Students are taking several approaches to deal with major housing safety problems with their landlords.
Kristina Anderson, a 2009 Virginia Tech graduate, faced numerous problems with her Roanoke Street house.
Although she moved from Blacksburg, Anderson has been pressing authorities to look into the safety of the house, which she said had no smoke detectors, jammed windows and mold, among other problems.
She decided to reach out and help other Tech students after learning how to deal with her current landlord.
“I thought of all these college kids in these places and they don’t know the resources that they can reach out to,” she said.
“They don’t know what is owed to them or what they can do about it. The landlord is responsible for their property. They don’t know their rights necessarily.”
Blacksburg fire chief Keith Bolte owned the house Anderson leased. She said she was especially disconcerted by the lack of smoke detectors.
Bolte declined a request for an interview with the Collegiate Times.
Anderson is not the only student who has faced problems with her residence. Margaret Hatcher had problems with the house she rented along Roanoke Street, including a skunk under the house and a rotten cellar door.
Hatcher said while the property manager put up a trap and fixed the rotting cellar door, it did not not stop the skunk from spraying 10 times over the course of the winter, despite complaints and requests for exterminators.
“It was awful. It ruined our clothes, we’d have to wash everything, my dog ran into the skunk one night in the backyard and it sprayed him. That was six months ago and he still smells of skunk,” Hatcher said.
Students with problematic residences can turn to resources provided by Tech and the Town of Blacksburg.
If a tenant has repeatedly asked the landlord to make repairs, he or she may request a housing inspection. Greg Dudash, Blacksburg’s property maintenance official, inspects the house to see that things are safe. The exterior and interior of the property are checked for general problems, such as broken doors, missing smoke detectors and faulty outlets, as well as more obscure things such as making sure a backflow preventer is installed to protect against water contamination.
If anything must be repaired or installed, the owner typically has 30 days to do so, or five days if it is deemed a life-threatening matter, such as replacing a smoke detector. Dudash then returns for a final inspection.
A version of this article appeared in the Oct 29 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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Mold can cause serious health problems. For accurate information about the health effects of mold, go to http://truthaboutmold.info and http://globalindoorhealthnetwork.com.
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A friend of mine rents from Bolte on Roanoke street. The house is TERRIBLE! The floors are tilted, the windows can't open, and it always smells stale. Bolte houses are the worst. DONT RENT@
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Oh, the irony! Fire chief's property is void of smoke detectors.
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I lived in a Bolte Development house for a couple of years and friends of mine rented other properties from them, these house should be condemned. Our house was unclean and the carpet was completely soiled when we moved in, there were no smoke detectors, windows that don't open and doors that don't shut and lock properly. Mold beyond belief, broken pipes, and leaking ceiling that was caulked instead of actually fixing the problem, which ran the risk of a bath tub following through the ceiling. We experienced several break in's while living in a Bolte house because both the back and front door would not close and lock properly. After the first break-in was reported, and the door lock was "fixed" to Bolte standards, another break in followed. I'm not quite sure how the fire chief of Blacksburg isn't held to the same standards as everyone else, but these houses are absolutely unlivable. They are unsafe to renters for a plethora of reasons and should be inspected by someone of authority and consequence, not by their owner.
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If the house was as bad as you list, why live in it for "a couple of years?" I would think after one lease term you would want to get as far away as possible.
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It would be beneficial for students to read and understand their rights under the Virginia Residential and Landlord Tenant Act. Google it....it's the law, and it provides remedies for both renters and landlords. Follow the procedure....it works!
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I also lived in a Bolte Development house on Roanoke St. for more than one lease term. Similarly to above, molds everywhere, leaking faucets, rusty/brittle pipes below sinks, huge crack in the ceiling. The worst was the door to the basement: rotten and did not close so who knows what was in there... I eventually found out because mouses ran across the rooms of the apartment, came from the basement, through a hole they made in the rotten floor of the bathroom, poison and traps did not stop them... So you could ask me: why the heck would you live in there?? Because at first the rent is cheap so you come visit, because at first you don t necessarly notice all the flaws, because you hope people from Bolte would come and repair things, because then once you are alone, with little money, very busy, and with tons of furniture you don t feel like moving out. I found the courage when I started seeing the mouses...
I guess the manager (Keith?) is way too busy writing novels to actually manage the buildings he rents, so people get ripped off...
Cheers!
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Go thoroughly check out the place you'll be renting before you sign a lease. Much easier than complaining later.
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well said Sherlock!
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Again, look at the law. If you need repairs, put it in writing and tell the landlord he has 21 days to make the repairs. If he doesn't make the repairs, then you can either call the lease void or pay your rent into an escrow account at the courts. BE AWARE-you can NEVER NOT pay your rent.
Also, call the Health Department if it is a mold, safety or lack of heat situation. They have laws too!
DO YOUR RESEARCH and know the law.....you are responsible for yourself!
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Tech students: you already pay to have a lawyer on retainer (congratulations?). Since he refuses to help against the biggest lawbreakers (i.e. the University), make him do some work for a change.
http://www.legal.sga.vt.edu/
Also, Dr. Geyer, in AAEC, is full of good trickery.
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