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Landlord-tenant relations crucial to living experience

October 11, 2009

Students living in houses and apartments might be on their own, but there usually is one adult making sure everything is in order: the landlord.

Most students living off-campus answer to at least one landlord and go to that person when things are broken. The relationship between the landlord and the tenant might not always be a smooth one, and there are problems on both ends of the spectrum, said attorney Rick Cascarilla, from the East Lansing-based law firm Murphy, Brenton and Spagnuolo.

A common problem between tenants and landlords is the issue of rent and payment. Cascarilla said problems usually stem from matters dealing with fiscal responsibilities.

“There are strict guidelines on when the landlord can bring damages to the tenant,” Cascarilla said. “If (renters) give (landlords) a forwarding address, you’ve got 30 days to proceed to sure to collect rent. If you don’t receive a forwarding address you get 45 days.”

Other issues include damages to property and not filing complaints in a timely matter. Landlord Fred Bauries said his most common problem with tenants is when they fail to notify him of a problem in a timely manner.

Bauries said if tenants are cooperative and friendly, most small problems can be avoided.

“When there are problems, let us know,” he said. “If tenants don’t report the problems, then we can’t fix them.”

For students such as kinesiology junior Kyle Gagneau, he said his relationship with his landlord has been great. Gagneau said he knew his landlord before coming to MSU, and the relationship is helpful.

In the past, Gagneau said the little things bothered him most.

“I don’t think it’s anything too specific,” he said. “The stuff that really matters was just little stuff that gets under people’s skin, like not fixing things or taking a long time.”

When students or landlords do have problems, if they can’t be resolved between the tenant and the landlord, they can either go to the city for help or take legal action in a law firm.

Operations Administrator for Code Enforcement and Neighborhood Conservation Annette Irwin said there are few things people can do to report problems. If the issue concerns the city code or problems on the property, the city will be involved. If it’s a legal issue, Irwin recommended students go to ASMSU Legal Services for help.

ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government.

“If we get a complaint or concern from either a landlord or tenant of something that is not under the purview of our department, then we would recommend that the landlord/tenant seek assistance from the appropriate department that would be able to handle the complaint or concern,” she said in an e-mail.

For student renters, Bauries said a good relationship is based on communication.

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