From the Editor’s Desk: Focus on the Landlord, Not the Apartment

Recently, my second-year friends have recounted to me horror stories of their searches for apartments as they barrel towards the start of their third year of college. As I near the end of my lease and get ready to pass my apartment on to a group of rising third-years next year, these stories have resulted in me reflecting on my own experiences as a first-time renter. 

As opinion writer Sadie Harlan writes in her article this week on the bloodbath that first and second-year housing assignments become, the upperclassmen apartment search is often a similar experience. People fight over taking custody of older friends’ apartments — as I myself did my second year of school — and some frantically sign leases for basement units, afraid nothing better will present itself. 

After having lived in my brownstone apartment for the last two years, some things have revealed themselves that I wasn’t aware of when I first began looking for a new home. 

The most sought after apartments in Rogers Park are often brownstone two-flats, characterized by their brick exterior and cozy front porches. These homes, most of which were built by craftsmen immigrants between 1910 and 1920, make up around 30% of the city’s housing. 

On the opposite end, for a higher price, modern high rise apartments are favored by students, such as those located in The Morgan at Loyola Station or The Arcade Residences. 

With high rises come updated appliances and units owned in bulk by large corporations. With historical two-flats come outdated appliances, but with a higher chance of a more localized landlord, free from the restraints on corporate demands. 

My own apartment, which was built in 1910 and hasn’t been renovated since the 1970s,  according to my landlord, sees its appliances broken by my roommates and I from time to time. We find leaks, drafts, creaks and other natural parts of old architecture. 

But when something breaks, there’s almost always someone there by the end of the day, ready to remedy the issue and let us move on with our day. All it takes is a quick text notifying our landlord of the problem — including everything from lightbulb changes to toilet replacements to shelves falling out of walls — and it’s gone practically before we have time to experience the inconvenience. 

I have plenty of friends who have jankier apartments combined with bad landlords. I’ve heard of nightmare situations where landlords take months to fix basic appliances, and even those who refuse to remove the thermostat from a lock box, leaving the residents in a home perpetually at 60 degrees during the winter — illegal under the Chicago Heating Ordinance that requires landlords maintain a heat of 68 degrees during the day and 66 degrees at night.

When giving apartment search advice, I find myself emphasizing one thing above all else: It is far better to have a good landlord than a nice apartment. 

This week’s edition of The Phoenix is online only, but with the same volume of content as normal. Be sure to check the website for new articles and keep an eye out for our next print edition March 25. In the meantime, read about the cost of gas for Chicago residents in news, the plight of balancing experiences and spending money in college in opinion, a review of the new “Bridgerton” season in arts and a feature on the Halas rock wall in sports.