With a large student population and a local economy closely tied to an institution of higher education, college towns present a unique type of community in the U.S. For code enforcement professionals, they also present a few unique challenges.

Housing in College Towns: Sources of Trouble

Most colleges and universities only provide enough housing for a fraction of its student population. While the development of apartment communities designed specifically for college students has been on the rise in recent years, a large portion of students still live in older single-family homes that have been converted into sometimes lucrative student rentals within walking distance of campus, often in what are traditionally considered historic neighborhoods.

This setup creates a number of common problems that may fall into the purview of code enforcement, whether it’s local law enforcement, neighborhood improvement teams, or building inspectors.

Tension between long-term residents and students: Mixing large numbers of student residents with single-family households in the same neighborhood is bound to create some friction. As students tend to have different social behavior or lifestyles than families, this can lead to calls for enforcement of ordinances concerned with excessive noise after quiet hours, trash removal, parking, etc. 

Investor properties: Student rentals can be a lucrative business that attracts the wrong kind of investors. For single-family-homes-turned-student-rentals, landlords can charge by the room, allowing them to make more per square foot than they would renting to a single family. Because student leases generally only last a year, it also gives landlords the opportunity to continually raise rent prices, allowing them to make more than they would on a multi-year lease with the same family. All of which can be attractive to investors looking to make money without a lot of ongoing investment – because many student rental landlords do little to maintain their properties. Which brings us to perhaps the most common code enforcement issue in college towns. 

Negligent landlords: Landlords rarely maintain student housing to the same standards they would other rental housing. College students stereotypically don’t have a reputation for being great tenants in terms of general cleanliness, property upkeep and respect for others’ property – so many landlords may not wish to invest a lot of upgrades into a property their tenants won’t maintain. However, often the case is a combination of predatory landlords and first-time renters who don’t understand their basic rights and responsibilities and tenants.

Common Code Enforcement Problems in College Towns

A large student population combined with limited on-campus housing, an influx of investor properties, and negligent landlords can create a lot of repetitive work for code enforcement teams. Some common ordinance issues that officers or inspectors in college towns frequently see include:

Over occupancy: Most municipalities will have a limit on how many unrelated individuals may occupy a single-family residence. However, college students often exceed these occupancy limits in an attempt to save on rent, leading to overcrowding and safety risks that violate local housing codes.

Illegal conversions: Some property owners may convert basements or garages into makeshift bedrooms to accommodate more tenants, which might not meet code requirements for safety or sanitation.

Fire hazards: Negligent landlords may not replace defunct smoke alarms or update poor electrical systems. (It’s not uncommon for students to disable smoke alarms as well.) On the student side, improper use of space heaters, surge protectors, and extension cords, as well as overcrowding outlets can also create fire hazards. 

Mold and pest infestations: Poorly maintained housing, especially during transitions between tenants, can lead to issues like mold, pest infestations, or other health risks.

Noise violations: College towns often experience higher-than-usual noise levels due to student parties, especially in off-campus housing areas. 

Parking issues: Crowding multiple adults into single-family homes, often in neighborhoods with limited parking or street-only parking, creates the potential for a slew of parking violations, from blocked driveways to parking on the lawn. (This issue can be exacerbated during sporting events, when street parking off homes near arenas and stadiums become prime parking.)

Trash and litter: Student residents may miss garbage day or neglect to properly dispose of their trash, causing a pileup of garbage that can attract pests or even create a fire hazard. At the end of the school year, large amounts of discarded furniture, mattresses, and other belongings are often left on the streets, creating a major cleanup burden.

Yard maintenance: Student rentals where the responsibility for yard maintenance is poorly defined (or left up to the residents) may lead to overgrown lawns, trees and shrubs, creating an eyesore for their non-student neighbors and potential health and safety hazards. 

Improving College Town Code Enforcement with Software

College towns often have a high volume of ordinance violations that require inspection and follow-up. Keeping up with ongoing cases can be more manageable when officers and inspectors are given the right tools to help them succeed.

Code enforcement software like Comcate can streamline processes and consolidate case data, making it easy to manage a high volume of cases and even aggregate data to share with leadership and demonstrate the value of code enforcement to your community. Here are a few ways that Comcate’s code enforcement software helps other officers around the nation:

• Create a case in the field in as little as 90 seconds, thanks to features like pre-uploaded violations and tap-to-select location.

• Upload and attach images directly to open cases in the system. No more printing digital photos and attaching them to physical files.

• Generate official, consistent notices with a single click; the software uses document templates and pulls in statues and property info directly from the open case.

• Schedule follow-up inspections with automatic reminders to stay on top of open cases

• View violation history by parcel/location to better track repeat offenders.

• Consolidate contact information for easy retrieval.
  
  

Real-Life Success: Focusing on Neighborhood Improvement in Orem, UT

Orem, Utah (pop: 100k) is home to Utah Valley University, the largest public university in Utah and is also one city away from Provo, where Brigham Young University is located. As a university town, Orem has a large student population that creates a lot of housing challenges. Like many college towns, Orem also has a wealth of older neighborhoods that recently have seen an influx of landlord-operated investor properties.

Orem’s code enforcement department, known as the Neighborhood Improvement Team, had their work cut out for them – so they turned to code enforcement software to help streamline the work and manage case capacity. “When we first started, we had close to 120 cases or more that were open or had not been dealt with,” said Kena Matthews, then Orem’s Community Services Manager. “We were trying to manage those on a shared drive or spreadsheet, and it was challenging.” Once the department moved to Comcate’s Code Enforcement Manager, getting organized became easier. “The overall organization has really helped us manage a lot more cases than they were managing in the past.”  Read Orem’s story.

Comcate: Technology for Busy Code Enforcement Professionals

Comcate has been in the code enforcement industry for more than 20+ years. During that time, we’ve seen the struggles that code enforcement professionals face – which is why we developed affordable, flexible software designed specifically for code enforcement. 

Interested in learning more about Comcate and our software? Fill out the form below to schedule some time with one of our consultants!

Schedule a Meeting with Comcate Today!

Learn how Comcate can help make government delivery simple, and offer a modern digital experience to help you increase transparency, efficiency, and performance across your departments. If you have any questions about implementing our software, please fill out the form below or call us directly at (415) 632-1248.

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