The University Park Undergraduate Association's (UPUA) new Tenant-Landlord Mediation Center program plans to expand its services to roommate disputes in addition to helping with tenant-landlord conflicts, UPUA President Gavin Keirans said.
Since its launch last month, the program has seen at least five cases, UPUA Town Affairs Director Jason Kleinwaks said.
However, most of the program's cases up to this point involved roommate disputes, and the current program does not lend its services to them, Kleinwaks said, so the cases were directed elsewhere.
"They're more common than we expected," he said. "To open it up to roommate disputes would be a big victory for us."
Kleinwaks said he plans to talk with Bonnie Millmore, executive director of the Center for Alternatives in Community Justice, and State College Borough Manager Tom Fountaine to help plan the extension of the program, though "nothing is set in stone."
The current program provides free consultation for University Park students living off campus and involved in disputes with their landlords. Ultimately, students and landlords would be able to engage in a free mediation session.
Some downtown landlords already think the expansion of coverage to roommate disputes would benefit both students and their landlords.
Bill Gray, manager of Baker Realty, said he can recall times where he's been stuck in the middle of some roommate disputes.
Gray, who has managed apartments and townhouses in State College for more than 25 years, recalled one instance when two female roommates disputed over a boyfriend.
"There was this one time where two roommates were in a one-bedroom [apartment], and the one girl would always bring her boyfriend over all the time," Gray said, noting the other roommate had to live in the living room. "Eventually, we had to just eliminate the whole thing and everybody went different ways."
Gray said dealing with roommate disputes is one way the program can help downtown landlords.
Some attorneys are also looking forward to the expansion of the tenant-landlord program. Matt McClenahen, a criminal defense attorney of the State College-based McClenahen Law Firm, LLC, said he thinks the expansion is a great idea because roommates are often unrelated but still bound by their lease.
"Time and time again -- it happens every year," McClenahen said of roommate dispute cases hitting his office. "Say you have one deadbeat roommate out of four. The other three don't want their credit to be adversely affected if the deadbeat doesn't pay."
McClenahen added anytime students can settle a civil matter outside of the justice system, it's a positive outcome.
