Pitt State students frustrated about housing

By Dylan Waggoner 

Some Pittsburg State University students say their landlords are not giving enough to tenants for what they charge. 

Keegan Cearnal, a senior graphic communications student at PSU, said his apartment is too expensive for what he gets.

“I feel like the rent is a bit expensive for the size and location of my apartment, and the quality could be a little better,” Cearnal said.  

Joey Marten, a freshman political science student, doesn’t have problems with the price. By renting a house with friends and splitting the cost, he pays between $288 and $383 each month—depending on how many people are pitching in.

Marten’s main complaint is the handling of basic property care by his landlord. 

“He’s kind of flaky,” Marten said. “You can tell (he’s got several rental properties), that he really just wants the money. But it just depends.” 

Marten said that on big things, such as dealing with dead pests, his landlord moves quickly. On the other hand, deep cleans, odor control, and repairs can take him a long time.  

Jayson Scott, a junior general studies student, told a similar story, but had far less positive to say about his landlords. Scott’s property, a house converted into a duplex, was managed directly by his landlords. 

Scott said the first landlords of the property, and out-of-town married couple, weren’t around much. He would only see them when they were renovating the other unit of the duplex, but he was able to contact them by phone. Still, his rapport with them was not great. 

“On the rental agreement on their end they said that the trash would be covered, and the lawn would be covered,” Scott said. “Afterwards, there was a trash bin there, but they never came and picked up my trash, and the lawn was not covered. That was my responsibility.” 

Scott has been all but forced to stay in his situation due to economic restrictions. 

Scott’s experience highlights what many students say is one of their biggest problems with their landlords—a lack of adequate communication. 

It’s not a universal experience. Cearnal has said his communication experiences with his landlord were fine.

“The interactions I’ve had with my landlord have been fair, and I haven’t been mistreated by them,” Cearnal said. “I am able to talk with them if I desperately need to.” 

But Scott had much worse experiences during his time at his current residence. Management of his property switched to being managed by ProX.

“They did that without telling me,” Scott said. “The way I found out was by getting an email with rent due to ProX, when I had a rental agreement with the City of Pittsburg’s housing authority and my landlord.” 

Scott’s rapport with ProX has not been much better than with his landlord. He said they have not acted on work orders, and when they did the workers, the company left trash in his yard and moved his belongings without putting it back. 

He again renewed his rental agreement but said the process of doing so was worrying, involving an automated system that he felt didn’t give him the ability to ask questions.

“I just would expect it to be professional, as big as it is,” Scott said. “It seems like they would be a dominant force, and I’d think that they’d have good services that would reflect that.”