Renters in Athens may be able to look forward to easier agreements with their landlords as they move into off-campus housing.
Athens City Council is discussing condensing the two agreement forms that exist now into one form, which would be signed by both the renter and the landlord.
“This form had to be updated every 6 months or so with new tenants,” Rick Sirois, director of Code Enforcement and Community Development in Athens, said in an email. “So, this form as it currently stands, is a cumbersome and administratively demanding form which was never up to date based on tenant turnovers.”
To keep the rules relevant, City Council is also discussing putting the rules on a poster which would be hung in the homes rented in Athens.
“I guess you could consider this a safety belt for the apartment,” Sirois said. “If we find that the form is not posted properly, we will not issue a rental permit.”
The forms are currently used to outline policies such as rules in the homes or trash pickup times. However, with the two forms that are currently being used, the policy is a “paperwork nightmare,” Councilwoman Chris Fahl, D-4th Ward, said.
That new policy would eliminate the need for the three page document. By placing a poster of the rules and regulations in rental properties, landlords and the City of Athens can be assured that tenants are aware of regulations, such as parking and recycling.
“It’s a document which ensures landlords have informed tenants of guidelines,” Bob Prebe of Capstone Property Management said. “It really could be condensed into a half-sheet of paper.”
The poster is in the process of being designed. According to Fahl, the poster initiative should be implemented by 2018. The poster will be 11 inches wide and 17 inches long, according to Sirois.
“(The poster) provides clear and concise information and where to find that information,” Sirois said. “The form is not all inclusive, but it does provide the student the ‘where to go to’ if needed.”
Replacing the poster would condense the policies into one piece of paper for each rental property, thus cutting down on paper and time used by not only occupants and landlords, but the secretary as well. The secretary was working overtime to shred all the documents coming in from Athens’ approximately 5,600 rental properties, Fahl said.
“It will be required to be posted on the back of each registered apartment,” Sirois said. “It will remove the infamous ‘I didn’t know‘ response from both parties.”
