The Tenants? Rights Campaign, a branch of the Associated Students of Madison, hosted a press conference Wednesday at the Worst House in Madison Contest winners? residence at 520 W. Doty St.
The Worst House in Madison contest is an attempt by ASM to improve landlord accountability and off-campus living conditions for Madison students.
The original contest winners at 543 W. Mifflin St. withdrew their application Monday after their landlord threatened to sue them.
Christine McCabe Wagner, Tenants? Rights Campaign co-chair, said the application withdrawal is evidence of a larger problem with landlords in Madison.
?Landlord harassment is real, and it keeps students in fear,? she said.
The Mifflin landlord said the tenants lied to the committee, intentionally clogging the building?s toilets with tampons to make living conditions look bad.
However, McCabe Wagner said the grand prize totaled to a cash value of only about $75 and she thought the applicants did not lie.
?We personally investigated all the applicants? homes, and their problems are real,? she said.
Under Madison law, landlords have no legal right to retaliate against tenants for complaining of housing-code violations.
Ross Gundlach, one of the Doty tenants and winner of the Worst House contest, said he and his roommates experienced frequent gas leaks throughout the year, lived almost three months without a stove and had plumbing problems.
Tatarowicz inspected their house when deciding the contest winner.
?They had problems with the sewer system, and the basement flooded one foot deep in sewage, and you could see excrement floating around,? Tatarowicz said. ?They had infestations of ants, there were centipedes in their bedrooms, and they even caught a squirrel in their house.?
Tatarowicz said there are also problems with the house?s foundation, and the house?s entire floor is slanted.
Gundlach said although their house is in terrible condition, they entered the contest for fun and they had no problems with violations.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said both the Mifflin and Doty houses were inspected in 1998.
He said there will be a full building inspection of the Doty residence, and if the landlords do not make needed improvements by the issued due dates, the tenants are eligible to receive a portion of their rent; the landlords could be liable for fines or court action.
The city passed legislation this year requiring landlords to provide information regarding tenants? rights and responsibilities with all new leases. Additionally, landlords are now required to give 24-hour advance notice before entering an apartment, and landlords cannot force tenants to show their apartments before one-third of their current lease has passed.
The Tenants? Rights Campaign has created an on-line survey available through www.asm.wisc.edu to compile an on-line database of landlords as a resource for students looking for reliable housing.
In the survey, 58 percent of the respondents said their landlords still failed to give 24-hour notice of entry, and 40 percent of respondents would not recommend their landlords.
