Ev Cochrane and Associates, 207 Stanton Ave., the third-largest owner of rental property in Ames, is considering legal action against Off-Campus and Adult Student Services.

“They are slandering our business without any proper cause,” said Cochrane. “To say that I’m not happy with those folks is the understatement of all time.”

Cochrane, a 21-year veteran in the property management business, handles more than 1,000 tenants in 456 properties.

Officials from Off-Campus and Adult Student Services said they have received multiple complaints about Cochrane, as well as other landlords.

In order to ensure students receive the highest-quality housing options, it is the office’s policy not to list a landlord’s available rental property if the office has received more than three complaints in the past year, said Rob Wiese, program assistant for the office.

Currently, Cochrane is the only landlord whose available rental property is not listed.

“If they are in the business of providing housing,” Wiese said, “they need to do it by the law.”

Dave Byrd is one student who filed a complaint with the office against Cochrane.

Byrd moved into a four-bedroom house on Knapp Street last August owned by Terry Fisher. Fisher was involved with other obligations, so Cochrane helped out.

“[The house] was a disaster,” said Byrd, junior in performing arts.

Upon arrival, Byrd found broken windows, garbage piled in the backyard and cracks in the foundation. “We were promised it would be cleaned up,” Byrd said.

Byrd said the promise was made by Cochrane.

“We spent three weeks in the house, and nothing had been done,” Byrd said.

Unsure of his legal rights and unsatisfied with improvements made on the house, Byrd and his three roommates went to the Off-Campus and Adult Student Services for help. The office helped Byrd get out of his lease.

Joe Powell, junior in theater design, subleased an apartment owned by Cochrane last summer, and when he moved out, he said Cochrane kept his deposit to pay for carpet damages.

“I know we didn’t do $1,200 worth of damage to the carpet,” he said.

Powell regrets not taking legal action or going to Off-Campus and Adult Student Services to get his $1,200 deposit back.

“I was happy to be out of it, and I just didn’t want to deal with it anymore,” Powell said.

Cochrane said people who are subleasing often end up paying for damages caused by the original tenant.

“I’ve never heard of this guy, and if he had a problem with his deposit, all he would have to do is pick up the phone and talk to us,” Cochrane said. “There are lots of courses of action to take.”

Cochrane said he has never received documentation regarding any complaints received by Off-Campus and Adult Student Services, and he doesn’t understand why it won’t recommend his available listings to students.

“They are making up these fictitious cases,” he said. “They are completely false accusations.”

Jeff Sesler, a student athlete counselor with the Iowa State Athletic Department, also doesn’t understand some students’ complaints about Cochrane.

Sesler rented an apartment from Cochrane for five years and never had a problem.

“It was a great relationship,” he said. “I can say nothing bad about [Cochrane].”

Cochrane said if the complaints were true, his office would probably be involved in more lawsuits.

“If we were doing the kinds of things they claim we are,” he said, “you would think we would be in court with [the office] or with students all the time, and yet we are never in court.”

Wiese said his office provides students with information, but ultimately it’s their responsibility to take action with the landlord.

“A lot of times students will come in, we’ll give them the information and they won’t follow through,” he said. “If they don’t, then there is nothing we can do about it.”

Officials with the office rarely talk to the landlords directly.

“We usually don’t because we don’t have the time for that,” Wiese said. “It would be good if we could because then we could get both sides.”

Wiese said if the office does not list a landlord’s property, students are not allowed to list for subleasing.

“It’s not the tenants’ fault, but the fact is, if we’ve had difficulties with those landlords, then it might not be the best environment for students to live in,” he said.

Cochrane said that policy is an injustice to students.

“To me, they are performing a disservice to Iowa State students,” he said.