Students, today is the day when most landlords and buiding engineers across the District officially turn on heating systems in buildings that don’t allow tenants to control their own thermostats. There isn’t a law that says landlords have to officially turn on the heat, but there is a law about how warm your building must be kept, at a minimum. Heat must be kept at a temperature of at least sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit (68° F) between 6:30 am and 11 pm. Between 11 pm and 6:30 am, a building’s heat must be kept at a minimum temperature of sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit (65° F).
If you wake up with icicles hanging off your nose one morning in the coming days, there’s a good chance your building isn’t 65 or 68 degrees. So, if you’ve contacted your landlord a call and you can’t seem to get any results, give us a call or reach out to us using one of the methods listed here at our site (Twitter, Facebook or email) and we’ll do what we can to help.
Yesterday, we headed over to Howard University–well, one of the sidewalks near Howard University–in order to pass out information to the students who live off-campus. We didn’t want to cause any problems for ourselves by doing something crazy like visiting the campus without an invitation and using washable spray chalk to give students information. Who’d do a thing like that?!
So, we visited the campus and passed out information from the public space about This Should Be Illegal to students so that they could be aware of the services that the Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs offers to District residents. We hope to soon be invited again to an official campus event at Howard U so that we can reach out to even more students.
We made a beeline over to Catholic University’s campus to see if we could find a good public space area to reach out to students, but we were unable to find a good flow of foot traffic there. So, Catholic U, we are still waiting for that invitation to come out and give your students this valuable information!
Also, not to be missed are photos from the kickoff of National Campus Fire Safety Month, which we participated in on Capitol Hill last week. The event was well-attended and at times, quite emotional as the mother of a student killed in an off-campus fire told her story.
If your campus is having an event that you think we’d be a good fit for, feel free to contact us using one of the various methods mentioned here at This Should Be Illegal. Have a great weekend and be safe!
This past Thursday, DCRA’s “This Should Be Illegal” team packed up the van and headed to American University for a little quality time with the students there. We took part in the university’s annual Wellness Fair and it was really nice. The folks at AU kind of had to work a little harder than usual to justify our presence, but after we discussed it, they decided that we were a perfect fit. There are some issues with crappy apartments or other rental housing that could in fact be a matter of life and death. So, there you have it.
We were very happy to meet several students from AU, giving them information about our services, and we look forward to heading to your college or university next! If you are having an event soon and you’d like for us to come out, give us a shout on Twitter @dcra or email myself shana.kemp (at) dc (dot) gov or Michael Rupert michael.rupert (at) dc (dot) gov and we’ll be more than happy to stop by! Sometimes, students feel more comfortable making a formal complaint or getting answers to their questions through one on one interaction, instead of over the phone.
Lots of Questions on DC Security Deposit Regulations. DCRA Has Answers.
It’s been about three weeks since a lot of students in DC moved from their summer apartments and houses and into their school year place. So the big question we’re receiving lately is: Where is my money?
Under DC law, landlords have up to 45 days from the date the lease ended to either return the security deposit or provide an itemized list of repairs/deductions that were made from the deposit. Having trouble getting your money back? Show them the law. And we’re pasting it below. Notice that if landlords do not make a “good faith” effort and fail to meet the regulation’s timeline, you are entitled to the entire security deposit back. DCRA doesn’t handle disputes between landlords and tenants on security deposit issues, but if you are having problems you should immediately contact the Office of the Tenant Advocate and let them know. They can help.
309 REPAYMENT OF SECURITY DEPOSITS TO TENANTS
309.1 Within forty-five (45) days after the termination of the tenancy, the owner shall do one of the following:
(a) Tender payment to the tenant, without demand, any security deposit and any similar payment paid by the tenant as a condition of tenancy in addition to the stipulated rent, and any interest due the tenant on that deposit or payment as provided in § 311; or
(b) Notify the tenant in writing, to be delivered to the tenant personally or by certified mail at the tenant’s last known address, of the owner’s intention to withhold and apply the monies toward defraying the cost of expenses properly incurred under the terms and conditions of the security deposit agreement.
309.2 The owner, within thirty (30) days after notification to the tenant pursuant to the requirement of § 309.1(b), shall tender a refund of the balance of the deposit or payment, including interest not used to defray such expenses, and at the same time give the tenant an itemized statement of the repairs and other uses to which the monies were applied and the cost of each repair or other use.
309.3 Failure by the owner to comply with § 309.1 and § 309.2 of this section shall constitute prima facie evidence that the tenant is entitled to full return, including interest as provided in § 311, of any deposit or other payment made by the tenant as security for performance of his or her obligations or as a condition of tenancy, in addition to the stipulated rent.
309.4 Failure by the owner to serve the tenant personally or by certified mail, after good faith effort to do so, shall not constitute a failure by the owner to comply with § 309.1 and
309.5 Any housing provider violating the provisions of this chapter by failing to return a security deposit rightfully owed to a tenant in accordance with the requirements of this chapter shall be liable for the amount of the deposit withheld, or in the event of bad faith, for treble that amount.
309.6 For the purposes of § 309.5, the term “bad faith” means any frivolous or unfounded refusal to return a security deposit, as required by law, that is motivated by a fraudulent, deceptive, misleading, dishonest, or unreasonably self-serving purpose and not by simple negligence, bad judgement, or an honest belief in the course of action taken.
DCRA rep at Howard University, October 2008
At this point, across the District, school is back in session. By now, students are all settled in to their new apartments, fresh new towels and washclothes hanging on their bathroom racks. Plush new rugs tossed onto floors with still creased from the package sheets fitted onto mattresses– adorned by vibrant new comforters. But, are those landlords licensed!!!? DCRA is going to help you make sure.
Yesterday, we headed to the Georgetown University’s campus for their Resource Fair and tomorrow, we’ll be paying a visit to the University of the District of Columbia’s campus. We’ll be passing out information and answering any questions that students may have about their rental housing or landlords. In the coming weeks, we hope to make it, at least once, to each of the campuses here in the District because this is vital information.
If you are renting a place from an unlicensed landlord, you could be putting yourself at grave risk. Saving your life is more important than saving a few dollars. Remember that. While you are here, check out the many resources offered at thisshouldbeillegal.com and tell your friends.
The first few weeks back at school can be exciting and overwhelming at the same time. If you are already dealing with off-campus housing woes, check to see if it’s something that we can help you with before you lose your cool. And, if your college or university is having an event and you’d like for us to come out and hand out information and give your students a chance to ask questions with us, face to face, contact us using one of the methods in the “Contact Us” tab on the right side of the page.
The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) is supporting Campusfirewatch in promoting National Campus Fire Safety Month 2009 which kickoffs on September 1 and they have a great new campaign.
From August 27 to September 3, Campus Firewatch wants to provide its Twitter community with an easy way to raise awareness about campus fire safety – and possibly win some great prizes including an iPod Touch, iPod Nano and iTunes Gift Certificates.
Beginning at 8 p.m. on Thursday, August 27, 2009 they are asking our community and our community’s communities to start using Twitter to send messages to students with fire safety tips using the hashtag “#tellastudent” at the end of your message.
They’ll be putting out examples several times a day for people @campusfirewatch, so you can simply follow us, copy and send the messages on to students you know.
Here are some examples:
Whoever sends the most tweets to students using #tellastudent as of midnight on Thursday, September 3, 2009, will win the iPod Touch. The second highest will get the Nano. It’s that easy.
They are also going to be giving away numerous iTunes gift certificates daily to people whose tweets are the most creative. Please be sure to follow @campusfirewatch to find out if you’ve won.
How do they know you’re tweeting students? They don’t. They’ll trust you. But if non-students get this information, we’ll all be a little safer anyway. As students return to campus, we hope this is a fun way to get important reminders to students.
If you don’t know how to use Twitter, check out this video and join in.
Also join National Campus Fire Safety Month Group on Facebook
Visit the National Campus Fire Safety Month Website
Take a look at their Social Media Newsroom
For more information and the rules – there aren’t too many – visit their post here.
Many of the schools here in the District will be welcoming students back over the next two weeks, so let us be among the many to say, welcome! Those of you living off-campus have gotten an extra special welcome with an article in today’s Washington Post: Rules Trail Raucous Students Off-Campus.
Certainly, not all of you living off-campus are rowdy, beer guzzling party animals, but some of you do go a overboard. Let’s be honest with one another. What we need for you to remember here at DCRA is that there are rules that you have to follow when you live in off-campus housing as well. When you live off-campus, you are a District resident, so you have to abide by the same rules as everyone else living in the city–meaning, no ridiculous noise-levels and no trash and debris all over the grounds of your place–among other rules you’ll need to remember.
Make every attempt to be respectful to those living around you and who knows, maybe one of your neighbors will invite you over for a great homecooked meal like mom used to make……okay, maybe that’s not going to happen, but you can dream can’t you?
As part of our efforts for www.thisshouldbeillegal.com, we have joined Campus Firewatch to help support National Campus Fire Safety Month. Mayor Fenty recently signed a proclamation designating September as Campus Fire Safety Month in the District. And DCRA will be kicking off our outreach efforts in the next few weeks, so please stay tuned as there will be many ways for you help save lives with a few simple clicks.
In the meantime, read this story about a Mother who lost her son in a off-campus fire at the University of North Carolina 13 years ago. She has spent her time since the tradegy spanning the nation urged lawmakers and universities to increase fire safety regulations and education efforts. If you’re on Twitter you can follow @campusfirewatch for the latest news and updates.
Alright, so you probably don’t need an entire month to get ready before you get back to campus, but DCRA is already getting ready to greet you. We’re getting on the schedules for all ‘Welcome Back’ campus events and will be taking names and addresses for inspections. If you’re planning to live off-campus, chances are you’ve already found a place and hopefully you used our inspections checklist to make sure the place was safe. If you have a few minutes, please either you or your parents do a quick search on the house or apartment you’re renting to make sure the landlord is licensed. If they are listed, that means the unit has been inspected. If they are not, you need to ask them ‘why not?.’ Now is the time to do the homework. It’s not too late to get the place licensed and, most importantly, inspected.
DC Landlords, if you’re renting to students and not licensed, please come see us immediately. Getting licensed and inspected is a fairly simple process and we’ll help walk you through it. It is essential that we get all off campus housing inspected. You can get information on licensing a single home or condo, a basement apartment, or an apartment building on dcra.dc.gov.
Since launching this initiative we has done hundreds of inspections of properties where students contacted us directly. Please take a few minutes while you have the time and make sure you’re safe.
I attended a great meeting this evening regarding trash, rats and other student housing related issues Georgetown University, local leaders and concerned neighbors are trying admirably to try to solve along a two block area just off campus.
As we went around the room, a lot of people were recommending “reminder” signs students could tape to their doors to remember to take out the trash, harsher penalties from the university, tougher fines on landlords, and other enforcement/oversight type remedies.
But no one, no one mentioned actually talking with students. In fact, no students were even present [although they did make that recommendation near the end of the meeting].
The truth is none of these young adults have ever paid a mortgage, most have never purchased appliances or spent an afternoon manicuring their lawns, never paid a utility bill or been worried about their property values because of their neighbor’s messy front yard. So rather then craft new penalties, why not at least try to have a conversation.
This was the idea behind this blog and the social tools linked here. Have a conversation. If people wanted to join in, they could. If they wanted to listen, they could. If they wanted to pull down a few items and never come back again they could. And we hope it’s working.
There are real legal and financial penalties for real issues that put people in danger, don’t get us wrong. And we can, will and should cite housing code violations as often as we see them. Call 202-442-9557 today and we’ll come. But the problems discussed this evening can be solved more easily and will never be solved permanently unless we stop thinking less in terms of penalties. Why not offer rewards? Instead of posting warnings, hand them reminders. Instead of sending threatening letters, stand on the corner or knock on the door and say hello. Students aren’t unreasonable. If they realize that tossing trash outside, unsealed is the reason there are rat droppings all over their living room floor, they’ll get it.
And then if these efforts fail. If they refuse to acknowledge the problem and are cavalier, then let’s throw the book at them. But first we should try to convince rather than intimidate. It hasn’t worked for decades, and probably won’t work now.
