Some current and former lessees of 243 Center St., said they believe they were misled by the property’s ownership, Community Resource Management.
The property’s lease included four bedrooms including one in the basement, former resident of the house and political science senior Katie Jesaitis said.
But halfway into the two-year lease the house failed a city inspection because of its basement bedroom, she said. This left one of her roommates suddenly short a bedroom.
Annette Irwin, East Lansing housing and university relations administrator said going back to at least 2006, the house’s basement is listed as unsuitable for use as a bedroom, according to its license from that year.
In emails between Jesaitis and CRMC, the company claimed the policy change was much more recent.
“Despite the fact that the city had allowed the bedroom in the basement for as long as CRMC has managed the property, they are changing their policy,” Andrew Sass, an attorney working on CRMC’s behalf, wrote in an email to Jesaitis and the home’s other tenants on Dec. 22, 2014.
CRMC’s claims are contrary to those of Irwin.
“If CRMC told them that, it’s not true,” Irwin said. “If a housing inspector saw that, they would have said it was a violation.”
She said it sounded like CRMC was trying to appease tenants.
According to the original lease signed by Jesaitis and the other tenants, using the basement as a bedroom is forbidden.
Nevertheless, the home’s floor plan on the CRMC website includes a basement bedroom.
Several months after Jesaitis’ issues, CRMC signed another group of four students to the house, with the implication that the home contained a basement bedroom, current lessee and international relations and applied engineering senior Daniel Feenstra said.
“Essentially, they said we can sign with four people in kind of a hush hush manner but that one of us might get kicked out,” he said. “I felt they were either being deceptive or had some knowledge I didn’t.”
Feenstra said he was allegedly told by CRMC the basement bedroom issue was affecting six to seven other properties owned by the company.
Feenstra said he and his roommates ultimately decided to sign with three roommates but he is still upset with CRMC for implying he could use the basement bedroom.
“CRMC should have been aware of this issue back from when Katie was signing,” Feenstra said.
CRMC did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this article.
