![]() "We need tangible changes to the city's standards and the quality of housing services here in the city."Īfter the conclusion of public comment, SLO Mayor Erica Stewart acknowledged the student testimony and said she empathized with their experiences. Tuliau added in an appeal to the council that, "it's gotten to the point where compassion and lending an ear, while valued, is just not enough." "There are a lot of students who feel like they just have to deal with the service, and it leads landlords to become comfortable with their lackluster services," he said. Student Noa Tuliau added that a lack of enforcement, combined with SLO's highly competitive rental market, creates an environment where property owners don't have an incentive to provide good service. "The city must act to curtail out of control rent and code violations that go unenforced every single day." "I cannot see the living situation for students being sustainable in this town for much longer," Cervantez said. ![]() Several of the students who spoke called for the council to strengthen its code enforcement programs and consider adopting a local rent control policy. Just because students are young renters doesn't mean that they should be able to be preyed on." And my landlord's known about it for at least a month and hasn't done anything about it. "I thought I was sick the last two months because of allergies-it was actually black mold growing on my ceiling. "My new rental unit has a large slew of issues," Powell said. It took many months to get resolved."Įight Cal Poly students in all addressed the City Council on June 6 during the meeting's general public comment period to share both their own personal stories and the accounts of those they surveyed.Īcross her five years as a SLO resident, recent Cal Poly grad Hailey Powell said she's experienced "various uninhabitable living conditions" and several rent increases. "Rather than their landlord taking the initiative to deal with the problem, the student was forced to pay. "There were a lot of people who expressed to us that not only were the maintenance staff not being very responsive, but their landlords in general were making them pay for items such as mice and rodent cleanup," added Tyler Coari, a second-year student and canvasser. "One student had so much black mold in their room that went unaddressed by the landlord for so long that they had to move out halfway through the year." "Rent is only half the problem," Cervantez said. Mold and rodent infestations blatant building code violations unresponsive property managers absentee landlords and consistent rent increases were among the common experiences that the student group documented. "The student housing crisis runs deep in this town," said Diego Cervantez, who spoke alongside his peers at a SLO City Council meeting on June 6. PUSHED FOR ACCOUNTABILITY Cal Poly students who canvassed local neighborhoods to hear about student experiences with rental housing spoke to the SLO City Council on June 6 to ask for stronger housing policies.
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