Students home in on Back Bay; overcrowding issue

by Sandra Miller

Students from Boston University, Emerson, Suffolk, Berklee, and other nearby colleges are scrambling for housing, as university officials deal with the annual juggle for finding housing for its students. This year, students who want to live off-campus are now faced with the new regulation that says only four students can live in an apartment, whether it’s a one-bedroom or a 12-bedroom apartment.
Reports indicate many landlords are looking the other way as students strapped for cash and on-campus options are continuing to flout the law, but local officials so far have not heard any complaints.
“We have not experienced that in our neighborhood,” said Jackie Yessian, president of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay. “We supported the legislation, but we wouldn’t have generated a complaint that started that. Other neighborhoods felt it, but we didn’t.”
So far, the law’s biggest proponent, Councilor Michael Ross, hasn’t heard any complaints from neighbors as students began moving in last week. But, he said, it isn’t in the landlord’s best interest to flout the law, since the bylaw will holds property owners, not students, responsible for violations.
“It’s a good law,” he said. “Any landlord who allows this puts themselves at great risk. Eventually, the law will be enforced.”
He said that violations will slowly start coming over the course of the school year, with rental inspector certifications and tenant and neighborhood complaints.
The landlord could lose their rental license, he said. “To respond to a legal complaint, the landlord will have to spend a lot of money,” said Ross.
Ross also worries about the dangers of overcrowding. “Of more concern is what happens if some sort of disaster, God forbid, like a fire, or loss of life, God forbid? … if there’s an injury in the house, their insurance costs are at risk. It is just not worth the risk for the landlord to take that gamble.”
In general, the past week or so has seen few headaches with students moving in. Part of this may be due to the city’s newly-created task force, a collaboration among the Boston Police, Transportation, Inspectional Services (ISD) and the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, to ease students transitioning back into Back Bay and other Boston neighborhoods.
According to the mayor’s office, the team helped facilitate traffic, pick up trash from residents moving out of apartments, and monitor “the commotion” of students moving in. “The city is committed to ensuring a smooth and efficient transition for residents who live in the neighborhoods where high tenant turnover occurs and ensuring the safety of those who move in,” the mayor wrote in a press release.
“Emerson is very strict,” said Yessian. “They organize moving-in day with precision. They are very keen on making it smooth for the students as well as the community-at-large.”
ISD housing inspectors were on standby to ensure that landlords comply with the mandatory rental inspection ordinance and rental unit delivery standard ordinance.
The city’s Rental Housing Resource Center helps both landlords and tenants learn about their rights and responsibilities, and is available to help mediate disputes. The resource center can be reached at 617-635-RENT (7368). Students can also learn more about renting apartments at www.cityofboston.gov/rentalhousing/students.asp.