Hello,
My name is Nadine Mompremier, and I am the Temple University Student Body President for 2008-2009. Over the past few weeks, we have become aware of the housing situation in Yorktown with L&I’s enforcement of a city ordinance prohibiting student renters. We are working with Temple administration to keep up-to-date on this situation, assist affected students in understanding their rights and inform students of what they need to do in this situation.
Some of you have received a letter from L&I stating that you have until Dec. 19 to vacate your property. We ask that you do not panic and do not make plans to move out.
During this time, we want to provide you with some vital information and things to know.
• The letter that you receive from L&I needs to go to your landlord. Please make sure that it gets to him or her right away.
• L&I may still be conducting inspections of houses not previously entered. Please verify that they are official L&I employees before allowing them to enter your property.
• We expect that the landlords will try to challenge this law in court. What happens in court will affect when you need to move out. If the landlords are not successful in court, you will need to vacate your properties by Dec. 19. Do not vacate your property before that date, as you may risk losing any deposits you have with the landlord, as well as be responsible for rent for the remaining term on the lease.
• The university does have housing available for students who are forced out of their residences. We hope that it does not come to that, and we will work to your best interest so that students are not put in that situation.
• Capt. Eileen Bradley is serving as the liaison for students on this Yorktown situation. If you have not been in touch with her, please contact her at eileen.bradley@temple.edu or at (215) 669-4761. Among other things, Bradley wants to know who the student residents are in Yorktown so that any move or transition to university housing can be completed seamlessly. Bradley can also address any student concerns about this situation. You can also contact me at tsgpres@temple.edu or (917) 362-7500 to get a student’s perspective and see if we have any updates with administration.
We do not want to become enemies with the community, and we want to make sure that we can resolve the problems so that all parties involved are satisfied. Both Temple and the residents of Yorktown are invested in the area and want to keep everyone happy. We hope that this situation is resolved soon.
Thank you,
Nadine Mompremier
Student Body President
Temple Student Government
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