A renter’s manifesto

The history of all hitherto existing society is a history of renter versus landlord. It has existed for millennia, and the modern society that has emerged from the ashes of the past has not done away with these renter’s antagonisms.

We believe that all renters have rights, and to that end renters have assembled this manifesto–a renter’s manifesto. Comrades unite!

Security depositsStudent comrades, you, as a paying renter, have a right to get your security deposit back after you decide to move out of an apartment or dorm. If there is simple wear-and-tear done to the place that does not mean your security deposit is gone forever.

It’s a good idea to document the status of your place as soon as you move in, so no disputes can arise when you decide to move out.

For all comrades in student housing, be warned, any claim of holding the security deposit (by which the university calls it “advance payment”) improperly by the bourgeois has to be written out and given to the University Housing Office within 45 days after receiving notification that you will not be refunded. In all cases, you should get your security deposit back between 14 and 30 days after your move-out date.

Minor repairsAs the proletariat, your landlord, otherwise known as the bourgeois scum that takes your money every month, is responsible for keeping your apartment/dorm in a functioning, livable condition. That includes access to stairways, hallways and roofs, having a reasonable amount of hot and cold water and avoiding vermin infestation.

There was a large problem last year with bedbugs throughout various locations of student housing, and it is your right as a comrade with housing to be bedbug-free and not have to pay for it.

If a problem arises where you are not getting your demands met after filling out a repairs request, you, comrade, can revolt and ask for mediation, which is available on campus.

PrivacyOne of the things comrades hold dearly is their right to unite and revolt in the privacy of their own apartments.

Landlords, including bourgeois staff from student housing, may enter your conspiracy lairs only to make needed repairs, in cases of emergency or to show perspective purchasers. In the case of student housing, they may also enter to recover university property or when a university policy has been violated.

MaintenanceComrades, you have the responsibility to keep your apartment clean and sanitary, but on the flip side, the bourgeois also have the responsibility to provide fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and structurally sound premises.

According to the University Contract Terms and Conditions, comrades living in student housing are prohibited from using firearms, individual air conditioners or waterbeds, while the bourgeois “reserves the right to remove any items not in conformity with its policies.”

Very vague, and sounds like a plan to keep the proletariat down if you ask me.

If you are a comrade that does not live in student housing, you have the option, based on information at the Renter’s Rights Resource Center Web site to, “Make the necessary repairs and deduct the costs from the next month’s rent, withhold the entire rent until the problem is fixed or paying less rent while the rental remains substandard.”

Unfortunately, the most comrades at student housing can do is file a repair request or complaint form, because rent is taken out in one lump sum each academic term.

Remember comrades, unite against the pigs and good luck.