We can’t have nice things

Renting in Bloomington is risky business.

As a student looking for reasonably priced housing, you have to start looking as soon as possible. The lucky ones will get recommendations from friends who have found the rare gem: a clean, functioning household with a reasonable rate, friendly landlords and a convenient location.

The rest of us, however, are left frantically calling mysterious phone numbers on questionable-looking yard signs and craigslist ads. As a student, I am definitely willing to take part of the blame for the failings of this system.

Many of us are living on our own for the first time, and we tend to be high-risk tenants. With little-to-no credit history, unstable sources of income and a reputation for less-than-ideal living habits, I can see why the landlords in Bloomington would want to take every possible legal precaution and then some before signing students to their properties.

While I personally feel like I’ve been a pretty responsible tenant, I’ve seen houses where simple problems, like a small amount of mold, are only exacerbated by tenants who either don’t know how to deal with the problem or simply have too little time and effort to actually invest in the property.

Living off campus and on your own for the first time is an awesome experience. You have so many more freedoms and an entirely new community to become a part of, but unlike campus living, you have tenfold the responsibilities.

Last year, I was living on the south side with three roommates.  On our block, we were the only students, and we were regarded with a palpable amount of disdain from our elderly neighbors. I like to think that we were perfectly angelic, studious tenants and that living near us was a privilege and a blessing, but I know this was not the case.

We were messy. We were fairly loud. We were active at weird hours of the night and were always having people over.

We forgot to bring in our trash barrels, neglected our backyard, left unsightly trash in the front yard for days at a time and even got a noise violation from one party that got particularly out of control.

So, would a renter’s union really be the solution to our problems?  I’m not so sure.
Yes, occasionally students are being taken advantage of, but I sometimes feel that what is really at a loss is the city of Bloomington itself.

Most of us are in and out of this town in four years, and by the time we finally get to know and love the streets we live on, and the local businesses we frequent, we’re gone.

For every property that is cared for and kept in pristine condition by the tenants and landlords working together, there are probably 10 more with vulgarity spray-painted on the porch.

You see, guys?  This is why we can’t have nice things.

­— alliston@indiana.edu