Green Renting Revolution

“Tenants need to know that their landlords will actually make the improvements they promise,” Panek says.

It's not just the tenants: landlords need the certainty that this will be an attribute that tenants keep their promise to pay as well.

The prior commentor mentions landlords doing whatever they please and getting away with it. Unfortunately, it runs both ways, and usually the landlord takes it in the wallet those times.

I've had tenants ruin new carpets, repaint walls (just painted within the last two years) with a bizarre color scheme, and leaving me stuck with the repainting so that it could be re-rented, damaged walls, cigarette damages (in a non-smoking suite), etc., etc.

Not a single tenant in 15 years has returned the suite as clean as it was handed over to them.

I consider myself an ethical landlord who tries very hard to maintain my suite in a top fashion and, while I've had many decent tenants, unfortunately, about 30% leave much to be desired.

My hope is that both tenants and landlords act ethically, so that these worthy green iniatitives unfold as quickly as possible.

This assumes, though, that there is actually a lot of competition among landlords. I don't find that to be the case in Portland, OR, where rents are skyrocketing (in my experience) and it's becoming increasingly difficult to find decent housing that has affordable rent. Truly, what I pay for my incredibly neglected apartment is shamefully high, and believe me, it's still considered "a great deal."

My landlady also seems to be keen on greening our apartment complex (ironic, seeing as how when I moved in 3 years ago half of the apartments had kitchen sinks that drained directly into the alley) but isn't keen on spending any money to do so. Recently, she dropped off a couple of giant bins that appear to be for stormwater collection--something she's been talking about doing forever. However, she did not hook them up to anything or give any explanation as to why they were there, and has just notified us that she'll be out of town until late March. I'll be shocked if anything but moss collects in those bins.

The last time there was something green happening was when she decided she wanted to tear up the lawn and build raised beds so we could all have garden space. Months went by without action, and when I finally asked her about it she said, "Oh, well, it would be *your* garden, so you have to build it."

Clearly, I have somewhat of an absentee (and absentminded) landlady, and this is not the norm for Portland. But it's such a great deal -- and that's the thing. As long as demand for affordable housing outstrips supply, landlords can do whatever they please and get away with it.