MADISON, Wis. — It’s the time of year when many students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are scrambling to find housing for the upcoming academic year, and with a shortage of housing and rising enrollment, finding a place to live off-campus is becoming an even greater challenge.
Lydia Zajaichek, a UW-Madison sophomore hoping to live off-campus next year, is among the students struggling to find housing.
“This year I started searching for leases, and I realized how competitive leases were this year and how bad affordable housing is in Madison and how limited it is,” Zajaichek said.
She took to TikTok to share her thoughts on affordable housing off-campus for students. Her video has nearly 80,000 views as of Wednesday.
@jellyfellylydia anyways let me hop on that lease plz #uwmadison #midterms ♬ Fallen down – Slowed – 「Incørrect」
UW-Madison announced that this year’s freshman class is the largest in the university’s history, with a record-breaking 8,600 students. But increases in enrollment have made housing on and around campus more competitive than ever.
For most students, finding housing near campus is a daunting and stressful task and one that’s made even harder by drastically increasing rent prices. A lack of affordable housing means students have to compete for reasonably priced housing or pay exorbitant prices to live near campus.
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“This housing market right now is ridiculous and no one can afford it,” said Alison Stecker, a UW-Madison student. “And they’re only building more luxury apartments. What college student needs all those amenities?”
Though students like Stecker and Zajaichek are having problems finding affordable off-campus housing, there are places that people like them can go for help. The Tenant Resource Center knows these problems all too well.
The organization provides information on rental rights and responsibilities to tenants and landlords and can provide referrals for individuals who need help from other organizations.
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Its website does share that its goal is to meet all communities’ needs, not merely just the needs of the privileged.
That’s something Zajaichek says everyone involved in Madison housing needs to think about to make sure people like her can find an affordable place to live.
“With diversity, the university has to be prepared for that,” said Zajaichek. “They aren’t prepared with all different walks of life to come here if we don’t have affordable housing.”
According to data from US News last year, nearly three-quarters of UW-Madison students live off campus.
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Brendon Dybdahl with University Housing at UW-Madison says the housing department does not have any oversight of off-campus housing.
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