Students Receive Overdue Rent Notices for Albee Apartments
Photo by Mandie-Beth Chau
Students received single-page notices slipped under their apartment doors at Albee on-campus housing explaining that The King’s College owes at least $200,000 in rent on Wednesday, Feb. 8.
In response to the notices, King’s sent out an email shortly after saying that “this notice is addressed to The King’s College and poses no legal risk to you or change in the status of your housing situation.”
King’s also requested that students turn in the notices to Student Services, who would pass them along to the Business Office.
Photo by Joshua Story
Photo by Joshua Story
“The college is in communication with the landlord and is working on resolving this matter,” said Dean of Students David Leedy in a statement to the Empire State Tribune. “We are committed to catching up on the overdue rent, which is part of the $2.6 million funding gap we mentioned at the last Community Update. A fundraising campaign is currently underway to help meet that gap.”
Most of the statements cited between $9,000 and $10,000 as the rent due on each apartment. Since two-bedroom apartments in the building start at around $4,000, the amount owed, according to the notice, implies that King’s owes at least two months’ rent.
According to the New York state property laws, “An eviction of a tenant is lawful only if an owner has brought a court proceeding and obtained a judgment of possession from the court.”
New York property laws vary depending on the terms of a lease and the type of rental agreement, but the statement is definitely not an eviction notice. While there are potential grounds for legal action, including eviction, based on the late or non-payment of rent, the notice was a first step in debt collection for the property owner to guarantee their legal rights for the future.
“It’s a form letter; you have to notify them. If you don’t notify, you lose the opportunity to begin the eviction process,” said Jeremy Story, a Parents Advisory Council member and Presidential Search Committee at King’s. “It’s true the payment wasn’t made, but it is what the landlord has to do… it’s insurance.”
According to the New York state Attorney General, a landlord can only add a 5% or $50 fee (whichever is less) to a late rent payment. Some New York property laws say that after five days of overdue rent the eviction process can begin without any given notice. However, other laws require a 14-day period during which the landlord notifies the tenant after the fifth day of nonpayment and can negotiate the late rent fee. The statement says that “five days elapsed since the date [the rent] was due.” It is unclear whether a late fee would apply to King’s residences either per unit or in total.
The terms of King’s rent agreement may stipulate other terms and conditions that vary from the general standard of the state. The Empire State Tribune was unable to verify such details after multiple requests for comment.
The student body has been generally anxious since the beginning of the semester following the announcement that the school is cutting its budget and needs to raise $2.6 million to finish out the semester. The overdue rent notices delivered to students’ apartments caught many students off guard.
“It came as a great shock to me to receive a notice like that at my doorstep. It makes me wonder where all the money the students are paying goes,” said Joanna Aguilera, a sophomore in the House of Susan B. Anthony. “I hope every student… and staff member can get the clear answers we are looking for in what is going to happen to the school.”
Student leaders are trying to provide support while also expressing their own concerns.
“The notice we received was a surprise and definitely confusing since we hadn’t heard anything about housing concerns beforehand,” said Meghan Huberty, sophomore and Helmsman for the House of Clara Barton. “I think, especially as a student leader, it's hard to know what advice to give in a situation like this since we’re all just waiting around for more information. I think just continuing in our semester and praying for our school is the most we can do until we hear anything else.”
Some students feel that the lack of communication due to the turbulent nature of King’s financial state could be handled more responsibly and that students deserve more information than is being given.
“The lack of transparency from this administration has lots of students, including myself, questioning the integrity of the school as a whole and the truth of the financial situation,” said Kayleigh Burrell, a sophomore in the House of Sojourner Truth.
Student leaders and staff are making efforts to support the student body as the college navigates its financial hurdles.
“I know it’s really hard to be a student at King’s right now, especially living in student housing, but I would just encourage everyone to focus on what’s in your control,” said Greta Williams, a sophomore and Chamberlain of the House of Barton. “It's not our responsibility to solve this housing situation, so I am just going to trust that our faculty is putting in the work for us and do my part as a student and remain faithful in my homework, in my position on exec and go out of my way to love, serve and pray for my fellow students, professors and faculty.”
More information will be available to students at the Community Update on Monday, Feb. 13, over the lunch hour. The incident will be addressed by King’s administration.
“We will touch base on this and other matters at Monday’s Community Update following PRS,” said Leedy.
Mandie-Beth Chau is the Campus Editor at the Empire State Tribune. She is a freshman studying Journalism, Culture and Society.