Some tenants in off-campus housing are struggling to pay rent this month due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Managing Editor for Multimedia
Despite financial insecurities felt by off-campus residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, rent is still due in full for many tenants.
Off-campus residents who are without work due to Gov. Mike DeWine’s order to close nonessential businesses, which began March 24, are in a tough position, as many students are left without a source of income. This has left some tenants in off-campus housing asking their landlords for support, but many rental companies have not lowered or forgone the cost of rent, according to emails they sent to tenants that were obtained by The Lantern.
George Kanellopolous, owner of OSU Properties, said in an email to his tenants that slashing rent is not a feasible option for his company. However, he pushed the April rent deadline to April 15 and waived subleasing and tenant replacement fees, he said.
“With so much uncertainty on the horizon, we have to keep our financial position stable so that we can continue operations, support our staff members and their families, and pay our creditors and vendors,” Kanellopolous said.
Several other realty companies sent emails in March addressing their tenants’ concerns about rent payments.
Here and There OSU did not lower rent, but offered help for “isolated and specific hardship issues on a case by case basis,” according to an email sent to its tenants. NorthSteppe Realty told tenants in an email that they would be responsible for “timely payment of rent and appropriate utility costs” and all general maintenance would be postponed. These companies declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment on their policies.
Inn Town Homes and Apartments offered a 50-percent reduced rent for the month of May, according to an email sent to tenants. The rent reduction served to “lessen the burden” COVID-19 has placed on its residents, the email said. Inn Town Homes and Apartments declined to comment further.
Aside from unemployment compensation, government assistance may not be available for students in many cases — those listed as dependents on their parents’ tax returns will not receive the $1,200 payout included in the $2-trillion stimulus bill approved by Congress March 25.
Parents can legally claim their children as dependents until the age of 19; however, this age limit is pushed to 24 if the child is a student, according to the IRS’ website.
Dominick DeFlippo, a third-year in consumer and family science and NorthSteppe tenant, said he will not receive benefits for this reason.
“I know a lot of people that are getting help from their parents,” he said. “Because of the stimulus bill, parents aren’t getting any extra aid for their students. Their money is going down the garbage disposal, as well, for these apartments that they’re paying for.”
With many students not seeing rent reductions or government aid, the only support some have is the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s suspension of all foreclosures and evictions announced by President Donald Trump March 18. The suspension lasts until the end of April.
Even with this form of relief in place, it might be better left unused, Molly Philipps, chief council of the Ohio State Student Legal Services civil team, said. Landlords can refuse to accept rent payment after a three-day notice is given to the tenant, and Philipps said they will still have the right to pursue an eviction lawsuit at the conclusion of the suspension for nonpayment.
“Just because a landlord can’t have an eviction hearing doesn’t mean that you are relieved of the obligation to pay rent. Those two aren’t the same thing,” Philipps said.
DeFlippo said he is underwhelmed by the assistance he’s received from his landlord.
“I’ve received literally nothing from my landlord himself and pretty much nothing from the company that we rent with,” DeFlippo said. “I’ve gotten pretty much no assistance or no confirmation that they’re even going to try to help anywhere.”
Philipps strongly encouraged students to seek help and advice at SLS during this time.
“Students should make an appointment with us to discuss the terms of their specific lease agreement and their specific scenario, because everybody’s situation is going to be different,” Philipps said.
For legal counsel and more information on COVID-19, students can visit SLS’s website.
Click here to view our continuing coverage of COVID-19.
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