By james art Every fall, University of Wisconsin students jump into the battle for their next house or apartment. At the same time, students on campus are thinking of different ways they can not only lock the room, but also make their lives cheaper.
According to a 2023 Housing Snapshot Report in the city of Madison, demand exceeds supply when it comes to housing, making prices unaffordable for the average renter household. Add tuition to the mix, and students who are overwhelmed with housing may feel the need to get creative. Students can resort to alternative and disadvantageous methods to make housing prices more manageable.
Take UW junior Morgan Desens, for example, who chose a room in her apartment that had no window or closet, allowing her to pay the lower price. Last year, she shared a loft for the same reason, Dessens said.
“I feel like every year I’m super stressed,” Dessens said. “It’s something extra outside of school that I always have to worry about… I feel like I’m always getting emails and reminders, it’s so stressful to always see.”
The emails are a way for Madison Apartments to make students feel pressured to sign a lease right away, District 8 Alder MGR Govindarajan said. Higher-end apartments like The James and Grand Central usually sell out within the first month of apartment listings because their email ads put the idea into students’ minds that if they don’t sign right away, they’ll be out of housing, which is not the case , MGR said.
One way to slowly fight the housing crisis is to not fall for the immediate rush to sign in October that most students are familiar with, MGR said.
“Honestly, I encourage students not to sign a lease right away because that tells landlords there’s not that much demand,” MGR said.
Students who rent apartments as soon as the listing goes live are renting at a premium, and if the priority is to pay less, then waiting a little longer to sign a lease is a way to limit higher prices, MGR said.
UW junior Cassidy Kahn-Pettigrew said the intimidation of housing pressure is an added stressor to an already overwhelming course load.
“I just think it’s such a big part of your life and it takes priority,” Kahn-Pettigrew said. “I feel like my class work has been pushed aside.”
Some students make rash decisions that lead to poor outcomes because of the intense pressures of the residential environment, Kahn-Pettigrew said.
Navigating the housing market is especially worse for freshmen who are new to university courses and have never rented an apartment before, MGR said. If students take the extra time to understand Madison housing and their specific needs in a house or apartment, despair shouldn’t be the standard, MGR said.
According to a JLL Student Housing Market and Affordability Analysisseniors pay the least for housing, in part because they are the most familiar with the market and what they want, MGR said.
“Take the time to educate yourself about what kind of housing you want,” MGR said. “Because if you put in the time for it, and I understand that it’s really hard to do as a student … but if you’re able to put in that time, you’ll be able to find housing that fits your budget.”
About a year ago, the UW created an off-campus housing coordinator, marking the university’s first attempt at having a direct resource related to off-campus housing, MGR said. In an effort to promote education about the housing process, the coordinator is working on videos and providing freshmen with information such as how to sign a lease and what resources are available to students to ensure a safe and secure housing situation, MGR said.
A difficulty students face beyond their lack of knowledge about the housing market is the financial component.
UW senior Rachel John, who usually gets help from her parents for rent during the school year, said last summer was tough going without that help.
“I feel like every dollar I made went straight to rent, so that was pretty badass,” John said.
In an effort to ease some of the burden on struggling students, the city has developed a program with some new developments like ōLiv Madison to provide a certain amount of beds at a reduced cost, MGR said.
About 10 percent of ōLiv beds are designated at a 40 percent discount rate and are set aside for low-income and eligible students, determined in part by student financial information the university has access to, MGR said.
Amid an already stressful housing environment, students are often left frustrated by rising rent prices, like Kahn-Pettigrew, who had to send emails to fight her and her roommates’ landlord to raise their rent by a large amount.
In 2022, the average rent increase for students is 8.4 percent, MGR said. But as the city began approving more housing and requiring affordable housing through developers, the 2023 rate of increase dropped to about 3.5 percent, and city officials predict the 2024 rate will be even lower. MGR said.
“Rent will almost always go up,” MGR said. “But it’s going up at a much slower rate and we’re starting to see home prices stabilize a little bit.”
Students looking for additional outside resources regarding the housing market can visit the Tenant Resource Center web page which looks at tenants’ rights and helps tenants find housing.