In what is expected to be the biggest turnout in HOUSE Day’s brief history, more than 50 landlords are scheduled to be on hand Tuesday to meet with students face-to-face and make appointments to show rental properties.

“This year we’re going to have more landlords than ever before,” said James Wasserburger, tenant legal affairs chair of Student Senate.

Fifty-five to 57 landlords are expected at the fourth annual event, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday in the Davies Council Fire Room.

“There will be landlords that have never been involved,” Wasserburger said.

The event is sponsored by Student Senate and Wasserburger called it a “neutral ground” for landlords and student renters to share.

“We want to get students and landlords working together,” Wasserburger said. “It always seems like landlords and students are on opposing sides.”

This will be the second year landlord Michael Heck will attend HOUSE Day.

“My wife and I had recently bought rental properties and needed to refill them,” Heck said, explaining why he attended last year’s event.

“We were able to meet some other landlords,” he said. “(But) the biggest advantage was being able to see possible tenants before hand rather than just over the phone.”

One of the issues that often surrounds HOUSE Day is that many landlords request renters to decide whether they will re-sign their lease after just a few months of living at the property.

Wasserburger said there has been many occasions in which a landlord approaches a renter in early October and gives them two weeks to decide whether he or she will return.

“It’s pretty hard to figure out what you’re going to do in a year,” Wasserburger said. “Especially when you’re in college.”

Wasserburger is also the campaign manager for Nate Otto, a student running for Eau Claire City Council.

He said part of Otto’s platform is modeled after a Madison city ordinance that prohibits landlords from giving renters that ultimatum until just six months remain on the lease.

“The goal is to have students start signing leases later in the year,” Wasserburger said.

Also available to students Tuesday will be a lawyer who can answer legal inquiries and a representative from the Department of Health and Human Services and Consumer Protection.

“We’re hoping for a good student turnout,” Wasserburger said.