Rent in Madison is rising yet again for next year, causing students living in the campus area to wonder when the price hikes will end. But, according to Madison landlords, there is no end to rent inflation in sight, and high rent is simply part of living in downtown Madison.

Steve Rognsvoog, property manager of The Regent Apartments, said high rent is purely an economic variable, dependent on property taxes, the property’s value and its location.

“Ultimately, you’re paying for proximity to where you want to be,” Rognsvoog said. He said high-rise apartments such as the Embassy and the Palisades jack up property values, forcing landlords to charge higher rent.

Sophomore student Kevin Plank said his house’s rent for next fall increased more than $300 after his roommates talked their landlord down from an even higher increase.

“I’m taking out loans like mad and trying to get a job to afford rent,” he said. “But you can’t fault them, because someone will pay what they’re asking for.”

He said the university should build apartment complexes to alleviate some of the pressure on the housing supply, a proposal echoed by mayoral candidate and former mayor Paul Soglin.

Other student tenants said the rents are unfairly high but also think the market alone should regulate rent prices.

UW junior Arvind Gopalratnam said that his house in itself is not worth the high price but that his landlord has every right to increase the price because someone will pay it. The rent for his apartment increased $50 from $1445 in August of 2002 to $1495 next fall.

“I don’t think it’s warranted, but that’s the way business works,” he said.

Tallard Apartments office coordinator Matt McGrady said students should not assume their rent goes right into the pockets of landlords.

“It is a business, and we have to pay for maintenance, employees’ wages and benefits,” McGrady said.

UW junior Tim Sherman, a Jamm Management tenant whose rent is increasing $50 for next fall, said landlords in Madison are no different from any other city’s landlords.

“They rip you off because they can,” Sherman said. “But the demand will always be high in the downtown of every place.”

Jamm Management landlord Steve Moss said the majority of rent hikes can be attributed to property-tax increases. He said landlords actually lose money through property taxes because the taxes can increase up to 10 percent and landlords only raise rent between 3 and 5 percent.

“The cost of living and the cost of doing business steadily climb,” Moss said.

Richard Sheil, research associate of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Union, said Madison’s net property taxes increased by 5.7 percent from 2000 to 2001, and property taxes in Wisconsin increased by 7.1 percent from 2001 to 2002.

“There is no question that property-tax increases are passed along to the extent that the market will bear it,” Sheil said. “And steady property-tax increases in Wisconsin are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.”