Landlord woes hit the Eastern campus

Heather Thomas had a leak in her apartment's bathroom. But not just any leak, it was a downright waterfall.

"It was like somebody turned a faucet on," said Thomas, an EWU student. "Water was just streaming down from the ceiling."

Thomas contacted her landlord about the leak, who told her that somebody would be there in two days and that she should just put a bucket under the leak.

"I was in disbelief," she said. "I said that wouldn't work at all."

That wasn't the only bad experience that Thomas has had with a landlord.

"One time I had my curtains stick to the wall because of mold," she said. "Another time, our front door wouldn't shut properly so our landlord pounded on it until there was a quarter inch gap under the door. Since it was the dead of winter, he put some weather-stripping there but it still let a lot of cold air in."

Another EWU student, Alece McCoy, had her bathroom flood and the water got into her room and her roommate's room. The landlords had a maintenance guy come in and set up fans to dry out the carpets. After two days with the fans on, they deemed the carpet dry.

However, when McCoy lifted back the carpet, it was still sopping wet.

While many repair and maintenance responsibilities are listed in leases, landlords in Cheney and several other places could be taking advantage of students simply because they're not aware of their own rights.

According to the Tenant Union of Washington State (TUWS), landlords are responsible for correcting "Violations of any health code or housing code standard and violations of any other laws and regulations which endanger the tenants' health or safety."

This would also include mold growth within an apartment. Along with that, landlords must provide a smoke detector, make sure that the place isn't infested with pests, keep vital systems such as plumbing and heating in working order, keep common areas such as laundry rooms and parking lots clean and provide garbage cans.

The landlord also may not enter your apartment without permission, in accordance with the Washington State Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. If the landlord violates this, the tenant may be able to collect penalties. There are also several requirements for the landlord if they are showing the apartment to a potential tenant.

"A landlord must give 24 hours advance notice to the tenant if the landlord wants to show the rental to a prospective tenant or purchaser," said the TUWS Web site. "A landlord must give 48 hours advance notice to a tenant if the landlord wants to enter to do work or an inspection."

According to the TUWS Web site, while there are several conditions set out in a lease, tenants cannot sign away their rights to a landlord.

However, some things, such as yard maintenance, could be outlined in the lease, said Hilton Real Estate.

"Often rental contracts include rules that are contrary to state law. The RLTA prohibits a tenant from signing away the rights they have as a tenant. Any rules or sections of a rental contract that contradict state landlord-tenant law are unenforceable," said the TUWS.

If the landlord violates your rights, or doesn't make repairs to items in the apartment, you can file a lawsuit against them. This would require your landlord to make the necessary repairs.

According to the 1973 Washington State Supreme Court Ruling, Foissy v. Wyman, "landlords have an obligation to provide a livable rental unit. This obligation is called an 'implied warranty of habitability.'"

So before you go apartment shopping this summer, make sure you know what you're guaranteed with tenant rights and don't end up on the wrong side of a bad leak.

For more information about your rights, visit http://www.tenantsunion.org/rights.