Search Articles:

 

Breaking News......... Montana gov blasts GM plan to cancel Stillwater contract......... What's the worst intersection in Missoula? Here are the stats!......... Project will close Scott St. overpass through October......... ND brucellosis order still stands for MT beef imports......... Local News......... Jury acquits ex-Griz Wilson in second murder trial........Lincoln County sheriff recall petitions approved........Warrants suggest evidence tampering in Seeley Lake hit-and-run........Defendant pleads guilty to embezzling $800,000 from Missoula bank........Pearly white fight - Burtello Salon owner, state board face off over teeth-whitening procedure........BNSF comes clean in Whitefish, but residents skeptical about contamination........

After six months of dormancy, the Associated Students of the University of Montana's Renter Center is back in business.

The student-financed office first opened in 2002 - and was part of an effort to smooth relations between student renters, landlords and neighbors who were collectively unsure of where to turn when disagreements erupted.

In its new guise, Denver Henderson replaces Judy Spannagel as the Renter Center's full-time director. Henderson was an ASUM senator and student lobbyist before taking the rental advocate's post.

The center has three missions. No. 1 is serving as a mediator in student/landlord disputes. That can involve technical questions about a rental contract or more social matters such as neighborhood relations.

The office also wants to offer more education about the rights and responsibilities of off-campus renting to those who are considering the move. And the third goal is to be a student voice in Missoula-wide policy discussions about housing, zoning and quality of life.

Of the University of Montana's 14,000 students, roughly 10,000 rent lodging from someone other than UM. Many are living away from home for the first time and lack experience with finances, landlord relations, contracts and other challenges of rental living.

The Renter Center will have an information table set up in the University Center all this week to promote its reopening. For questions or assistance, call 243-2017.

Reporter Rob Chaney can be reached at 523-5382 or at rchaney@missoulian.com.

---

---

Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)

---