A city zoning rule that bans more than four undergraduates in an apartment isn't working, city officials said today, so they've begun looking at changes that would let them start levying fines on landlords who persist in overcrowding their units.
The problem, ISD Commissioner William Christopher said at a City Council hearing, is that zoning regulations carry no financial penalties - and inspectors can be turned away at the door. His department is looking at moving the rule into the city sanitary code - which does allow for fines, and lets ISD go into court for a subpoena or search warrant for units whose occupants or landlords try to turn away inspectors.
Christopher said that since the current ban on more than four undergrads went into effect in 2008, inspectors have only cited two properties for violations.
Christopher emphasized his goal is not to start levying fines left and right - and not to get students kicked out of apartments - but to simply ensure students have safe and sanitary living conditions. Unfortunately, he said, the only way to get some landlords to fix a problem is "is to affect their finances."
That's fine, city councilors Mark Ciommo (Allston/Brighton) and Josh Zakim (Mission Hill, Fenway) said. But even if the apartments are safe, they can still have significant impacts on the surrounding neighborhoods - such as noise, trash and public-safety issues - they said. "A lot of landlords are taking advantage of every nook and cranny in a house" to put in beds, Ciommo said.
They noted that the state sanitary code, which calls for a minimum of 150 square feet for the first residents and 100 for each additional resident, could still mean a triple decker filled with lots of students.
Former City Councilor Mike Ross, who came up with the zoning rule, said the goal was not necessarily to un-cram apartments, but to ensure that real-estate speculators didn't simply buy up entire neighborhoods to convert them into students housing. Despite the lack of enforcement, he said, the measure has had some success; he said one Mission Hill landlord is converting all his student apartments to professional and family housing. He pointed to increased on-campus dormitories as well as hundreds of new units being built along South Huntington Avenue that have restrictions on student renters.
Christopher said that while local colleges have worked to get the city addresses of buildings that house students, students in those units don't have to let inspectors in and they don't have to identify themselves as students. He said some landlords now tell students to refuse to let inspectors in.
"The city has never, ever evicted a student under this ordinance," he said. "We would never do that."
He said that for this current academic year, ISD identified 589 potential problem buildings in neighborhoods such as Allston, Brighton and Mission Hill. Of those, inspectors could only gain entry to 10%, he said.
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Comments
Don't forget..
By Ghost of Leonar...
Thu, 10/01/2015 - 8:11pm
The West End.
Devil's Advocate
By BB from Dot
Thu, 10/01/2015 - 4:40pm
It isn't always the landlord looking to make money. It is sometimes the students looking to save money and moving more people in without the landlord's knowledge or permission. This is easy to do if the landlord is absentee and doesn't check on the property.
Enforce the existing code
By anon
Thu, 10/01/2015 - 5:05pm
"They noted that the state sanitary code, which calls for a minimum of 150 square feet for the first residents and 100 for each additional resident, could still mean a triple decker filled with lots of students"
I don't understand targeting "undergraduate students". Just enforce the sanitary code as above if overcrowding is the problem. If there are loud parties, enforce the noise laws. How do you define "undergraduate student anyway? If someone works 25 hours a week and takes 3 classes a semester is he/she an "undergraduate student". Is it OK for 3 "undergraduate students" and 3 graduate students to live together? Is it OK for 5 20 year olds who work, but don't go to school to live together?
They are floundering to find a solution, when they already have enforcement tools.
But how will this affect me,
By Joe Blow
Thu, 10/01/2015 - 6:07pm
But how will this affect me, living in a 120sqft Menino "micro-apartment" with my 6 imaginary waifus? Five of them claim to be "undergraduate students" and one self-identifies as an Apache helicopter.
Lol whatever, this isn't
By anon
Fri, 10/02/2015 - 7:46am
Lol whatever, this isn't going to change anything because ISD barely manages to enforce existing health/sanitation rules. One of my friends (not a student) currently doesn't have a ceiling since the pipes above it have been slowly leaking for months and the cement and plaster finally gave up ...... she can't get an inspector out for anything, and of course the landlord doesn't give a shit if the government isn't breathing down his neck.
Don't believe this
By anon
Fri, 10/02/2015 - 10:39am
I had a tenant who let her dog void on my deck letting dog wasted pour onto the 1st floor deck. She also used my apartment as a weekend kennel (she had a dog grooming business so apparently kenneling was a side job). After asking her to stop (and to stop bouncing checks) I gave her 60 days notice (more than required). Her response was to call ISD a few weeks before she left. ISD responded within days. (Her retaliation worked to my advantage though - I had minor violations which I didn't realize were a violation such as a sign in the apartment listing the landlord's contact information. A stupid rule since they have a lease but it's the rules and now I know better.)
If ISD is refusing to respond then call the city councilor to get ISD to move. ISD is a lousy organization. They are glacially slow with permits (a travesty for any public agency) and let themselves be used as a weapon for vengeful tenants. Not exactly the kind of agency that makes a city proud. So use the city councilor to put pressure on ISD to send someone out to cite the landlord.
Leaking pipes are a health hazard. They provide a vector for bacteria and bad mold to grow. Your friend is hurting him or herself by letting this continue.
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