Burling was taken aback when he returned from class yesterday afternoon and a roommate told him that they might have to move.
Georgie Thomas, 21, a senior finance major, said he would consider purchasing the smoke detectors for the apartment.
Inspectors checked the house Georgie Thomas, left, Sean Gray and others share. With midterms coming, moving would be a problem, Thomas said.
(Photos Juana Arias -- The Washington Post)
|
|
"It's just a little crazy," said Thomas, whose family lives in Rockville. "I have two to three midterms tomorrow. If they expect us to move out. . . . It's tough."
Sean Gray, another roommate, said that students had been told by the Student Housing Association, a private company that manages some of the rental property, not to let the inspectors inside the house.
Gray said that the Student Housing Association falsely informed student tenants that they would be responsible for any violations that the city inspectors found. The owners are responsible for making repairs. Joel Mack, property manager for the Student Housing Association, did not return calls to his office.
"This sort of woke us up," said Gray, 21, a government and psychology major from Boston.
Gray acknowledged that there was some irony in yesterday's developments: "The day we do let the inspectors in is the day that we get kicked out."
City officials are not trying to inconvenience students but want to ensure that their living conditions are safe, Clark said. That means that the students should be aware of their rights as tenants and that landlords should understand that they must comply with the law.
Clark said that many landlords rent basement apartments without obtaining the necessary licenses. Before a license is granted, city officials must inspect the property.
Inspectors last night began posting notices for students at the affected buildings to leave. If Georgetown University cannot provide temporary housing for the displaced students, the city will help, Clark said.
"We cannot allow them to stay in an uninhabitable, unsafe environment," Clark said.
Staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.
