As the city continues to focus in on fire codes and zoning regulations of houses in student neighborhoods, some UK students are finding new issues concerning their renting rights.
Keegan Bakus, a biology senior, is taking legal action against his former landlord for failure to return a security deposit, a problem he believes is more common among college students than the general population.
Bakus lived in a house on State Street for two years under the landlord Mike Haley. Bakus said he and his roommates saw the house before signing the lease and everything seemed fine. But two days before they were to move in, they were let in to the house to plan for furniture arrangements and found the house in a surprising state.
“In my bedroom, someone knocked a hole in the wall and you could see where they tried to patch it up. Someone had painted (a gay slur) on the wall, my roommate had a chunk of his door missing,†he said. “It looked like hell.â€
Bakus’ father, Ron Bakus, an attorney practicing out of Louisville, is representing the students in the lawsuit. Ron Bakus said his concern lies in whether or not this is an under-reported problem in college towns.
“As a matter of public interest I am concerned about what is happening in Lexington,†he said. “Are students doing damage or are landlords keeping deposits and taking advantage?â€
Ron Bakus said students should know there is a Kentucky statutory requirement to handle leases a certain way when dealing with security deposits.
“There is a required damage listing before moving in for the protection of both parties and upon termination or completion of a lease you are required to have another walkthrough,†he said. “If that’s not done it is a matter of Kentucky law that says you have to refund the money.â€
Keegan Bakus said Haley told the boys they would receive some of their deposit but he was deducting money for broken blinds. They have yet to receive any of their $1,500 deposit back.
The students claim Haley did not complete either walkthrough of the house and he should return their deposit in full, and they feel they also should be refunded for pro-rated rent. Because of the damage they initially found in the house, the students did not move in for the first few days of their lease and were told they had to be out of the house two days before their lease was up.
Keegan Bakus said he is worried that students in Lexington are getting taken advantage of because many of them do not know their rights or cannot afford to take action.
“A lot of landlords know it’s expensive to hire a lawyer and students can’t afford it,†he said. “So these guys can take your security deposit and you can’t do anything about it. I feel like it happens to a lot of people.â€
Haley did not respond to phone calls by publication deadline. Ron Bakus said he sent Haley a certified letter demanding a refund of the deposit and he received no response.
Ron Bakus said he believes some landlords in Lexington obey the Kentucky statute, but students are at a disadvantage to take any legal action if a landlord does not.
“I think there are a lot of good landlords out there, but human nature would tell you that anybody who is aware that students can’t afford a lawyer … it makes sense (landlords) would keep the deposit,†he said. “On the other hand, landlords are going to say ‘these are college students, there is damage.’ The court will decide who is right.â€
I would like to wish Keegan good luck in this matter. He is right in telling that a lot of students are getting taken advantage of by the land lords. Many of the students do not know how to face such situations and even is they know they are afraid of the costs and hence are mere spectators. I faced the same problem with the same person Mike Haley 2 years ago when i lived in a house in State Street. We signed the Lease for a house in State Street on Aug 7th, 2006. Being an international student it was the first month of my stay here in Lexington as well as the Country. We were not allowed to move in until Aug 11th as we were told that they were repairing some things. We were promised that we would be refunded for the 5 days we did not stay. That never happened during our stay. When our lease ended we were told to vacate the house 2 days before the lease end date as they were going to renovate the house. As far as the walk out inspection was concerned we gave the house back without any damage. The Security deposit was not returned for 6 months even after repeated inquiries and what we got was half of what we paid citing charges we did not even know. And worst of all, when asked about the refund for the 5 days, we simply got the answer that there was never an agreement to refund an amount for the days we were not allowed to move in.
Being an international student and that being my first year here in Lexington and the country, i felt i was exploited by the Land lord, but had no one or organization to turn to.I did not even know if something could be done against such people. I hope Keegan succeeds in his endeavor and brings some balance of power into the hands of such exploited students.
I would like UK students to know not all Lexington Landlords should be painted with the same brush. This year our company Wassmer Properties returned over $38,000.00 worth of security deposits to students who rented from us during the 2008 (August) -2009 (July) school year.
I am glad Michael Haley is beginning to be punished for his actions and other students are being informed of his ways before leasing with Haley Properties. I, being a law student knew my rights when after 2 months from signing a lease and moving into a 2 bedroom 1 bath home on Forest Park Rd. The Haley’s began construction on a 4 bedroom 2 bath addition to the home. After setting up a meeting and successfully agreeing to terminate the lease, I then proceeded to go to small claims court to recover my deposit they didn’t return. These people are terrible landlords, and more people should do something about it.
ps. As Mr. Wassmer said, there are good landlords out there; as I was able to find one since my departing the house on Forest…I just wish there were some sort of review for properties owned and rented by individuals just like apartment buildings so students don’t continue to get taken advantage of.
I had the same problems with Mike Haley and his partner Mike Morrison. They did not do a walk in inspection or a move out inspection despite numerous request for both. We had to ask for our security deposit back many times and we only got 1/5 of the full amount back when there was nothing wrong with the house and we even paid for new carpet because the old carpet was in such bad condition.
moral of the story= Mike haley needs to be severely punished for his unethical business practices
BUYER BEWARE !!!!!
Both my children at UK have been victimized by sleazy landlords. As out-of-state students, the landlords know there is too much going on in a student’s life to have to try and get an attorney to enforce their rights while attending school, working, and having to move all their belonging back and forth. In five long years at UK, there were only two landlords (out of 10) that actually returned any portion of the rental deposits. While this may go on in other states, it certainly does not paint Kentucky in a very good light. Something needs to be done.
Keegan, Chandan, Audrey, Brad, and Linda:
It’s all very well and good to comment on a news story on the student newspaper site, but you should also take your stories and concerns to Mayor Newberry. There is a heightened awareness and concern in recent months about conditions in the neighborhoods surrounding UK, Transy, and BCTC, and your stories are a little-known or reported aspect of those conditions.
The mayor has made his concern about these conditions well known, but his administration cannot do anything about conditions it is not aware of.
His email is listed on this page.
(http://lexingtonky.gov/index.aspx?page=1005)
Tenants have rights. If you feel that you have been ripped off by a landlord, contact Adult Tenant Services at 246-4350, or call Lex Call at 411.
Dennis is right. The mayor and city council have and are taking action right now and the students & community will benefit. Recently 2 very significant events took place that should help to improve these very things. 1) The city council approved a motion to endorce a program created by Lex. Police Officer Keith Gaines called the Student Housing in Partnership Program (SHIPP) that will include an on-line student rating system of landlords as one of many features. The roots of the program are based in a well studied successful program at Ohio State University and have support from the recently concluded Student Housing Task Force as one of their top recommendations. 2) The University of Kentucky in November agreed at a Board of Trustees meeting that they would be opening an “Office Of OFF-Campus Services” which will combine with and support Officer Gaines’ program and create a true Town & Gown cooperative effort. Third district Council Diane Lawless loves to hear from students in her district or I will be happy to pass comments forward too. Hope everyone has a great and safe Christmas break!
When reading some of these stories, i am STUNNED by how similar my experience with Mike Haley has been! My ex roommate (who presently is still attending the University of Kentucky) called me earlier and told me of this article being in the newspaper. My roommate and I were 2 of 4 total tenants that signed with Haley Properties for a 4 bedroom 2 bath house on Crescent Avenue. We had been searching forever for the perfect house and were ecstatic when we found this house! It had a fenced in back yard, detached garage/storage shed, hot tub, moderately priced rent….THE WORKS! We met with Mike immediately and all signed and forked over our security deposits. Apparently at the time we signed it, Haley Properties DIDNT EVEN OWN THE RESIDENCE YET! Our Renter/Tenant Walkthrough consisted of us and Mike scrambling through the house claiming items left over from the previous owner. The house was a disaster, and after complaining constantly to him we began to do the work ourselves. He never offered reimbursement or ANYTHING, however we still had our perfect place. It wasnt until Mike came over (unannounced like always) and not asked, but told us that there was going to be construction taking place over the span of the next month…. The new construction consisted of complete demolition of the enclosed backyard/detached storage shed/ and hot tub. and an expansion for 3 new bedrooms and 1 bath to be connected to the existing house. He assured us that we would have no rent increases nor no need to bring in more tenants to occupy the new rooms being constructed. Well needless to say the construction went on for over 6 months! Upon completion, he started hinting at the fact we should find some more tenants to fill the rooms. The hints suddenly became demands and finally an ultimatum that we had 30 days to find 2 more tenants (MID SEMESTER MIND YOU) or we would have a SERIOUS inflation in rent! We luckily found one more person to help us, so our rent only rose 50 more dollars a month, PLUS the doubled utility cost to power/heat the other part of the house. By the end of our lease, 1)All our parents were ready to kill us from all the times we needed help with rent, 2) Ready to hunt Mike down, and 3) Broke because we apparently werent getting our security deposits back. Moral of the story: DONT RENT FROM MIKE HALEY AND HALEY PROPERTIES! There is a Reason why he is driving around in that $100K+ sports car! His quick wit and charm, moderately tasteful style sense, and extremely hott wife all make you think he is the John Calipari of Rental Properties! But in the end, you will miss Billy G!
I am the other roommate that still attends UK, and yeah what ^ (he) said. One of the worst people I have met in my life. The best part is him finally at the end telling us that if we buy the special cleaner to clean the carpet we will get our deposit back and then we spend lots of money on it and he tells us that he never said that and that he thought we were just such nice people and it was our way of saying “sorry†for any trouble that we may have caused him.
I currently rent from the Haleys and they lack any sense of professionalism. They are each tactless, demeaning, rude, and disrespectful. Needless to say they have not made my first experience as a renter a pleasant one. They do and will show up unexpectedly and have even simply stood at the door and yelled like 3 year olds about matters myself and my roommates attempted to have a civil discussion with them about. Mike may have charm but he’s known to be very threatening too. I would not suggest that anyone rent from them, no matter how nice their properties are. I have already written my deposit off. I don’t expect that it will be returned, but sadly I’ll take the loss just to rid myself of the MIke and Shellie Haley and their poisionous characters.
Mike Haley is a terrible landlord, and Mike Morrison should be avoided through association. Myself and three others rented a house from Mike Morrison beginning fall of last year. The house was not in great condition, but it was spacious and unique, and cheap on the rent. However, through the course of our stay and probably partially due to the gigantic ice storm the roof began leaking, the furnace half worked, and a few other things. Around this time Mike Haley became partners with Mr. Morrison. Mr. Haley showed up unannounced one day to take a look around and we told him of the problems. However, the way they were fixed was simply by painting over the water damage and leaving it till the next time it became discolored. They put in a dishwasher, ripped out and replaced tile, and did construction on our kitchen during both midterm and finals week despite our protests and despite the structural repairs that should have preceded the cosmetic ones. Mike H. and his wife always showed up to give tours unannounced or with minimal notice, including early in the morning. They also berated us about the lack of organization in our house despite their refusal to follow the 24 hour notice protocol for house showings or for when there maintenance personnel would show up. Overall, Mike Morrison was not really a bad guy to deal with, but if you are thinking of renting from him I would question if he was still associated with Mike Haley and never rent anything Mike Haley was involved in.
I can’t believe the support you guys have against the Haley’s. They must be the worst landlords and property managers around. I hope you all succeed in your claim against them. Someone definitely needs to crack down on unfair rental issues in Lexington.
My son had the same problem with Connie Cowan on State Street last year. No beginning or ending walkthrough to document damages. In the end they promised the deposit back if the house was cleaned well then made up numerous damages including issues like stained carpet that were there when the kids moved in to avoid doing so. A small claims suit was too much of a hassel so we dropped it. This year my son has a lease with Mike Haley so the outcome of this will be interesting.