In last week’s issue, The Voice called on students to come together in a union and force landlords near the University to provide something that should be a given: safe and affordable housing. But this responsibility cannot and should not rest upon the shoulders of students alone. The University and D.C.’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory affairs must continue their recent efforts to inspect student houses until each residence is up to code.
Two weeks ago Georgetown administrators and DCRA inspectors went door-to-door in Burleith and West Georgetown with a list of student houses, according to Chuck Van Sant, director of Off-Campus Student Life. Because tenants must give inspectors permission to enter their property, Van Sant and his colleagues brokered with students and almost 20 houses received inspections. “We’re going to keep going,” Van Sant added, applauding DCRA’s efforts. He emphasized that they came to Georgetown at night, well outside of normal working hours.
In a similar operation, the two offices successfully inspected 23 houses between May and June of this year, according to Karyn-Siobhan Robinson, a spokesperson with DCRA. Robinson said that three of those houses had gas meters in rooms where students were sleeping—a serious housing code violation. On 12 occasions, they found rooms without functioning smoke detectors or fire detectors, and none of the properties inspected had Basic Business Licenses. All of the property owners were fined; DCRA does not fine tenants, despite what less-than-honest landlords might suggest.
It is not all surprising that inspectors uncovered so many violations—in last week’s cover story, The Voice interviewed several tenants who considered their houses unsafe. While DCRA and Off-Campus life deserve praise for their efforts, the off-campus housing situation still needs urgent attention. No student houses have been closed since the weeks immediately after the fire on Prospect St. that took the life of Dan Rigby (MSB ’05). Closing unsafe houses, rather than simply slapping negligent landlords on the wrist, would allow students to break their leases, and to find safer places to sleep at night.
While DCRA and Off-Campus Life deserve praise for their efforts, their job—and our job as students—is far from done. Every student house needs to be inspected, even those with Basic Business Licenses, since they do not require annual inspections. This will undoubtedly entail much more activity and some serious paperwork, but the work is well worth the effort. Until students have safe and affordable housing, this is everyone’s problem.
