Capitol Neighborhoods and the Tenant Resource Center tried to raise awareness about the resources available to student tenants and how they can protect themselves from unfair landlord practices Thursday night.

Brenda Konkel, the Executive Director of the Tenant Resource Center, spoke to the association about tenants’ rights, security deposits, repairs and other pertinent apartment rental information.

Konkel said the center is located in downtown Madison and is available Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to  6 p.m. The center answers questions all day regarding rental issues. It is driven primarily by volunteers and employs three additional staff members.

The center caters to University of Wisconsin students. They have an office in Associated Students of Madison and are partially funded by the student government. The county and city also fund the center. However, Konkel said, budget cuts have posed a challenge.

Earlier this week, the Assembly tabled a bill which would allow landlords to start showing apartments earlier and would also let landlords require information of people applying for apartments. It has been met with resistance from student government on campus.

Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said that the Center is an invaluable resource for students.

“[The Center] is a strong advocate for students on campus,” he said. “They put housing first on the agenda and they put the rights of students first. They’re a strong and active partner for students to assure their rights in housing.”

Konkel’s staff tries to come up with payment plans between landlords and tenants before disputes are taken to small claims courts. This is a mediation program they offer.

There are about 14,000 small claims court cases in Dane County every year, Konkel estimated. About 3,000 of these are evictions.

“Vacancy rates [in Madison] are the lowest they’ve been since 2005,” Konkel said. “The warming shelters are denying up to 40 families a night.”

A lot of homeless people think they will be unable to get housing, so they don’t use the center’s resources, Konkel said. However, the center has had a lot of people with mental illnesses and drug and alcohol addictions. She believes the drugs and alcohol may be a coping mechanism.

Konkel added to the list of issues tenants may face.

“It can often be a bit of a treasure hunt to find out who owns what property,” she said. “We don’t even know the average rent in the city of Madison. No one has done a study.”

Capitol Neighborhoods spokesperson Larry Warman expressed concern for students.

“Are you getting complaints from students in the housing”? he asked. “Are they facing convictions”?

Konkel believes many tenants are being cheated by their landlords. Many landlords charge $100 for carpet cleaning even though it may not have been under more duress than the normal wear and tear.

She said some landlords do not have students’ best wishes at heart. On the contrary, 10 percent of the people the center serves are landlords.

Resnick said that the relationship between students and landlords is “a give-and-take.”

“Being students, there are a lot of times when landlords will take advantage,” he said. “This resource center can bridge that gap – it can be a place for students to turn to when they don’t know what to do.”

Resnick added that students can always contact their alder as an alternative way of assuring that their rights as tenants are protected.