House parties happen; students love them, landlords don’t and police deal with them.

Landlords define a house party in different ways, but many of the restrictions are similar.

Clint Varley, assistant manager for Jensen Property Management, said Jensen’s tenants have to register with management.

“That way, we have it on file, and as long as [tenants] are having a good time within the limits of our policy, it’s OK,” he said.

Jim Cornwell, who owns 1st Property Management, manages about 300 apartments around Campustown and said a party is something that raises concerns for the safety of those involved and the comfort level of those not.

Landlords give tenants a chance to ask about lease policies to ensure city codes are followed; none of the management agencies interviewed for this article allow kegs and very few allow parties.

Dawn Retallick, property manager for Hunziker Property Management, said her company’s policy is clear. “We don’t allow parties,” she said. “We’re pretty firm, and tenants know our rules and regulations.”

Hiring an outside agency is one way some property management companies ensure their policies are enforced.

Quaker Security, an Iowa-based security agency, provides services for several businesses in the Ames area. Security manager Mike Hoyle said the company covers almost 50 percent of the rental properties within the city of Ames.

“Our objective is to keep a happy balance between tenants and landlords, but we still allow tenants to have a good time,” Hoyle said.

If a problem arises, he said, the patrollers try to interject early.

“It seems the police only address a situation if someone calls in or they see a law being broken; our job is to enforce the rules under [our clients’] lease agreements,” he said.

According to Quaker’s January and February incident reports, the complexes around Stanton Avenue saw the most activity, with 40 incidents recorded. Many of the incidents involved complaints about loud music and broken bottles being found in the hallways and elevators of apartment complexes.

Quaker employees cannot give out violations and only make suggestions to unruly tenants, break up parties or call the police if the situation is serious.

Varley said his company started using Quaker Security as a protection for its tenants instead of as a reactionary party-busting force.

“A lot of that need was based on the number of female tenants we have and their concern about security issues,” he said. “Because of our size, it’s more productive to have a secondary security agency.”

Other companies, like Professional Property Management and Triplett Real Estate, have not felt a need to use security agencies.

“We had only one problem this year so far, and we seem to have plenty of staff to cover our 24-hour emergency number, so the need has not arisen,” said Karen Popelka of Professional Property Management.