Landlord Information Sharing Program

This program is designed to provide students with a method for communicating with one another from year to year about their rental housing challenges and successes. The goals of the Landlord Information Sharing Program are as follows:

• To provide students with a constructive format to raise concerns about the quality of their off-campus housing in a manner that will lead to issue resolution
• To provide a neutral context in which landlords can respond to and address students’ concerns
• To provide a record of concerns raised and the mannerin which concerns were addressed
• To reduce the number of student concerns that ultimately go unknown or unresolved, or that escalate beyond the point that an amicable resolution is possibleIn our experience, conflicts between students and their landlords often occur due to a breakdown in communication. We hope this program can promote more effective, constructive communication between students and their landlords.

 Process

Any Syracuse University or ESF student can fill out a comment form, you must clearly explain your concerns or issues on the form provided or by attaching a separate typed letter. You must use facts to describe the situation that is the basis for your documentation; you cannot simply provide an opinion of your landlord with no supporting factual basis.

OCCS staff would also like to hear about positive interactions you have had with your landlord. If you have positive experiences you would like us or other students to know about, you should send us a letter clearly explaining the interaction, using facts to describe the situation; you should not simply provide an opinion of your landlord with no supporting factual basis.

What Happens When a Comment Form Is Filed?

OCCS staff reviews all completed comment forms. If any form includes unprofessional language or is not appropriate to share with other students, it will be returned to you with a letter explaining why.

OCCS staff forwards a copy of the submitted comment form to your landlord. The landlord may respond to the concerns or issues directly or may respond by sending a letter to OCCS. If OCCS receives a response, a copy will be mailed to you.

OCCS staff retains a copy of all comment forms and landlord responses in the office at 754 Ostrom Avenue. All names, contact information, and any other identifying information will be redacted from the comment forms and responses.

Sometimes your landlord may not respond to your concerns or issues, or may respond unfavorably. OCCS staff will work with you throughout the process to seek a resolution to your problem. When appropriate, OCCS staff will refer you to agencies that are better able to assist you, such as the Syracuse Police Department, City of Syracuse Division of Code Enforcement, Student Legal Services, etc.

Your comment form will be saved in a file under your landlord’s name. Other SU or ESF students will be able to view your comment form and your landlord’s response when they search for off-campus housing.

We encourage students viewing the landlord files to consider not only the number and type of concerns or issues raised, but also the landlords’ responses to them.

Please note that the views expressed in these materials are solely those of students and local property owners and not those of Syracuse University.