SGB survey rates Oakland landlords

If you’ve gotten an early start this winter and already have begun the search for off-campus… If you’ve gotten an early start this winter and already have begun the search for off-campus housing for next fall, there’s one resource you’ll want to take a look at before you sign that lease.

Last week the Student Government Board released the results of an extensive housing survey on its website to aid student-tenants in assessing landlords in Oakland and surrounding areas.

Some landlords featured on the site have been under scrutiny in recent years by Pitt, the city and the community.

Conducted from June through August last summer, the survey asked a total of 3,000 Pitt students questions about their landlords’ communication, responsiveness and the maintenance of the properties’ interiors and exteriors.

The survey took another six months to be released, according to the survey’s organizer Alexis Chidi, because the results were handed over to the University Center for Urban and Social Research, who ran them through statistical analysis to certify their accuracy.

Students graded their landlords on an A-through-F scale, and they answered whether or not they would recommend the landlord and if they had filed a complaint.

Chidi, a former board member, said that SGB, Off-Campus Living and the Department of Housing worked together to make it easier for students to decide where to live off campus, since Pitt does not have a four-year student-housing guarantee.

She said last year Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg looked at housing in Oakland and decided that it was “not OK” for students.

“It started because students were asking for help,” said Chidi. “We worked with different landlords to find the good things and the not-so-good things about life off of campus.”

Current SGB member Ryan Haddad took over where Chidi left off after her term ended.

He said the release of the survey is important for “young and inexperienced” student-tenants seeking to live off campus, and he compared the site to ratemyprofessors.com.

Limited options in Oakland make it hard for students to pursue housing problems with their landlords, said Haddad.

“It’s tough to put pressure on the landlords,” said Haddad. “Eventually, someone’s going to rent from them. If students are educated, they can make the right decisions.”

Pitt’s Off-Campus Living office declined comment, but according to its website, student-tenants with difficult landlords can file complaints with the Allegheny County Department of Health or the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Building Inspection.

Landlords in violation might face “significant penalties,” but the process can be “intimidating” for student-tenants. And lengthy legal procedures might still result in a non-renewed lease.

Those landlords contacted about what they thought of the survey generally said it would benefit Pitt students. However, these landlords were unaware that it was conducted.

Jason Cohen, a representative from Trends Capital real estate who owns properties in Oakland and other neighborhoods, said that the major concerns for his tenants are timeliness of building maintenance and security. Students want to feel like their landlord is someone whom they can contact readily in case of a problem, he said.

Trends Capital received a D grade in the category of making repairs promptly and professionally.

Cohen admitted that Trends Capital is not where it needs to be in terms of property maintenance, but he said that the company did extensive renovations to the properties it acquired a few years ago, so circumstances should improve.

Cohen also owns Elrod Investments, located in Central Oakland. Five students living in Elrod properties responded to the survey, giving the landlord D and F grades for heating and air conditioning, exterior maintenance, landlord responsiveness, efficiency and concern. Four of those five students had filed complaints about their living conditions. “I definitely think the city has targeted South Oakland to improve the quality of students’ [housing], and rightfully so,” said Cohen. He said that five to 10 years ago, the conditions in Oakland were “completely unacceptable.” A representative from CR Kelley Real Estate, said he was curious to see how the company performed and thought it would definitely benefit students. The company owns housing in Bloomfield and Oakland, and 142 students have filled out the survey on the company.

“I think it’s a good thing,” he said. “I’ve seen what Oakland is like now-a-days.”

Many students gave their landlords bad grades for a specific question regarding landlords not posting “clear instructions for emergency evacuation,” as the survey asks.

Skip McCrea, an inspector for the fire prevention department at the Bureau of Building Inspection, said that his department has been “dying” to reach students living off campus, who are a main concern for the city. He suggested that instead of relying on difficult landlords, students need to study the maps of their buildings to have their own evacuation plans in case of fire.

McCrea praised the survey for helping Pitt students choose reliable off-campus housing.

“It can save lives,” he said. “Anything that can save lives is definitely a good thing.”

The survey is available on SGB’s hompage, www.pitt.edu/~sgb/.