The first two parts of this Madison landlord series (see part one and part two) looked closely at MPM's subtle accounting flaws, photo ordinance omissions and controversial interpretations of ""normal wear and tear."" These problems can be tricky for tenants to spot. Maintenance problems are a different story.
Of the ten maintenance complaints investigated, seven targeted MPM. Maintenance complaints also targeted Apex Property Management, JSM Properties and Wisconsin Management Company. However, the strongest evidence came from those complaints against MPM.
Sewage Backup Sours Trust
Earlier this year, The Daily Cardinal reported a story about UW graduate Nate Lustig, who said MPM had ignored a sewage backup in the basement of his West Washington Avenue home. Lustig said after winter break he and his four roommates alerted an MPM representative to a terrible stench in parts of the house. According to Lustig, the representative initially brushed off their concerns and told Lustig the smell was probably from not cleaning.
Two weeks later, Lustig discovered that ""over 50 percent of the basement was covered"" in sewage backup. Lustig decided to contact the actual property owner, Dan Rigney, who called a plumber to fix the problem almost immediately, Lustig said.
One week later, Rigney said he called MPM, asking them to smooth things over with Lustig to change his mind about approaching media outlets. Fifteen minutes later, Rigney said Lustig called him to say that MPM had just threatened to sue Lustig if he relayed false information to the media.
Soon after the article came out, Rigney e-mailed MPM to say he would be marketing the property himself for the coming fall to avoid tensions between MPM and the tenants. Days later, Rigney said a big snowstorm hit and Lustig called him to say MPM had plowed the surrounding two driveways, but not his.
""At first, I was almost wondering if it was in retaliation or something,"" Rigney said. Instead, MPM told Rigney they thought he had fired them. Although it was not his original intention, Rigney said he decided to ""sever all ties"" with MPM after the conversation, at least for this and next year.
He said that, though he respects MPM President James Stopple as an ""accessible owner"" and ""straight-shooter,"" he doesn't think the rest of MPM's staff shares Stopple's vision.
""Sometimes [MPM's staff] comes across, I don't want to say arrogant but ... they do,"" Rigney said.
Home sweet home… for rodents
While Lustig was complaining about sewage, UW senior Ian Viney was having his own issues with MPM's response to a squirrel and raccoon infestation in his house, which was just two houses down from Lustig.
Viney said when he and his six roommates returned from winter break he remembered hearing a sound above his closet ""like something chewing through two-by-fours.""
Viney called MPM, who soon discovered a one-foot square hole in the roof, patched it, and told Viney they placed traps in attic. Viney said this was strange because he had told the maintenance crew the noises were coming exclusively from between the second and third floor, not the attic.
Eventually, a neighbor told his roommate she saw two raccoons climb onto the roof and ""disappear"" into the house one night in early March. Viney said there is a large tree near his house that the raccoons could have used to get to the roof.
By March, not only had the attic traps not worked, Viney said an entire family had moved in, judging by the nocturnal clamor above his bedroom.
""It usually starts at around 10 or 11 at night and doesn't stop until … well I've been woken up at three in the morning because the raccoons were fighting,"" Viney said.
Later in March, Viney e-mailed MPM and told them he still had a problem. Viney said the sounds were more like squirrels ""scurrying"" than ""fighting"" raccoons by then. An MPM property agent said Viney needed to set up an appointment with MPM's maintenance crew to solve the problem and locate the rodents, though Viney said he already relayed the information when MPM set their traps.
MPM attorney Rachel Govin said in a recent e-mail she doubted the animals were still living, though Viney's previous e-mail to MPM indicated he could still hear the noises from the same area of his house.
On Monday, MPM maintenance crews climbed Viney's roof and later told him they had seen a squirrel crawl out from a hole in his roof. Although MPM had insisted on meeting with Viney before taking care of the situation, he said they patched the holes without telling him, and spoke to him for ""about 30 seconds"" afterwards.
Viney said he gives MPM credit for doing something, but he wishes they would have be more ""proactive.""
Viney said the last time he heard the noises was April 2, and that the warming spring temperatures may have solved his problem before MPM.
""Tenants can take advantage of their landlords as well""
Although the strongest evidence of maintenance problems came from complaints against MPM, Madison's Building Inspector Director George Hank said he had not noticed any particular agencies with comparatively high complaints in the campus area. He said areas of inexpensive, high-turnover housing are exploited more often than student areas.
MPM Operations Manager Nicky Snarski recognized MPM makes occasional maintenance mistakes but said it received ""just as many compliments.""
Apex owner Brian Bosben agreed, adding that one of the reasons he is shifting away from managing downtown properties is because student tenants can take advantage of their landlords as well.
""We have found that students do far more damage to their units and have less respect for the neighborhood and neighbors,"" Bosben said. ""The amount of time and repairs spent on student units is about four times that of our other residential apartments.""
Solutions for landlord accountability
Ald. Eli Judge, Dist. 8, is no stranger to tenant complaints in his two years on the Common Council, especially around security deposit time and ""particularly in the field of repairs and cleaning.""
Recognizing the need for more tenant resources to boost education, Judge recently unveiled his plan for a ""Rate My Landlord"" website. Students might recognize the basic concept from professor-rating websites, but Judge said ""Rate My Landlord"" will be more professional and impartial, with opportunities for landlords to respond to tenant complaints.
""We want to make sure it has credibility and legitimacy not only among tenants, but also among the property owner community,"" Judge said. He said the website's goal is two-fold: rewarding responsible landlords and protecting tenants from bad apples. Judge expects the site to be ready for the 2009 August turnover period.
State Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, and Chair of the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection, said landlord accountability is more important now than ever.
""One of the things we see in a down economy is more people vulnerable to being taken advantage of,"" Hintz said.
Whether addressing problems with security deposit deductions, accounting practices or maintenance issues, District 2 Alder and Tenant Resource Center Director Brenda Konkel, stressed education as the first step toward empowering student tenants.
""The lack of knowledge is absolutely huge … I really think that there needs to be more funding for outreach for students,"" Konkel said.
Check out the Opinion section of The Daily Cardinal today for a response by Madison Property Management to this three-part series.
