MyNewPlace Blog

In college towns across the nation, there is always at least a little tension between students and town residents. College students are only residents of the town for a few years and therefore have much less of a long term stake in the neighborhoods that they inhabit. Combine this with the typical college students' nocturnal exuberance, and it is easy to sympathize with neighbors of universities.

To appease townsfolk, many local municipalities have begun to enact ordinances that try to curb the negative impact of college students living off campus.

For example, last year we reported a few times, on a roommate ordinance that was hastily passed in Boston at the urging of some citizens who lived in neighborhoods with high student populations. The original plan called for a roommate cap of 4 students per rental property.

By February of this year, that plan had been scaled back to require only that a college or university inform the city when more than 4 students are living in the same rental property. Boston City Council President Michael P. Ross has obviously tried to strike some kind of compromise after last year's failed attempt to impose a strict roommate limit on off campus apartments throughout Boston.

It is not obvious what exactly the ordinance would accomplish; Boston area colleges and universities would be charged with collecting and sorting the addresses of all of their students biannually and then submitting the names of any students who have more than 4 students listed at the same apartment.

The only tangible benefit of this seems to be providing police officers with a list of potential “party houses." Or it's just a really passive aggressive way for the city to put pressure on universities to get all their students on campus. [Berkeley Beacon]

Many of the nation's schools are facing unexpected demand for on campus housing. Students are moving back on campus to avoid commuting costs and increases in other cost of living expenses that are magnified by living in off campus apartments.

In my morning Google alert for off campus apartments, 3 of the top 4 stories were from schools trying to figure out where they are going to put their students. Screenshot below:

Adelphi University in Long Island is offering students $2,000 to relinquish their dorm rooms as a way to free up some space.

For many students, the cheaper costs of living in off campus apartments have become negated by rising energy and food prices; consequently, paying more for a cramped dorm room has become more desirable than paying less for a spacious apartment away from campus.

Typically, the draw for off campus apartments is that you can save a thousand or more dollars per year and get a lot more for your money, including, but not limited to: 12 months instead of 8, no roommates instead of 2, a queen bed instead of a bunk, additional rooms instead of none and your own bathroom.

For many college students the amount of money that they can save by living in an off campus apartment is no longer worth the trouble of being a student with a commute and paying utilities and other costs such as food.

Demographic Inversion

We have seen the same kind of trend in the real estate market. Renters are moving downtown to be closer to the areas that they frequent and cut the costs of their commutes. This is evidenced by the disproportionate rent increases in downtown areas. Downtown San Diego apartments have already jumped 15 percent in the last year.

In a detailed a somewhat longer article from The New Republic, Alan Ehrenhalt discusses the trend of demographic inversion, citing examples of how people are moving out of the suburbs and back into city centers.

The trend has been noticeable in the past 10-20 years but is now more acute due to rising energy costs as well as a variety of other reasons. The author argues that it is mostly due to the younger generation's system of values that is conducive to urban living.

We can barely scratch the surface of the article here, but it is well worth reading. The trends the author discusses are indeed noticeable across many cities and will have an impact on the real estate market and especially the market for apartments for rent.

Where do you live?

Let us know how far your commute is in the comments.

A few months back, we reported a few times about a new roommate ordinance that targeted students who live in off-campus apartments in Boston. The city, with around a quarter of its residency comprised of university students, witnesses some of the bitterest fights amongst residents, students and college officials over apartments for rent.

The Boston city council had hoped to placate residents in neighborhoods who complained about drunk and disorderly college students invading their neighborhoods. Families and residents near colleges, which is a lot of places in Boston, see college students as temporary residents who have no long term stake in their locales and depress home values and detract from the overall neighborhood environment.

Students typically look for a large house to fit a group of friends and share costs. However, these rental houses are prime locations for parties and have thusly become civic pinatas for distressed neighbors.

The city council responded by enacting the roommate cap, which unabashedly targeted college students looking for off-campus apartments in Boston. The measure hoped to diffuse the student population in certain highly concentrated neighborhoods.

However, the cap makes renting an off-campus apartment in Boston difficult for students. Without the ability to split rooms and share costs, most students cannot afford Boston apartments.

This factor, coupled with trends that other Massachusetts universities in Amherst and Dartmouth are dealing with should make the first month of classes an interesting time for students as well as Housing offices and Residential Education personnel.

From a story in the Boston.com, the mounting expenses of renting off-campus are driving students back on campuses across the state. UMASS Dartmouth has been “shocked" at the number of applicants for on campus housing they have received, many from students who had previously lived off campus, an unusual occurrence.

The primary factors, according to a letter from UMASS Amherst housing officials, has been the increase in utilities and commuting costs, that have prompted students to take advantage of on campus housing, where they don't have to foot the bill for energy costs for cars or apartments.

What are college students planning on doing this fall? How are you planning on saving cash and get an ideal living situation? Is it a better deal to live off-campus? Has it been until this year?

Let us know in the comments! We'd like to hear back from college students about their decisions.

Boston's Roommate Ordinance

Last month we reported on a story regarding issues with off-campus apartments in Boston. A Boston College undergrad was listed as a one of the plaintiffs in a suit filed against the city over a new ordinance that would restrict the number of students per rental property at 4.

The new law was passed rather hastily after the long-strained relationship between college students living in off-campus apartments and residents had united neighborhood groups and community leaders to take action against the alleged disorderly state of their neighborhoods at night.

The new law has recently attracted opposition from both students, who feel they are being victimized, and local landlords, who provide affordable houses for rent in Boston to students. The new roommate limit would price students out of the market and increase vacancies for landlords.

Boston College's Plan for Housing Students Raises Ire

In response, Boston College has announced its own plan to alleviate tensions between Bostonians and its students; it will guarantee housing for all of its students for all four years by constructing dormitories to bring more students from the surrounding community to on campus housing.

However, the plan to have 100% of its student population on campus involves BC purchasing land for student apartments in Brighton, which, for residents, is not exactly what they had in mind.

Residents in surrounding neighborhoods had called for the college to house 100% of its students for many years, but had envisioned new dorms to be constructed on BC's main campus. The college would rather house students at the newly purchased land at 2000 Commonwealth Avenue, which is located on the Brighton side of Commonwealth Ave.

Apparently, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, (BRA) had required the university to explore the possibility of increasing student living quarters on its main campus, something which the university was reluctant to consider. Boston College spokespeople at a recent neighborhood meeting repeatedly insisted on having no more than 4700 students on the 40 acre main campus.

The question to be answered is whether the city, its residents and the college can agree on what to do with Boston's high student population. Indeed, college students are temporary residents that are prone to late night revelry, but they also provide a boon to the local rental market and neighborhood restaurants, bars and stores. The increase in the student population has also been noted to have displaced the rates of violent crime.

Are students good or bad for urban areas? Do students depreciate the real estate of certain neighborhoods, and if so, what is the best way to remedy this?

It is good to see that at least both the city and the universities in Boston are all working together to address the question of how to provide apartments for rent and housing for students.

For many students, college is the first time that they will live away from home for an extended amount of time. This is the first time they are responsible for finding and living in their own off campus apartments.

Given their relative inexperience, it is certainly good to see some students taking initiative and challenging the decisions of local governments and private universities in the courtroom.

Boston's Roommate Crackdown

An undergrad at Boston College has joined with local property owners to file suit against the city of Boston over a new ordinance that would set the limit of 4 students per rental property. According to the Small Property Owners of America, the Boston City Council passed the ordinance without consulting landlords and after only 10 minutes of debate. This is no small zoning alteration, especially in Boston, where about a quarter of the population is comprised of college students.

The common thread that has united neighborhood groups and community leaders supporting the ordinance are complaints of loud parties and nocturnal revelry. Students argue that the influx of college students into the Boston neighborhoods has displaced crime and helped local businesses.

The recently passed ordinance leaves students and landlords who have already entered into leasing agreements for the fall unsure of how to proceed.

Sophomore Jessica Luccio has joined four area landlords who are seeking to overturn the ordinance by filing a motion in the Massachusetts Land Court. Students feel as though they are being unfairly singled out and will be forced into expensive apartment rentals if they cannot find larger homes for rent.

Colgate University Sued for Monopolizing Housing

Students at a Colgate University fraternity sued the school after a new school policy required that all students live on campus. The fraternity alleged that not only had the school coerced fraternities into selling their privately owned houses to the school, but that the action was also in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.

By buying up a majority of the housing available to students and then forcing students to live in those properties, Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE), alleged that the school had therefore monopolized the relevant housing market. The school, however, claimed that the relevant market was liberal arts colleges nationwide, since they must compete with these institutions for students.

Although DKE countered by claiming that once a student had matriculated and paid a substantial initial cost, the local housing market became the relevant market, the court sided with the University and threw out the lawsuit.

We will be following the lawsuit in Boston and highlight details from the ordinance's fallout. In the meantime, best of luck to college students looking for off campus apartments for rent!

Not to patronize college students, as we pride ourselves on a certain adolescent ebullience here at MyNewPlace, but college students can typically use all the help they can get when trying to find off-campus apartments.

Many college students are faced with the prospect of living alone for the first time and it can be a challenge to keep everything running smoothly, especially a living situation. Also, many large state schools and universities that are located in cities, do not guarantee on-campus housing and many students are stuck with the task of seeking out an apartment that meets their sometimes very specific needs in a sometimes very crowded market.

Our apartments search engine can be adjusted to show results that are relevant to students and is a great way to conduct an organized apartment search. So what does your average off-campus college student want? Here's what we think is important for student apartments:

• 3+ Bedrooms offer friends a chance to live communally to cut costs as well as to entertain an agreeable caliber of social activities.
• Proximity to campus is also a major concern as it is more than a place to attend class; it is a major hub for many parts of a student's life.
• In lieu of being close to campus, free and easy parking at an apartment complex is a key feature, as students often commute to campus more than twice a day.
• Laundry. If you think that you have invented a new kind of drycleaning by putting all your clothes in trunk and then lighting incense inside, guess again.

Let us know what you collegiate folk out there are looking for in an apartment. We would love to hear your stories, tips and any feedback on your experiences using MyNewPlace for your apartment search.