As rising juniors dive into the search for senior year housing this summer, GUSA has taken steps to secure students’ rights off campus.

The Georgetown Student Tenant Association, launched by the Georgetown University Student Association on Wednesday, will train advocates to help students deal with uncooperative or negligent landlords.

With support from Georgetown’s Office of Neighborhood Life, the D.C. Office of the Tenant Advocate and the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, GSTA advocates will review leases, refer students to legal counsel, file complaints with D.C. agencies against non-code compliant landlords, address general housing concerns and inform students of their rights as tenants. The tenant association will forward cases involving uncooperative landlords to District offices responsible for enforcement of tenants’ rights.

The GUSA push to support students living off campus comes after university and neighborhood efforts to move students on campus in compliance with the 2010 Campus Plan agreement.

“Students are being sandwiched between the increased regulations of the campus plan and landlords who have historically been negligent,” GUSA President Nate Tisa (SFS ’14) said. “The tenant association is meant to go and advocate for their needs and make sure that the quality of off-campus housing improves just as we’re working to improve on-campus living and shifting social life on campus.”

The GUSA initiative will work in conjunction with the Student Advocacy Office, extending training in tenants’ rights, renters’ code and OTA and DCRA procedures to current SAO advocates. Two students have been accepted as GSTA advocates, while five more have expressed interest. Applications for further advocate positions will likely be available in the fall.

“Our highest priority is quality control,” GSTA Director Alyssa Peterson (COL ’14) said. “In the end, I would rather have a smaller group of advocates that are extremely well trained than [have] a larger group … so students can have the best advice we can offer.”

In addition to assisting in student interactions with landlords, GSTA advocates will work to help students understand the effects of the campus plan.

“It can be confusing for students about what all this campus plan stuff actually means. … We’re working with the tenants to help reduce its impact. Students have rights; for example, you’re allowed to park on private property that you own or rent,” Tisa said, referencing the university’s recent ban on cars for undergraduates. “So if there are people that are challenging that, that’s a right you have that people can’t take away.”

Peterson said that the GSTA would serve as a barometer for the success of student tenant associations.

“[There are] so many parts of D.C. government that are really invested in this project,” she said.

Two days after its launch, GSTA had already received two case submissions.

“I didn’t expect any cases until school started, but there have been students who have already come to us saying they’ve faced some serious problems with their landlords,” Peterson said. “We’re expecting traffic to pick up when people are reviewing their leases or moving in. We hope students will take advantage of this service.”