If you’re less than thrilled with the rental housing situation in Ames, we’re right there with you.

We’ll make the necessary concessions here at the start: It’s not fair to base our opinion of the entire market on the conduct of a few companies. For every decrepit, overpriced house you’ll find in Campustown exists a well-maintained, reasonable counterpart somewhere else in Ames.

Plenty of residents invest in and maintain properties as side income — retiring professors or professionals who offer immaculate housing for little more than the cost of a monthly mortgage payment.

These are the type of people who will drop anything to tend to rental crises, however big or small. The type of people who hear the words “leaky faucet” and think “problem” instead of “inconvenience” — people who refuse to accept the peeling paint and unkempt lawns that come with housing around campus.

It’s the large property management companies we take issue with. Rest assured, we can dazzle you with horror stories — everything from ignored maintenance requests, double-charged rent and general incompetence seems to be the theme across the board. We’re inclined to think some of you are in the same boat, especially those of you who live closest to campus.

It seems the trend is that the more proximal you are to enjoying your adventure, the more you’re paying. We know people who are more than happy to throw down $500 to $600 per month to live in outright squalor.

We’d give some credit to the companies that have to deal with the riot of mayhem and debauchery that comes with sporting events and other weekend hijinks, but not much. Friley may not experience the sort of riot and debauchery that goes on in the “high-rise” buildings across the street, but shenanigans do occur.

We’ll concede that the university employs full-time janitorial staff to keep common areas and hallways clean, but we’ve never walked through Friley thinking we’d be better off wearing a HazMat suit. It’s not just students, either; property neglect seems to be a common problem around town.

What concerns us is the complete lack of recourse. Sure, if your property management company outright refuses to fix your broken furnace or threatens to evict you for refusing to pay rent on account of “heat” being one of the stipulations of your lease, you’ll get your day in court.

But court isn’t a happy place, and lawyers aren’t exactly cheap. We know more than a few people who have allowed themselves to be haggled by rental companies on account of lacking the resources to deal with the legal headaches.

We’re not a fan of big government, but we’d like to see the city take a more proactive role in ensuring that students aren’t bullied or taken advantage of. The city was more than happy to pass legislation regarding outdoor couch placement, along with the legislation regarding more than three unrelated persons occupying residencies in specific neighborhoods.

We can’t go more than a few days with an unkempt lawn or an icy sidewalk without the threat of hefty fines, yet companies can run a property into the ground with a slap on the wrist?

Maybe it’s time for the city to set up some kind of office or firm that would look into complaints. If renters were out of line, the city would levy fines against them. If renters are noncompliant, then the Better Business Bureau is contacted — something we recommend you do if your renters are in the wrong.

This organization doesn’t necessarily need to be started by the city. It isn’t out of the realm of thought that Iowa State could do so as well, in the interest of its students.

Until action is taken, try to keep people from taking advantage of you by calling the Better Business Bureau at 515-243-8137, or toll free at 1-800-222-1600.