University of Minnesota senior Hannah McMahon was told her campus apartment would be move-in ready by the start of the fall semester.
Four days before her scheduled move-in date, management at Prime Place Apartments — which has since rebranded as the Arrow Apartments — told McMahon her apartment wouldn't be ready for another four weeks. When she finally moved in at the end of September, she found it riddled with shoddy workmanship, sawdust and plumbing problems.
"It was very clear from the beginning that these guys knew what they were doing, and they were banking on the fact that we were college students to not do anything about it," McMahon said.
Representatives of the Arrow Apartments declined to comment.
McMahon is one of many students who struggle with landlord issues in off-campus housing complexes each year, prompting lawmakers to work with U students on legislation to require landlords to be more transparent.
The bill, on track to be introduced when legislators return to the Capitol for session next week, would require landlords to provide a written lease that identifies the specific unit a renter would receive upon move-in. This is meant to prevent "bait-and-switch" situations where the unit a tenant tours isn't the one they receive, said Sen. Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, the proposal's Senate sponsor.
The bill states a lease must also outline specific move-in and move-out dates for renters. If a lease requires a tenant to move out on a date other than the first or last day of the month, it must indicate whether rent will be prorated.
Trish Palermo, president of the university's Minnesota Student Association, said some students have been blindsided by short-end leases because their move-out date wasn't transparent in the contract. This issue has been especially problematic for out-of-state and international students, she said.
