Before you know it, our undergraduate brothers will be deciding who they want for a roommate and where they are going to live next year. Will it be in the university resident halls, apartments, or chapter housing?
This is the ideal time for the House Corporation to fix the holes in “leaky” leases.
To have a universal Theta Chi housing contract would be ideal, but state-to-state that is not feasible. Each state has its own set of rules and regulations. This is where an attorney comes in. A local attorney can help a house corporation through the often complicated world of housing laws and regulations. Listed below are some items that corporations should look for in current leasing agreements with the chapter.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Who is accountable? Who is in charge of removal of snow, daily repairs, collecting the rent? If the house is not at the maximum occupancy level, who is responsible to make up the difference? Does the chapter understand the guidelines that the corporation has set for the house? If so, do the undergraduates understand the repercussions for failure to meet those guidelines? If the undergraduates fail to meet the guidelines, is the house corporation going to hold the undergraduates accountable for their actions; and if so, how?
BUDGET
Do you have a current lease that is set-up to cash flow your property? So many times corporations set up leases based on the maximum occupancy of the house and not on realistic numbers that the house has occupied over the past few years. Has the corporation adjusted the rent to reflect increases in utilities, taxes, future housing improvements?
House corporations are in the brotherhood business, but to be a successful house corporation you need to be a business first.
DISCIPLINE
What guidelines or regulations has the chapter and corporation put in place in case a brother is suspended from the chapter? What if the brother is caught stealing? What happens if the individual is removed from the school based on health conditions, poor academics?
These are undoubtedly just a few minor items, the one goal that needs to be conveyed is a YEARLY REVIEW of the leasing agreement. At one meeting, take time with board members and selected undergraduates to evaluate the current lease. Depending upon the amount of changes, corporations should have an attorney evaluate the lease every three years.