Each fall, University of Wisconsin students throw themselves into the battle for their next house or apartment. Simultaneously, students on campus contemplate various routes they can take to not only lock down a room but to make living cheaper for themselves. 

According to a 2023 Housing Snapshot Report on the City of Madison, demand exceeds supply when it comes to housing, rendering prices unaffordable to the median renter household. Throw tuition into the mix and students who become overwhelmed by finding affording housing may feel the need to get creative. Students may resort to alternative and unfavorable methods to make housing prices more manageable.

Take UW junior Morgan Desens, for example, who opted for a room in her apartment that has no window or closet, allowing her to pay the cheaper price. Last year she shared a loft for the same reason, Desens said.

“I feel like every year I get super stressed,” Desens said. “It’s an added thing outside of school that I always have to worry about … I feel like, always getting the emails and reminders, it’s so stressful to always see.”

The emails are a way apartments in Madison get students to feel pressured to sign a lease right away, District 8 Alder MGR Govindarajan said. Higher-end apartments like The James and Grand Central typically sell out in the first month of listing apartments because their emailed advertisements put the idea in students’ heads that if they don’t sign immediately, they’ll be left without housing, which isn’t the case, MGR said.

A way to slowly combat the housing crisis is to not give in to the immediate October signing rush that most students are familiar with, MGR said.

“I honestly do encourage students to not sign a lease right away, because that tells landlords that there’s not as much demand,” MGR said.

Students who rent apartments immediately when the listing goes live are renting at a premium, and if the priority is to pay less, then waiting a bit longer to sign a lease is a way to curb the higher prices, MGR said.

UW junior Cassidy Kahn-Pettigrew said the intimidation of the housing pressures was an added stressor to an already overwhelming course load.

“I just think it’s such a big part of your life and it kind of takes priority,” Kahn-Pettigrew said. “I feel like my classwork got pushed to the side.”

Some students make rash decisions that result in poor outcomes because of the housing environment’s intense pressure, Kahn-Pettigrew said.

Navigating the housing market is especially worse for freshmen who are new to university course loads and have never leased an apartment before, MGR said. If students take the extra time to understand Madison housing and their specific needs in a house or apartment, desperation doesn’t have to be the standard, MGR said.

According to a JLL Student Housing Market and Affordability Analysis, seniors pay the least for housing, partially because they’re the most familiar with the market and what they want, MGR said.

“Take the time to educate yourself on what kind of housing you want,” MGR said. “Because if you take the time to do that, and I understand it’s really hard to do it as a student … but if you are able to dedicate that time, you will be able to find housing that fits into your budget.”

About a year ago, UW created an off-campus housing coordinator, marking the first foray for the university into having a direct resource related to off-campus housing, MGR said. In efforts to foster education about the housing process, the coordinator is working on videos and providing freshmen with information like how to sign a lease and what resources are available for students to ensure a safe and reliable housing situation, MGR said.

A difficulty students face beyond a lack of knowledge of the housing market is the financial component. 

UW senior Rachel John, who normally gets help from her parents for rent during the school year, said going without that help this past summer was a struggle.

“I feel like every dollar I made went right to rent, so that kind of sucked,” John said.

In efforts to lighten some of the load for students who struggle financially, the city has developed a program with some new developments like ōLiv Madison to provide a certain amount of beds at a discounted rate, MGR said.

About 10% of the beds at ōLiv are set at a 40% discount rate and are set aside for students who are low income and eligible, which is partially determined by students’ financial information the university has access to, MGR said.

Amid an already stressful housing environment, students are often left frustrated by growing rent prices, like Kahn-Pettigrew, who had to send emails to combat her and her roommates’ landlord raising their rent by a large amount.

In 2022, the average rent increase for students was 8.4%, MGR said. But when the city started approving more housing and requiring affordable housing through developers, the increase rate in 2023 went down to around 3.5%, and city officials predict the 2024 rate to be even lower, MGR said.

“Rent is pretty much always going to go up,” MGR said. “But it’s going up at a much smaller rate, and we are starting to see the price of housing kind of stabilize a little.”

Students who seek extra outside resources regarding the housing market can visit the Tenant Resource Center’s webpage that addresses tenants’ rights and assists renters with finding housing.