Multimedia Reporting (Kuhr-Musser)

Kansas landlords are already lining up to oppose a bill that would change how the apartment rental process works.

The law would secure the tenant's right to get advance notice from landlords on exact repair costs. Renters would be able to fix any problems before the expiring of the lease agreement. The idea of documenting these actual costs of repairs is one landlords don't like. They say it is difficult to agree on what fixing something costs.

This law might be more difficult to implement in towns that aren't service communities, landlords say, because billing for actual costs requires paying someone for service. James Dunn, local landlord and president of Landlords of Lawrence, said landlords don't really like the bill at all. "What you're doing is changing the law to apply only to college towns," Dunn said.

That's the point, according to Josh Bender, Sterling senior and legislative director of SLAB, the Student Legislature Awareness Board. SLAB has been working in conjunction with the KU's Kansas Legal Aid Society since September to write this bill. "Probably about fifty percent of cases they see are either about lease renewal or security deposits," Bender said.

The statute would also require landlords to inform tenants in writing about automatic renewal clauses in contracts and their rights to apartment inspections.

In the 2000 Census 31,388 dwelling units in Lawrence were recorded. 54% of these were rental units, as compared with the statewide average number of 31%, according to a Neighborhood Recourses Department study.

These issues might not affect non-university towns as much, because, landlords say, students are less likely to read their lease before signing. Student renters sometimes don't even understand what a security deposit is for, Dunn said.

Dunn is opposed to all of the communication responsibilities he could soon have as a landlord. However, he doesn't believe tenants would bother to ask for inspections. "It would put a lot of onus on the landlords to send letters, lots of correspondence to the tenants to tell them they're going to do these inspections," he said.

TALK, The Association of Landlords of Kansas, a lobbying group for landlords, wrote in a statement that the Kansas law 'is the purest form of the model Landlord-Tenant Law'. 'Fixing something can sometimes create unpleasant surprises. We have always opposed opening this law for minor problems,' the statement says. TALK's representatives will present the statement to the legislative committee if there is a hearing for the bill.

Ed Jaskinia, president of TALK, agrees that there are unethical landlords just as there are unethical tenants. However, the bill might not truly address fair housing, he said. If the bill goes through, "The good guys are going to get hurt and the bad guys will continue to do business the way they always do," he said. Jaskinia emphasized the importance of educating oneself about landlord-tenant law. He said the number one mistake students make is failing to read their leases.

Currently, Bender believes he could be the only person commenting in favor of the bill if a hearing is granted.