Every year, thousands of Madison students grab a couple of friends and enter the manic search for a cheap, somewhat habitable place to live for the next school year. Freshmen are especially vulnerable in this process, making roommates of people they've only known for a few months after being pressured to sign a lease early by peers without enough knowledge about the rental process.
If you've ever thought there has to be a simpler way to find campus housing, you're not alone. A proposal by Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2,would push the rental period for downtown apartments back in an attempt to make the process less stressful for students. Currently, Madison landlords can require their tenants to decide whether or not they will re-sign for another year after only 25 percent of the lease has passed, or on Nov. 15 for most student leases. If the proposal succeeds, landlords would have to wait until 45 percent of the lease has passed, or in late January, to require a decision and show the apartment to possible new tenants.
The proposed regulation is a reasonable solution to what has become a major headache. High pressure marketing from downtown management companies like Steve Brown and Madison Property Management have only contributed to a campus phenomenon: students signing leases as early as November, thinking all the good apartments will be gone if they wait. While veterans of the market usually know this is not the case, many underclassmen fall victim to the exaggerated claims that ""space is filling up fast"" and end up in either a luxury apartment they can't afford or a safety hazard of a house, when a few extra months to look around would have prevented either of these nightmares.
For students already living in rentals, the current November deadline is way too early to make an informed decision on the next year's housing. No one knows if the person they are living with today is someone they'll want to live with a year from now. Additionally, Madison winters and the resulting heating bills can be brutal on student budgets, and tenants have no way of knowing how their apartment's heater will perform or how energy-efficient the property is before they must commit to another 21 months of paying the bills. What's more, college students' lives are constantly changing. Transfers, study abroad opportunities and internships don't mesh well with a legal contract that ties you to one place so soon.
Although it may sound reasonable from a student advocate standpoint, area property managers have banded together against the proposal, claiming it would give University Housing an ""unfair"" advantage and create more chaos when January arrives. It is highly unlikely that the dorms will see any major increase in demand for second and third-year residents because of a change in the regulation.
The students who currently choose to stay in the dorms for another year will be the same next year and the year after that, while the vast majority who long for the freedom of apartment life will patiently wait the extra two months to find the perfect place and price.
The claim that the later date will create only more chaos also seems unfounded, especially because it's difficult to imagine the Madison market any more chaotic than it already is. With more time to research online and talk to friends before they have to make a decision, students will know more about what's available and what exactly they do and do not want from an apartment and a landlord. If anything, landlords would also benefit from an extra few months to research, cutting marketing costs and avoiding dozens of showings to students who were never really serious about renting that place anyway. It's a win-win situation for both parties.
There's no logical reason for the Madison Common Council to vote down this proposition, especially because it includes a three-year sunset clause after which it will automatically expire. A three-year trial may be all it takes to change the campus culture permanently and educate students on the city's rental market. But if the changes prove helpful to students and neutral to landlords, they could be renewed and made permanent. Students will always be stressed no matter what; but this resolution could do a lot to ensure that most of that stress comes from finals and bad TAs, not figuring out the fastest way to put a roof over their heads.
Lydia Statz is a junior majoring in journalism and international studies. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com
