lease.
On a visit to the Ann Arbor Police
outpost on Maynard Street in early
April, I was informed that more than
50 complaints had been made about
my house in the past year (I was
not responsible for more than five).
I told them the name of the alleged
prostitute and others, and they
rolled their eyes and said they knew
my claims were true. My next step
was to call the City of Ann Arbor,
where the City Attorney's Office
told me that such a high number of
complaints could possibly constitute
a "nuisance" which would allow the
city to seize the property.
Just days later, in the wee hours of
SECURITY DEPOSIT
From page 5B
to want stronger evidence.
Gayle Rosen, a Student Legal Ser-
vices attorney, said that the magis-
trate for small claims court in Ann
Arbor is generally fairwith students.
But to avoid being judged as just a
student challenging a legitimate
adult, photograph the condition of
the residence and record your inter-
actions with your landlord as much
as possible.
"The more you have documented
the problem, the less the judge has
to make it just a credibility deci-
sion between you and the landlord,"
Rosen said.
. Exhaustively document the state
of the house when you move in and
when you move out. That way, an
objective judge can determine the

night, a violent guest left the alleged
prostitute's apartment quite angry.
He screamed that she was a "skank,"
she replied that he was "cheap shit"
and then he proceeded to punch out
a few windows. He also took the
house trash bins and scattered their
contents across the street in a fit of
rage. I called my parents the next
morning, and they quickly called
the landlord telling him I was mov-
ing out and we were not going to pay
our final four months of rent.
Probably somewhat aware that a
legal battle might not be in his best
interests, he agreed to void the lease
for my roommate and I within min-
utes. Thankfully, the landlord let me
move to another of his properties for
the remaining month of school and
he kept my security deposit as rent
for that final month. The final four
months were voided. My roommate
decided to immediately cutcties with
the landlord, taking a summer sub-
let near the CCRB at a house under
different management. Despite this,
the landlord also kept his deposit.
Interestingly, even though my
old landlord said he made a mis-
take by taking on so many Section
8 leases, the same people continue
to live in the house and renew their
leases every month. The landlord
still clearly runs a tight ship - and
my old roommate and I couldn't be
more thankful not to be part of it
anymore.
- Roger Sauerhaft is an SLSA senior
cost of damages or accept your claim
that the wine stain was there before
you moved in.
You'll also want to consult Stu-
dent Legal Services - you have
been paying a legal fee as part of
your tuition, so you might as well
get some of your money's worth.
A good way to prevent things from
escalating to legal action, though,
is requesting that your landlord
inspect your apartment before you
move out. After you and your room-
mates have dutifully cleaned and
repaired the apartment, invite your
landlord to look over the place and
give you a thumbs up or at least an
indication of any possible concerns.
While not legally binding, this can
be a good way to not only preempt
possible claims but also let your
landlord know you're paying atten-
tion and would not be a good candi-
date for exploitation.

SIGNING LEASE
From page 5B
of the tenants in a house plan to
move. It saves the landlord the time
and cost of processing separate
security deposits, but could mean a
giant financial headache for you.
The simplest thing that students
overlook when signing a lease is
how the moving dates coincide with
MOVING IN
From page 5B
present themselves, you should be
conscious about absolving yourself
of future guilt. Take the inventory
checklist detailing the condition of
the residence seriously - and turn
it in within seven days of moving
in. Photographing carpet stains is
stronger than just writing"poor" on

the University's academic schedule.
We all want to enjoy a good, long
Welcome Week, but many leases
technically start after the first foot-
ball game. While most landlords
will allow tenants to move in early,
pay close attention to what you're
agreeing to. Many landlords charge
a fee for early move-ins. Many also
refuse to clean the residence if ten-
ants move in early. If yours does
both, you're gettingscrewed.
the checklist - and a video show-
ing how the bathtub won't drain is
stronger still.
The most important thing you
can do, Rosen said, is to get every-
thing in writing. In the age of the
Internet, that is a lot less formal
than it seems.
"E-mail is so easy now and most
landlords will respond by e-mail,"
Rosen said. "If you call, it becomes

Also, take a look at your move-
out date. If yours is in the first half
of August, you might be upset when
your landlord expects full rent for
that half month. Ask if the cost of
August can be prorated to exclude
the last few weeks. It might not
work, but it's worth a shot. Always
remember that you have the abil-
ity to negotiate. You are a customer
buying a product that your landlord
is selling.
your word against theirs."
Make sure you e-mail your land-
lord with every complaint you have.
Calling might reap more immediate
results,but ane-mail accompanying
every call could help you later on.
Whether your landlord responds
with a promise to do the repair or
fails to respond to repeated e-mails,
you have written proof of negli-
gence if the problem persists.