Crackdown On Occupancy

As the fall semester draws to a close, students are beginning to feel the repercussions of the Boston City Ordinance prohibiting more than four unrelated undergraduate students from living together in one house or apartment. The "no more than four" rule was unanimously enacted by the Boston Zoning Commission in March 2008.

While most students living off campus last year were exempt from compliance because they signed their lease agreements before the ordinance was passed, this term has witnessed numerous BC undergraduates cited by Boston's Inspectional Services Division for disobeying it.

One student found in violation of the law is Justin Robinson, CSOM '11. "It's just the worst because off-campus culture here is so unique," he said. Robinson lives on Radnor Rd. in the upstairs portion of a house with eight male students, while 11 female students live below. He, like many BC undergraduates living in the surrounding Allston-Brighton neighborhood, signed his lease with realtors who assured him that living in a house with more than four residents would not be a big issue. "They told us it would be fine," Robinson said.

Boston's Inspectional Services Department, however, was soon at Robinson's house, and what began as a routine checkup of a potential fire hazard ended with police officers and a search warrant. Robinson said that inspectors grew suspicious that he and his housemates were in violation of the "no more than four" ordinance after the initial visit. His landlord told Robinson not to allow Inspectional Services to enter without an appointment with him or the realtor. After four prior visits, though, Inspectional Services came to the house a fifth time with three Boston police officers bearing a warrant. Upon entering, "they effectively saw that there were more kids in the house than had been lead on before," Robinson said.

After this, Robinson and his roommates attended a court hearing in which the landlord sent a lawyer to testify in his stead. In the end, Robinson's landlord was fined for violating the city ordinance and for the fire hazard that prompted the initial inspection. It is a situation that has Robinson warning future off-campus residents. "Kids need to know this year, but then also for next year, sophomores, don't sign on that kind of lease because you're going to get screwed in the end," he said.

Members of the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC) have taken notice of the increasing number of students who have been cited by Inspectional Services. Last week, a UGBC Senate resolution was unanimously passed to revive the Off-Campus Housing Committee (OCC) originally created two years ago.

The first committee was intended to study off-campus issues and act as a liaison between off-campus students and the BC administration. It eventually presented a report on its findings after a period of study and was then disbanded.

Tyler Schenk, Senate communication Liaison and CSOM '12, will lead the new OCC with the support of Harvey Simmons, Senate president and A&S '11. Along with building student relations with the neighbors, the committee will focus on issues arising from the "no more than four" ordinance. "[Inspections have] become an issue, and once they have become an issue, the ordinance becomes an issue," Simmons said.

"And that's where we step in as representatives of the student body," Schenk said.

Beyond that, Schenk hopes that Committee members are "not just making sure students know about the issue, but giving them the tools, the resources so that if something drastic does happen to them that they can move forward and it's not year-ruining."

 The OCC eventually plans to draft an official petition to be sent to the mayor's office. This action will be undertaken in conjunction with undergraduate governments from other Boston-area schools affected by the ordinance. "It's definitely something we think is an issue at all different universities, at all different campuses," Simmons said.

 Schenk and Simmons first plan to evaluate BC's situation, making sure that students and administrators are behind the initiative before partnering with other schools. However, Simmons said that the administration "has been supportive all along the way." In Simmons' opinion, school administrators are "not particularly fond of [the ordinance] and I don't think they are going to have an issue with us trying to create some type of movement to fight it." The UGBC Senators said they hope to use the upcoming Thanksgiving break as a time for research.

BC administrators have also been forced to address the "no more than four" ordinance. Henry Humphreys, director of Residential Life, said that rather than actively fighting to have it overturned, he and his staff have been working to inform students of expectations and consequences associated with the ordinance. "Our role has been to educate this group of sophomores that will be moving off for next year," he said.

Humphreys has also taken note of the way in which realtors and landlords deal with students moving off campus.

"We are trying to make sure the students are educated on what the implications are for them," he said. "If they're going to take this risk, that they take an educated risk because, quite frankly, landlords and realtors are businesspeople – they just want to maximize their revenue and their capacity. They're not interested necessarily in the student, bottom line."

The potentially predatory nature of the landlord-student relationship is also being addressed by John O'Toole, UGBC director of off-campus issues and A&S '11, in a letter he is drafting in consultation with other students and administrators. The letter, targeting current juniors and sophomores, will address the situation, protocol, and rights of students living off campus under the ordinance, and it will be sent sometime later in the semester.