With six cars in the driveway - with, from what we've been told - landlords are charging $1,000.00 PER BED. MamaLlama...drive anywhere on the Southside and you'll see exactly where the problems are - starting with the College Park Neighborhood.

I know families who need the bedroom space, too. But Frustrated Permanent Homeowner is saying something else. The College Hills Neighborhood has the same problem, with landlords dividing up what were 3 bedroom homes into 5 bedrooms, or stacking tenants up to 6 in a home that is not large enough. The result is too many vehicles, and frequently the vehicles are parked on the lawn itself. I have yet to see the Code Office actually investigate any of these residences to check on 4 or more unrelated ordinance. It would be easy enough to check, by requesting to see the lease and checking the licenses of the people in residence, or contacting the landlord and requiring compliance. Not sure why this has not been addressed, but glad to see other homeowners speaking up.

I think 5 or more in a house is a huge problem that the city ignores. I would like to see code enforcement on this issue.

I hope I didn't ruffle too many feathers. The neighborhoods Ed Froehling builds are filled with 5 bedroom homes and many are occupied by families. He is one of the few builders that builds for larger families or families who want a little more space without charging a fortune.

Sometimes frustration over lack of enforcement of existing ordinances can lead to a call for even more prohibitive ordinances. I just wanted to make sure that wasn't the case. I do wish the 4 unrelated ordinance could be enforced better. I thought the Rental Registration program would help with that.

Sadly, I don't see the City is enforcing any of the rental ordinances. You can drive all over the Southside neighborhoods and you will see 6 - yes 6 - cars in the driveways. These just aren't kids visiting for a few hours, they are the same cars there day after day.

In our neighborhood, boyfriends and girlfriends move in and are never on the lease. So I understand the problem completely. A house can have 8 cars for a 4 bedroom house. But only 4 will be on the lease. It is frustrating.

Yes, Mama Llama, I've seen that, too.

If what I understand is true, that the landlords are perfectly aware that they are over the limit on residents, then contacting the landlord to report a residence out of code is not going to help, unless the landlord believes that the city code office will do something about it.

In the past I did contact the owner of a house near me, for that very reason. He just laughed! If the code is on the books, it should be enforced! I have had a car sitting on my street since April. The tenants haven't yet moved into the rental property. There was a pile of lumber, pulled carpet, junk from moving placed in front of the car. The city workers asked me if I knew who it belonged to..I told them I would call the non-emergency poilice #. The dispatcher said she would send someone to check it. The car is still there. The workers, spent extra time, walking around the car picking up all the trash by hand. I think they acted above & beyond their duty. I thanked them the next week.

I think it is the responsibility of both the landlord and the city to enforce the code on more than 4 unrelated occupants.

Finally I think we homeowners have had our fill of the City Codes being ignored and for seeing our neighborhoods being methodically demolished. I know various individuals and/or groups have spoken up about these issues but I think it's time we get organized and united and start standing up for OUR city and OUR neighborhoods. I've been told on multiple occasions by city leaders that if we don't "fight" for what's right, then of course we're going to get steamrolled by the developers...I think it's the "squeaky wheel" concept they are referring to.

Just a thought....

I also own rental property. I had a house, and currently a condo. I recall when as rental property owners, we were required to register our properties and pay an annual fee. I heard some ppl say that own several properties they didn't think they should pay the $$.. I wonder if that is being enforced. The fee was very inexpensive, and I thought good idea for out of town owners, in the event something happened to their property the city could contact them............I believe every complaint to the code div. should be followed up with owner contact. All the vehicles parked on my street are from the rentals.

Pretty easy to know who owns what. I mean for landlords who are less honest than eyewatch.

brazoscad.org will tell you how to contact the landlord.

I guess all we need now is a code office who is prepared to investigate and enforce the code.

Yes, Vigilante Granny, I have used brazoscad.org. Thanks for posting on here for others that need info. I think I will start emailing the code office...following up with phone calls. I am waiting to see how many will move in next door and the other rentals now on my street.........

That's a good plan.

Let's think about what is in our power. First, we can find out who owns each of these properties and let them know that the property is being discussed on clickfix.com. Surprisingly, most landlords, however absentee they may behave, are keenly concerned that their property not become a problem in a neighborhood. Once they are aware of a problem, they may fix it themselves.

Second, we can press for the City of College Station to enforce the existing policy.

If the two previous steps prove fruitless, then we can prepare to organize as a group of homeowners ourselves, and get legal representation.

you may also need to call the Appraisal District as their website isn't updated often. It can take up to a year for a new owner to appear on BrazosCAD.org. Also, a citizen can submit a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request for the records Rental Registration has on a property or owner. The City can charge you a reasonable fee for the copies. From what I've heard, the City Secretary is very professional and timely in handling FOIAs.

I would also like to see the students have to abide by the same rules as we permanent homeowners do. We don't leave our trash can out on the curb for days, nor do we leave town with it sitting on the curb.

We don't park on the grass and we mow our yards.

I'm pretty sure there are codes for this stuff and that we are expected to abide by them. As long as we're going to pursue the Code Officers and City doing their jobs, let's see if we can just get everything accomplished at one time.

Ahhh....I do live in a dream world, don't it? But just maybe we CAN make a difference in our neighborhoods.

Facebook can be effective. Post a link on their wall to the report of their blighted property (pictures help). Embarrassment in front of their friends can be quite the motivator!

Well done, MamaLlama! That would be the very thing we would need to prove out who should be in residence and who shouldn't.

And it is completely fair for us to expect the same rules to apply to everybody.

I agree in spirit, Mama Llama, but let's show caution in embarrassing anybody until we have pursued polite and persuasive measure. I private e-mail is enough, with a picture attached.

I would hope the city would comment on how to get the code enforced.

Below is a response on this issue from Planning and Development Services Executive Director Bob Cowell:
There is no prohibition on building homes with more than 4 bedrooms, rather, there is a prohibition on using those homes as a residence for more than 4 unrelated individuals. We have recently received complaints regarding homes being rented to more than 4 unrelated individuals, though these seldom come with specific locations, which makes further investigation and enforcement more challenging. I anticipate stepping up our enforcement on these properties as we move toward the fall's lease-up period

Thank you, Neighborhood Services, and Bob Cowell! You enforcement services will be busy!

Yes, very appreciated.

Thank you for taking action on this. As someone in the field, I really believe that adding some sort of penalty to the current ordinance will help discourage landlords from this type of activity. Currently the worst that can happen is the city asks the owner to remove the 5th tenant without any monetary loss. If a landlord owns several properties then his/her upside is really high from that 5th bedroom vs downside risk is low. Also, there are so many different owners engaged in this behavior, it will be hard for city inspection to keep up with all of them.

I think, as permanent residents, we, too, should start showing diligence in reporting specific addresses to Mr. Cowell and Code Enforcement, where landlords are renting to more students than allowed by the city regulations. It's easy enough to do....just count the cars in the driveway that are permanently there.

I'll get the house numbers on those student rentals from Holleman to Park Place....there's 5-6 cars in the driveways every day (the same ones).

I'll be happy to monitor the College Hills neighborhood.

I volunteer for my neighborhood, Carter's Grove...Next to you, Vigilante Granny!

You go, eyewatch! :)

The overriding concern at countless meetings has been rental properties, especially with more than 4 people. And yet, Mr. Cowell stated that there had been exactly one formal complaint filed in the South Knoll area. The City has to work from the numbers and is obligated to investigate formal complaints. With enough complaints and not enough resolutions, maybe something concrete can be justified. There's a big difference between complaining and filing a complaint. It's up to us to count those cars and fill out the forms.

I agree with the above comment on penalties. I own couple of properties in town and I know the management company gets requests for 5 on a regular basis but have so far refused to allow more than 4. The problem is this activity is encouraged by the landlords and their agents. They tell the students that we can only put 4 individuals on the lease but will allow you to have 5 and charge you for 5 as well. Once the city introduces some strict penalties then I think they will think twice before engaging is such activity.

Thank you so much for your input, SOP - what we see here in our neighborhood is 5-6 cars at the rental houses. The leasing company and/or landlord might think they are only renting to four students but do they really follow up to see how many more have moved in? It's really a Catch 22 situation, isn't it?

The responsibility lies with the leasing companies/landlords/owners to follow up and do due diligence with each of their rentals.

So what is the status of this issue? It looks like we've gone a month with no response from the City. Thanks.

Is there anyway the city can post every so often how many houses they have come across with this issue?

Can the city please update on this issue ?

Here, here!

I third that!

And I fourth it!

I don't have the street address, but please check out the two story house on the corner of Holleman and Welsh...the new one with the Austin stone around it. There are 6 cars in the driveway at any given time.

The problem is way bigger than what the city would like to acknowledge. All you have to do is drive thru southside at 7am or in the evening.

Thank you all for your responses. We will post an update here shortly on the efforts to deal with the more than four unrelated persons in single family dwellings.

Thank you! I hope the city can come up with a solution for the owners that are putting ppl in there, charging them all, yet only having 4 on the lease...........BTW......I also own rental property.........and rental properties are on my street. Thanks again!

I would like to give a great big HURRAY to all of you that have posted on this issue.
It seems that you are all as frustrated with the way the codes of this city are enforced as I myself am. This forum is a great way to let code enforcement know that we would like change so please don't stop your efforts!
I for one truly thank you all for your concern!!!
I went straight to Mayor Berry with my complaints and she led me to this forum!
Maybe if more of us would contact her directly she might make some changes to things not wanting to deal with all of the problems herself, i was taught as a child go straight to the top and i did and will again with no reluctance. if thats what it takes to get real change!!! I only see any action when I report issues, but I have at least had the code Enforcment earning their money lately and plan on keeping it that way until I see real change. I like the comment of banding together that was suggested earlier if that's what it takes to get our neighborhoods back on track count me in!!!

Thanks, Jim!

I can think of several changes that might help:

1) Revise the COCS rental registration form to have it be notarized and severe financial penalties for lying. Perhaps it should also say "occupants" instead of "tenants" so they can't evade with keeping someone's name off of the lease.
2) There must be a parking spot on the property for each occupant.
3) Landlord also attests that occupants have been made aware of days / rules for trash pickup, parking codes, noise ordinances, etc.

Excellent! ... Especially like "Occupants" instead of "tenants". #2 questionable.

Good ideas!

Excellent idea, ON!!! You would think that by now, someone with the city would have picked up on how frustrated we are. I especially like the idea of "severe financial penalties" for the homeowner/landlord/leasing company/developer/occupants....

Students are renting EVERYWHERE here, driving up the cost of rental properties for families. My family will relocate at the end of our lease to Cypress where I can get a heck of a lot more house for less money! I grew up in Bryan and relocated to South College Station for my children's educational needs. Lets face it - this town is NO LONGER FOR FAMILIES. It is dominated by bars . hotels and restaurants. The codes are rarely enforced because those kids are the "bread & butter" of both cities. I am happy to see both Bryan & College Station prosper - just sad that the families here are facing enormous costs.

I think the idea about rental registration is great. I had suggested that Mr. Cowell earlier in an email but not sure if the city will act on it. Something along the lines " If any landlord or landlords agent knowingly permits more the 4 unrelated occupants per house then he or she can be subject to upto 10,000 in fines" The reason for such a large amount is because the landlords make upwards of $6-7K for the 5th tenant. A large penalty will be a deterrence....maybe more people can send an email directly to Mr. Cowell if you support this route.

Currently the city is investigating several properties that we have received specific complaints of more than four unrelated individuals. On a larger scale, we have pro-actively begun putting together educational and code enforcement campaigns and tools to help raise awareness and address this issue with both residents and property owners. We acknowledge there are legitimate concerns regarding this issue and we are actively investigating each one received here on SeeClickFix. Investigating these types of cases can take quite a bit of time and resources. As soon as we have information or updates on these cases, we will post it here.

The SFC “Issues” platform is designed to streamline code enforcement, public works and other city related processes and improve the communication on the status of specific complaints. If there are larger questions about policy issues on these and other issues, there is also a questions and answer section here on SeeClickFix where these types of questions can be asked and responded to separate from the complaint or report in SeeClickFix. Thank you for taking the time to report issues to us to us here at the city. We appreciate your concern for the city and your neighborhoods.

I am a little confused. The city does acknowledge there is a growing problem but plans to put out educational campaigns to tackle the issue on a larger scale. If the landlords are currently breaking the rules even though they very well know city code why would they respond differently. I really hope the city will take this issue much more seriously. If I was to guess there is probably 100+ homes in college station with 5 or more. In couple of years that might go upto couple of hundred homes. Does code enforcement plan to investigate each one of them ?

HaHaHaHaHa........NO
they have no plans of investigating I can almost promise you 100% Doing things correctly takes effort
Great idea though!!! If the city only had such insight.

Yes, the Code Enforcement Dept investigate each case that is reported. As mentioned before,
investigating these cases can take a long time to gather information, but each cases is
thoroughly investigated.

I agree with the idea that city needs stricter rules on the books. As a landlord I get calls from tenants thru the management company who want to rent 5 bedrooms and when I turn them away they go somewhere else. If the city continues with these lax rules I might have no choice but to start renting to 5 people if the market starts to get tougher in the next couple of years.

What is your definition of "a long time?" Sadly, this issue is not a new one and I don't think we have seen anything resolved.

Specificially, what takes so long to investigate a case?

Below is copied code enforcement's posted comments on this issue from 8/23/13. Mr. Cowell's office is in charge of code enforcement. Hope this answers your questions even if it does not resolve the problem.

Code Enforcement (Phone-in Reports) (Verified Official)

Thank you for taking time to report this issue. The Officer for this address will start an investigation. Please note that we have to find evidence that there are more than four unrelated people occupying the home. Visitors are allowed as long as they are parked on an approved surface or legally parked on the street. Visitors are not considered an occupant unless they are on the lease, even if they are at the home multiple nights each week. We will post updates here as they become available.
2013-08-23 · Flag

I think the real issue is not with code enforcement(which in my opinion always follow up and do a great job) but rather the way the code is written. The current code is akin to IRS saying we require everyone to pay taxes but if you dont then there are no penalties, we will just send our agents to follow up.
Once the city enacts penalties then the problem will automatically get better and code enforcement wont have to follow up so often.

It looks like the this issue needs to be raised with the City Council in order to get any concrete action from the city. We are looking at attending the October 24th meeting. If you are interested in joining in please email morethan4unrelated@gmail.com and let us know if you plan to attend.

The city states that they seldom get specific complaints about this. Here are a couple of landlords who rent out five bedrooms to more than four unrelated students; TM5 Rental Locators and Charles Wilding. Let's wait and see if the city will investigate further???

Thank you all for commenting on this topic. This thread will be closing and we are asking that if you have addresses/ properties where you think there maybe more than four unrelated persons living in a single family dwelling, that you start a new SeeClickFix report instead of posting on this one. For our record keeping purposes, this will allow us to better keep track of these issues as they are reported. If you have other questions or concerns regarding this issue, please feel free to email them to NeighborhoodServices@cstx.gov. Or you can ask them in the question and answer section here on SeeClickFix.

Thanks for fixing this issue!

Thanks for fixing this issue!

Sorry but the city never fixed the issue.
on 09/12/13 the code enforcement stated "Investigating these types of cases can take quite a bit of time and resources. As soon as we have information or updates on these cases, we will post it here"
We are still waiting for update from the city on the cases that it has investigated and the larger problem in south side district of many homes with 4 unrelated.

Planning & Development Services assigned this issue to Code Enforcement

As previously mentioned, this thread will be closing and we are asking that if you have addresses/ properties where you think there maybe more than four unrelated persons living in a single family dwelling, that you start a new SeeClickFix report instead of posting on this one. For our record keeping purposes, this will allow us to better keep track of these issues as they are reported. If you have other questions or concerns regarding this issue, please feel free to email them to NeighborhoodServices@cstx.gov. Or you can ask them in the question and answer section here on SeeClickFix. There are several other more than 4 unrelated cases that have been reported by residents on SeeClickFix. The status of those cases can be found here on SeeClickFix.
.

Thank you.

As previously mentioned, this thread will be closing and we are asking that if you have addresses/ properties where you think there maybe more than four unrelated persons living in a single family dwelling, that you start a new SeeClickFix report instead of posting on this one. For our record keeping purposes, this will allow us to better keep track of these issues as they are reported. If you have other questions or concerns regarding this issue, please feel free to email them to NeighborhoodServices@cstx.gov. Or you can ask them in the question and answer section here on SeeClickFix. There are several other more than 4 unrelated cases that have been reported by residents on SeeClickFix. The status of those cases can be found here on SeeClickFix.

Thanks for fixing this issue!