City Addresses Some Rental Standards, Requirements and Recent Issues
The City of Evanston has experienced an increase in resident based complaints of too many people living in a single household in
violation of City Code and illegally altered rental properties. This has been more prevalent in some of the city’s neighborhoods used heavily by college students for off-campus housing.
“The no more than “three unrelated rule” that applies to occupancy of single family and multi-family dwelling residential structures and the zoning ordinance prohibiting the creation of new lodging establishments in certain zoning districts is not the core issue,” explained Jeff Murphy, Division Manager of Building and Inspection Services. “Rather, enforcement of these ordinances helps treat the symptoms of the real problem which is the compromising of the health, safety and welfare of those who live in or around illegally altered and non-code compliant housing.”
“An important message we want to convey at this time is that it is not our intention to overly burden or cause unnecessary hardship to a student resident in the middle of an academic year because his/her landlord has been cited for violating a City code. Therefore, the City of Evanston will not require that occupancy is reduced until the end of the spring semester,” added Murphy. The only exception to this policy is if City staff observes a life safety threat so grievous that the resident(s) must be moved out for their own well being. In a scenario such as this, the City has Northwestern University’s assurance that housing would be provided for these individuals on campus on an emergency basis as needed.
Illegal alterations (not obtaining proper building permits nor being subjected to inspections that are meant to help ensure the safety and well-being of occupants) to an existing structure are not uncommon in off campus student housing.
In one such example, staff discovered a staircase leading to an illegally constructed attic sleeping room that was so narrow (20 inches) the large male student occupant had to climb the staircase sideways. In an emergency, a fully equipped firefighter may not realize that there was a staircase located behind the narrow door off the kitchen. Even if the rescuer did find the staircase, he/she would never be able to gain access to the space above.
Students should protect their rights and safety as renters and be mindful of the “three unrelated rule.” They should also use some common sense when they seek rental living arrangements off campus and insist on the following minimum standards before moving in:
• Make sure the rental property is clean and free of left over furniture, trash, etc. from previous occupants;
• Make sure all windows open and there are assessable exits in the event of an emergency;
• Make sure that every sleeping room is equipped with a smoke detector;
• Make sure that there is at least one operable carbon monoxide detector in the household; and
• Check out the City’s “Property Maintenance Routine Inspection Process” brochure here>>> for other common code violations that can be used to assure a safe place to live.
E-mail questions to jmurphy@cityofevanston.org.