Boasting uneven floors, bats, mice and a hole in one basement wall that \may or may not be a gateway to hell,"" the house at 414 W. Johnson Street was deemed the winner of the Worst House in Madison Contest Wednesday.
The annual contest is sponsored by the Associated Students of Madison Tenants' Rights Campaign. Students can submit stories of their housing woes to the campaign, which chooses the worst house based on landlord unresponsiveness to tenants' problems.
Bill Brower, a UW-Madison sophomore who lives in the house, said he had few qualms about submitting a description of the house's many pitfalls.
""We've had a lot of quirky things happen and I thought we might have a chance,"" he said.
The house's seven tenants pay about $3,200 in rent and utilities for a house that looked impressive on the JSM Properties Web site. However, instead of the comfortable quarters they expected, the renters received a structurally unsafe upstairs porch, recurring sink cloggings and a third floor that didn't receive heat. Complaints to their landlord went largely unheeded.
""Two space heaters for the whole third floor,"" said Joe Daggett, a UW-Madison sophomore. ""That's what we got when we complained.""
Their landlord, Joe McCormick of JSM Properties, was unavailable for comment.
Andrew Finn, a UW-Madison sophomore and ASM Tenants' Rights Campaign co-coordinator, said the contest is designed to help inexperienced student renters assert their rights when housing problems occur.
""Most tenants here are new-they haven't had experience renting,"" he said. ""There's a culture of acceptance of things that shouldn't be going on between landlords and tenants [in Madison].""
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, applauded the Tenants' Rights Campaign for publicizing Madison's housing problems.
""The dubious honor of winning ... sheds light on the pathetic condition of many campus areas,"" he said.
This publicity, while helpful to future renters, can be a deterrent to potential applicants. Last year's contest winners withdrew from the contest when their landlord threatened to sue-not an uncommon response, according to Phil Ejercito, a UW-Madison senior and co-coordinator of ASM Tenants' Rights Campaign.
""Landlords are always kind of surprised when tenants actually speak up,"" he said. ""[But] hopefully we'll get to the point where we won't have to do this every year.""
The lure of prizes can help overcome tenants' fears of submitting their housing horror stories. The winners of this year's contest will receive gift certificates from Capitol Center Foods, Culver's and Lazybones laundry service as well as tickets to see the Madhatters and Tangled Up in Blue.
