Downtown Madison is a great place to live. One of the greatest places in the Midwest — the nation, even. So says the ever-escalating cost of downtown housing.

The rule of supply-and-demand is pressing the capitol city with an invisible giant’s hand; as downtown Madison beautifies, adding arts and entertainment to the already flourishing downtown business means more employees want downtown housing. Though some experts and politicians argue that all of the United States is in a low-income housing crisis, Madison’s high rental rates stand out drastically in the Midwest, comparing only to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chicago and, arguably, Milwaukee.

The cost of living in Madison is not increasing at the same rates rent is. No one is complaining about Madison’s vibrant economy and UW’s flourishing reputation as a research center, but every positive aspect of the city seems to be contributing to its worst quality: high rent.

The most unexplored and perhaps the most complex is UW’s role in the housing crisis.

Landlords, students and government officials are now looking for an explanation.

Rent, tempers high

Dane County has over 5,000 landlords. The property owners and renters are blamed for jacking up rent prices downtown, harming the community while making money for themselves. UW junior Brigid Rice said she feels helpless to avoid paying high rent for campus-area housing.

“I do believe that my rent could be much cheaper for my landlord to still be making a large profit,” Rice said. Like many students, she is beginning the search for a place to live next fall. “I haven’t really had the time or choice to wonder if it is worth it.”

Associated Students of Madison’s Tenants’ Rights Campaign Coordinator, Phil Ejercito, said landlords have power over student renters, because young tenants are uneducated and nothing stops renters from raising prices when demand is high.

“There is no mechanism to check landlord abuses,” Ejercito said. “At this point, the situation is sad because renting in Madison is a random turkey shoot.”

With ASM activating a tenants’ education campaign and hosting presentations in conjunction with the Madison Tenants’ Resource Center, such as one for Lakeshore dorm residents Tuesday night at Carson’s Gulley, and the Madison City Council working on the issue, are landlords to blame for economics?

Ald. Brenda Konkel, District 2, said blame is flying.

“A lot of my colleagues [on city council] might say it is a university problem, and the university says it’s something the city council should be dealing with, but there’s really no conversation between the two,” Konkel said.

Campus involvement: ‘driving’ up rent

UW-Madison is in the middle of it all. Being center-stage often means taking the heat, and this case is no exception.

Located in the middle of the land-hungry Dane County Isthmus, UW is situated on valuable property. Within walking distance to the Capitol, two lakes, countless libraries and a slew of entertainment venues, UW is at the cultural center of the state.

Much criticism has fallen upon UW housing for its role in Madison’s housing crisis. For example, little parking is available for students near classes, making it more desirable, if not necessary, for students to live close to campus — closer than at other universities nationwide.

“Because there just isn’t a lot of parking on campus, it is important for students to be as close to campus as possible, so students bid high for that,” UW real estate professor Richard Green said.

And the lack of parking drives up rent, he said. To contrast, Champagne, Ill. has an abundance of land, and therefore, the university can own parking lots and build new ones if necessary. Students there do not face a housing crisis, Green said.

Bill Richner, UW assistant vice chancellor, said although he agrees that UW has fewer parking spaces than almost every other U.S. university, the deficiency is part of a conscious decision made by UW and city officials.

“The city has preferred that we hold down the amount of cars that come to campus and rather encourage the use of mass transit,” Richner said. “There isn’t any surface space available any longer.”

Richner said the only option open to UW for building new parking is pricey ramps, which cost between $10,000 and $20,000 per space.

Zero vacancy, on and off campus

As far as cost for students of living close to campus, university residence hall prices are the highest in the state for public universities. The cost causes students to seek other housing options, as does the fact that residence halls are in high demand and are filled with freshmen on priority, which discourages second- and third-year students from returning.

This is not to say that university residence halls are not in high demand. Students live in study areas as temporary housing every year, because UW overbooks rooms. Joe Lindstrom, chair of the Progressive Dane Housing Task Force called the conditions in university residence halls “sub-par,” making them “considerably less attractive than apartments to students.”

In the 1970s, demand for university housing declined slightly when it became popular for students to live in off-campus houses. Since then, enrollment has increased, but the university has not built any new housing to compensate.

But Richner said that no new university housing construction is planned for the next 10 years, either to begin major renovations or erect new facilities. One of the reasons for this lack of action is undetermined demand.

“[Constructing new housing] is a large upfront capital investment,” he said. “One of the concerns that goes into planning is whether there would be enough demand for new housing.”

Others say there is simply not enough university-based housing. Lindstrom said the lack of available dorms is at the heart of UW’s contribution to Madison’s housing crisis.

“The university provides so little housing for students that it forces students out into the community before they are ready to rent,” Lindstrom said.

Housing officials agreed that demand is high — just as high as the rest of the city, which, according to the Tenant Resource Center, has a near zero percent vacancy rate.

“I have high demand here,” said UW Housing Director Paul Evans. “If I was a landlord, I would jump the rent [in university residence halls] higher.”

But Evans said that prices are not outrageous, because they are gauged to ensure they fit “reasonably into” the rest of the city’s average rental costs.

“We all kind of look to see if we are within the range of city rental rates,” Evans said. “In a university residence hall, you have included services [like utilities and food service] that make the cost hard to compare to off-campus apartments.”

Although Evans said the cost of living in a university residence hall is the highest among UW-System schools at UW-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside and in Madison, he maintained that room and board fees reflect the superior services these three universities’ halls provide, rather than the rental rates in their metropolitan areas. The lowest residence hall costs in the state are at UW-River Falls and UW-Stout.

Apartments prices often fall parallel to dorm costs.

“It always makes me mad to think about my brother in Platteville who only pays $200 [per month] for a house that is just as big as mine, whereas I pay $350,” UW senior Nicole Baldock said.

UW does do some price comparisons before setting the fiscal year’s rates, according to the Department of University Housing. They look at services provided and rates charged at private residence halls like the Towers or the Langdon to stay “within the range” of acceptable rents. Also, the rent at UW’s off-campus apartments, Eagle Heights, are determined completely by an extensive comparison of similar city-wide apartments and are held against a Big 10 rent average as well.

Others criticize university deadlines for renewing housing contracts as spurring the annual rush for off-campus housing, which is also responsible for driving up rents. The rush is a superficial force, according to ASM and the TRC, both of which are educating groups of young students to avoid the temptation to rent before the end of first semester. They encourage holding out for a good deal later in the school year, when renters lower their prices or introduce new properties to the market.

Konkel said a transformation has occurred in the rental process within the past two to seven years.

“People seem more desperate to rent,” Konkel said, attributing the change to university policy. “It is caused by freshmen in dorms being forced to renew their contracts early and want to secure an off-campus apartment instead.”

Although UW’s deadline isn’t until Feb. 22., 2002, many students have already begun their search.

Richner said UW does not have enough university housing to place every freshman who requests housing, much less for second- and third-year students.

Downtown planning pursues change

The City Council passed legislation last year making it illegal for landlords to show properties before Dec. 15, but a loophole allows the properties to be leased out earlier.

A proposal called Section 8 seeks to increase low-income housing and has much backing on the council. Lindstrom calls this proposal, called inclusionary zoning, “a very possible solution.” One concept, supported by Dist. 8 Alder Todd Jarrell, mandates a percentage of units in new developments be affordable.

Mayor Sue Bauman supports a version of this proposal, which was introduced by landlords, who would get bonuses for following the procedure or including at least 10 percent of new structures as affordable housing.

Right now, landlords are not required to comply.

Although no new university housing is in the works, high-end apartments are springing up all over campus. Even more available “supply” might not be a solution, said Megin Hicks, program director for the TRC.

“As more people move downtown, more student housing is being built,” she said. “But, you can argue that while the supply is being helped, the cost of new buildings is higher and drives up the rent.”

With more business professionals desiring downtown property, Konkel said certain areas of campus are seeing more homeowners and adult renters than in past years, cornering students toward pricey new apartment renting. She pinpointed the top of Langdon Street, stretching from the Edgewater down Wisconsin Ave., as an area students used to populate, but that is now primarily graduate students and families.

Konkel said tenant discrimination, both for and against students, is at work creating these new neighborhood dynamics.

“If landlords specifically don’t want to rent to students, they just won’t have rents that start August 15, or will begin advertising after most students have leased for the next year already,” Konkel said.

High rent rates and discrimination are only on the rise, said Konkel. Students have much to fight for, but the pull of the economy may be too strong of a force to battle.

Rice said students like her don’t have the time and effort to win.

“It takes a lot of work and a bit of luck to end up with a place that reflects the rent you pay,” she said.

Education on tenants’ rights and general awareness is the only cure to this pervasive problem, said Jarrell.

“The biggest thing students can do is volunteer to serve on city committees and get involved in the process,” he said.

— Katie Zimmerman also contributed to this report