How many of you would buy a car with flat tires, no headlights and only two quarts of oil in the engine? I’m guessing very few, if any. So why would any of us want to rent a house, or an apartment, with a faulty water heater, an unstable foundation and a leaky roof?

These issues are going to determine the outcome of the Charleston mayoral race.

Only one of the two mayoral candidates believes in a rental inspection program that will make student housing a little safer.

Mayor Cougill is fighting an uphill battle in terms of implementing a rental inspection program. The fact that he is staking his re-election on this issue to help the students is worth some merit.

As a student who lives in an apartment off campus, I can tell you first hand the problems I have with my apartment and to some extent with my landlord. I still have a leaky roof where the leak is positioned right over an electrical outlet.

When I reported it to my landlord, he said he was in the process of finding a new roofer and would take care of it soon. That was in November. My roommate and I considered having an inspector come in just to see what the inspector would find but were afraid that if we did so, we would not have a place to live.

It’s for reasons like these that landlords need to be held accountable for the property they rent to students. It’s sad to think that landlords need a law in order for them to maintain safe living conditions.

Maybe this is why Cougill’s opponent has a lot of support from the landlords and contractors in the community.They know that if he gets into office they will not be held accountable for the sub par living conditions they rent out to students.

Now, I’m not saying that all landlords and all off campus housing are in bad shape. I’ve seen landlords who really care about their property and their tenants. Maybe these landlords are in favor of the rental inspection program because they

have nothing to hide. And maybe the landlords and contractors who are creating such a fuss about the proposed program are doing so because they would be forced to pump a lot of money in repairs to the apartments.

I find it hard to believe that any off-campus Eastern student or any Charleston parent would not want a rental inspection program.

No matter what the outcome is in the mayoral election, students need to fight for a rental inspection program.