Thursday brought the annual Madison Student Housing Fair to Union South, with the aim of educating students on the broad range of opportunities available for housing and the effects of new legislation reducing landlord responsibilities in the state.
The Apartment Association, the Associated Students of Madison and Student Tenant Education and Mediation sponsored the fair. In addition to hosting 55 exhibitors from various companies around Madison, the event featured four mini seminars to inform and educate students about housing.
“The housing fair was organized so that students are aware of their opportunities,” siad Hannah Somers, ASM Legislative Affairs Committee chair.
The mini seminars varied from “Negotiating Your Way to a Successful Roommate Relationship” and “Rent with the End in Mind to Avoid Getting in a Bind” to “Keeping the Peace When Ending Your Lease.”
The main reason for the seminars was to help students avoid potential problems in the future, according to Nancy Jensen, a representative from the Apartment Association.
“The goal of the housing fair is to provide students with a lot of information at one time in order to prevent them from rushing out and signing a lease right away,” Jensen said.
About 300 students showed up for the event, and they stopped at the various booths to ask the representatives from apartment companies, management firms, and cleaning and furniture service companies question about logistics for apartments and locations.
Somers said a large problem facing University of Wisconsin students is that many of them do not know what they are signing when they sign a lease.
She said the landlord-tenant bill currently working its way through the state Legislature will only make matters worse for students. The bill, which removes many restrictions previously placed on landlords, has been a source of controversy among ASM members, who have lobbied state legislators to squash the bill.
Somers said she worries not holding landlords accountable may lead more students to be taken advantage of, especially if they are unaware of their rights.
“This legislation eliminates protections that the city of Madison has worked toward for 25 years,” Somers said.
In reaction to the legislation, Somers said student government crafted a draft of an agreement between landlords and students for landlords to sign. This draft, she said, would be similar to agreements struck between the two parties in the past.
Jensen said she believes the bill would not dramatically affect students, but would rather be a change in a positive direction.
“I don’t expect to see a lot of changes with Senate Bill 107,” Jensen said. “With SB 107, Madison and local ordinances will be prohibited regarding when renewal can be offered, and frankly, students are better off. Without SB 107, the city of Madison would have had a lawsuit.”
Somers said student government members are doing as much as they can in order to assist students with their housing decisions.
