Alfred Village issued the following announcement on Aug 10.
Dear Landlord/Property Owner,
The fall semester is approaching and, with it, the reopening of Alfred State College (ASC) and Alfred University (AU). As presidents of each institution, we wanted to communicate our sincere hope that like us, you will join us in committing to the safest possible environment for our students and your renters/lessees. Both AU and ASC are adopting significant and enhanced safeguards to ensure that our students remain safe and healthy, and we would like to encourage you, as a property owner and landlord to adopt similar safeguards.
With respect to public health issues such as those caused by COVID-19, a small community like Alfred has no local boundaries between colleges, businesses, or dwellings. While preventing any individual case of illness is unrealistic, a cluster of illness is problematic for communities and colleges. AU and ASC have enacted hundreds of changes at our institutions to ensure we protect out students’ wellbeing and fulfill our mission for a successful semester. We are writing to ask that you too do the same before you welcome students back to your rental property. We also ask that you remain engaged and attuned to your tenants’ conduct, and proactively communicate your insistence that despite being private property, you will enforce similar behavioral guidelines as we are for our residence halls. This includes external guest restrictions, hygienic standards, capacity limits, and physical distancing.
Beyond the greater good of public health, your attention here helps protect your investment over the course of the entire academic year. In a small community, a cluster of infections from a rental property could pose a risk to the community that ultimately threatens the full duration of the semester and thus the occupancy of your property in months ahead. Please serve as our partner in engaging with our community members in being good citizens that take requirements and public health safeguards seriously. For example, your property serving as the host location for a large gathering (party) could undermine the gathering restrictions on campuses. We ask that you proactively communicate your expectations around these issues to make clear your commitment to owning and overseeing a property that is emblematic of the best practices. Please consider adding a rider in your lease that allows you to take action in the event tenants dismiss your requests and put public health at risk. Doing so may at first seem to jeopardize short term goals but will in fact serve to protect your longer-term rental revenue and goals.
We hope you will join us in this critical effort and thank you in advance for your shared interest in a safe fall 2020 for Alfred.
Sincerely,
Original source can be found here.
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