Moving on UP

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December 3, 2009

The Beacon

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Moving on UP As December rolls around, it is time for UP students to start thinking about where they want to live next year. To make this process easier, ‘Moving on UP’ is The Beacon’s guide to aid students in finding the perfect house, as well as turning that house into a home.

Renters’ Rights When renting, both landlords and renters are bound by certain responsibilities Hannah Gray Staff Writer gray12@up.edu Do you have problems with your landlord? The tenant-landlord relationship can be a fragile one. You need to make sure you keep the house nice, stay on good terms and always pay the rent. The tenant needs to be respectful of the landlord’s property. The landlord, in return, needs to be proactive. However, that doesn’t always happen. Often, there is a negligent tenant and a lazy landlord. Regardless, there are legal

rights that protect both the landlord and the tenant. Under Oregon State Law, Chapter 90, Title 10: Property Rights and Transactions, there are requirements the landlord is obligated to uphold. First, before you sign a lease, make sure your landlord provides the essentials. It is important to know what the basics are. Landlords are required by law to provide a certain level of safety and cleanliness to their tenants. There are certain aspects of the residency that the landlord is required to deliver before renting, according to habitability rights of tenants Chapter 90.320. The landlord must waterproof and weatherproof the house. The doors, windows, roof and walls should keep rain and wind out. In addition, the doors and windows should all appropriately lock, as well as have a corresponding key if needed. Another area a landlord is re-

quired to provide is a means for hot and cold running water that is connected with a sewage system. Additionally, the landlord needs to provide a source that can heat the entire complex. Furthermore, landlords have to install working fire detectors, complete with batteries. A second area that can complicate the tenant-landlord relationship is repairs. It can be confusing to know who is responsible, as well as getting your landlord to be proactive. Often, college students find it hard to get a hold of their landlord. A good gauge to know when the tenant should fix it or when your landlord should is the extent to which you are responsible. If it is out of the tenant’s control, then it is a landlord issue. The tenant is required to keep the residency in respectable shape, according to Oregon State Law under Chapter 90.325. Also, it is important to under-

stand the terms of the lease because the minimal aspects, like repairs, are often covered in the lease. However, there are ways to co-op the landlord into fixing repairs, besides suing him. If a repair is not made within 30 days from when the notice was received by the landlord, Portland has building code enforcement, under Title 29: Property Maintenance Regulations. This allows an inspector to examine the residency and evaluate any violations. In Portland, if violations are found, the inspector will send a letter to your landlord and will fine them if they do not fix the problems within 30 days. This system is compliant driven, so it is necessary to be persistent. Another option is to give the landlord a 30-day notice that states the tenant will move out if the necessary repairs aren’t made within a certain period of time.

For a month-to-month tenancy, the time period for vital services, such as water and plumbing, is seven days. Even though these measures may seem extreme, there are few legal options that tenants can pursue. There is no specific statute that states when a landlord has to make a repair. However, it is best to talk to the landlord before taking drastic measures. Additionally, regardless of how safe an area is, around college campuses there is often theft. It is important to know if the lease covers renters insurance. If the lease does not cover it, there is nothing a landlord has to legally do to recover the loss. Therefore, it can be beneficial for a student to buy renters insurance. For more information of duties of tenants and landlords, go to the Oregon State bar Web site – www.osbar.org.

The Commons gets a lot of verbal abuse from students. There are too many carbs, not enough vegetables, the food has no flavor and the menu is subpar. These are just a handful of

complaints that can be heard while walking around campus. Although guff is often heard from those living on campus, rarely is it echoed from those living off campus.

This is because no matter the quality or desirability of the food, a hot meal that’s ready to be consumed with no cooking time and no trips to the store is not to be scoffed at.

Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to have a meal plan. So, for those living off campus, we’ve compiled some quick and easy recipes that taste great and won’t break the bank.

Hot and fresh out the kitchen

Sydney Syverson Staff Writer syverson11@up.edu

The Best Bean Dip Ever

Sydney Syverson

Jamie Kerr

the bottom of Spread the beans out on h. Stir the dis g kin tal ba a rectangular glass or me ll mixed, and we til un am cream cheese and sour cre ing and garlic. Spread the and add the taco season nly. Add a layer of mixture over the beans eve about bake at 350 degrees for cheese over the top and a ad ese is bubbly. Then d 25 minutes or until the che rve Se . ed tomato layer of lettuce and chopp ips. Serves six. ch a till tor with $17 total.

1 can ref ried beans 3/4 cup sou r cream 3/4 cup cream cheese 1 tablespoon taco seasoning 2 cloves of garlic cheddar cheese lett uce chopped tomatoes

Basic Cheese Q uiche incredibleegg.or g

Heat oven to 37 5 degr evenly in bottom of pie shell. To ees. Spread cheese p with filling in even layer (fill ing can be any an combination of meat, seafood cheese, or vegetables. Filling ingredie should be cook nts ed, not raw). B eat eggs, milk in medium bow and salt l until blended. Pour over fillin pie shell. Bake g in until knife inse rted near center comes out clea n, 5 minutes. Serv about 30 -40 minutes. Let st and for es six people. About $15.50 to tal or $2.58/pe rson.

Taco Soup

1 baked pie cr us t 6 eggs 1 cup milk 1 cup sh redded cheese 1/2 teaspoon sa lt

1 cup of bacon, peppers and onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add two cans of soup and milk. Stir and heat. Add rice and broccoli, salt and pepper. Pour in greased 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil and bake for one hour. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes longer. Serves four to six people. About $15 total or $3/person.

1 can corn 1 can green beans 1 can kidney beans 1 large can diced tomatoes 1 can of tomato sauce

taco seasoning, salt and pepper

1 pound of lean ground beef

Broccoli Rice Casserole Lauren Berg

Open and pour all canned ingredients in a large pan. Brown ground beef and chopped onions and add to vegetable mix. Add salt, pepper, and taco seasoning to taste. Bring to boil and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips and cheese. Serves four to six people. About $14 or $2.80/person.

1 onion, chopped 1/2 stick butter 1 cup milk 1 pkg. frozen broccoli florets 1 cup cheddar cheese 1 cup minute rice 2 cans cream of chicken soup salt and pepper


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