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Over the past month, thousands of dollars have been spent to replace more than 30 exit signs in the Courtside Residential Plaza due to recurring vandalism, and residents may be held responsible for damages.

On Feb. 14, 14 exit sign fixtures were found to have been smashed or stolen. Since the damage of an exit sign poses as a “life safety issue” and is a violation of California fire code, the fixtures were replaced immediately.

The following day, another 10 exit sign fixtures had been smashed or stolen and were again quickly replaced.

For two weeks, no other acts of vandalism were reported. But, on March 1, another 11 exit sign fixtures were vandalized.

Alfred Nam, the associate director of rooms for UCLA Housing, said some exit signs were stolen just 90 minutes after being replaced.

“We continue to replace them and we are looking to find something more permanent,” Nam said.

Housing faces some obstacles when looking for an alternative to the current hanging exit signs because they must meet fire codes, be approved by building architects, and match the voltage of the current signs.

The cost of replacing each sign is $270. The university has incurred an expense of approximately $10,000 to replace the signs.

Since no witnesses have come forth, those guilty of vandalizing the signs have not been found and therefore cannot incur the expense of replacing them, and it is possible that students living in Courtside may be billed for the damage, as is stated in the on-campus housing contract.

Jack Gibbons, the associate director of the Office of Residential Life, said maintenance repairs damages as they occur. And since the entire maintenance budget is created by taking a portion of the housing payments that residents pay, students are ultimately paying for the damages.

“Occasionally, housing exercises the contract option to bill a specific community for specific damage. But, no decision has been made to do that regarding the (exit sign) damage,” Gibbons said.

Section 6a of the on-campus housing contract states that “in the event the cause of any loss or damage to the facility or its fixtures ... cannot be determined after reasonable investigation by the University, the cost of such loss or damage shall be charged pro rata to each Student regardless of whether such Student was present at the time such loss or damage occurred.” A letter dated March 2 was sent out to the residents of Courtside regarding the recent problem with vandalism.

In the letter, Resident Director of Courtside Maria Blandizzi informed the Courtside community of how the acts of vandalism are in violation of University Housing policies. Blandizzi encouraged residents to take care of their Courtside home and warned that if the vandalism were to continue, the entire community could be held responsible for the damages to the facility.

Nam said this is the first time exit signs have been vandalized and that the incidents appear to be isolated within the Courtside community.