A group, led by Lee Smith and the Monongalia County Health Department, plans to issue recommendations on how landlords and tenants can best handle the moving in/out process under COVID-19 restrictions.
Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom is a part of the group, which also includes landlords, representatives from WVU, local law enforcement and others.
The plan, Bloom said, will focus specifically on off-campus housing and should be issued by the MCHD in the coming days.
“We know that between May 1 and May 16, we could have thousands of rental leases that come up and a lot of people wanting to come in and out,” Bloom said.
The crux of the plan will come down to tenants coordinating with landlords.
“Basically, what it comes down to is giving them a 24-hour window for them to come in and out. They’ll set that up with the landlord,” Bloom said. “For example, if you’ve got three students in a house, we don’t want three families showing up at the same time. That’s why they’ll need to coordinate things through their landlord.”
According to Bloom, some landlords have indicated they plan to offer incentives to tenants who follow these recommendations.
He said WVU will be in charge of the messaging going out to students in conjunction with the MCHD.
“The bottom line is it’s a health and safety issue. We’re trying to protect not only the people who live here, but those traveling here from out of state,” Bloom said.
A message left requesting information from WVU was not returned in time for this report.
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Morgantown Area News
'Saturday, September 7, 2024'
