TALLAHASSEE, FL.- College students across Tallahassee say rising rent prices in student housing complexes are forcing them to make financial sacrifices, skip personal goals and rethink how they travel to class as rates continue to climb each year with few improvements in return.
Students from Florida A&M University, Tallahassee Community College and Florida State University all report that rent increases are hitting their budgets harder than ever. Many apartment complexes now send lease renewals as early as two to four months after you’ve just freshly moved into the complex not wasting any time and these renewals are often accompanied by price hikes despite no upgrades, renovation or added amenities.
James Dormoy, the property manager at Alight West Tenn said the rent increases are the result of steady demand as enrollment grows across the city.
“I would say it’s a supply and demand with the influx of college students from, you know, FAMU, TSC is expanding and Florida State University,” Dormoy said. “With all those universities adding an extra factor and doing things to expand, it’s kind of causing a situation where you have to have places to accommodate to these people. And the closer you are to campus, the more you can charge, and with everybody building so many apartment complexes, you got to do what you got to do to fill your specific community.”
But for students, the rising costs are creating difficult day-to-day issues.
Malcom Richard an Alight West Tenn resident, said the rent increases have pushed him to the edge financially.
“The increase in rent has impacted my living situation in a means of sometimes I might go to the grocery store and I’m coming up short,” Richard said. “I want to get a car — well, I was planning on getting a car — but now the increase in rent has deteriorated my chances of doing that.”
Students say that while rent rises each year their living conditions stay the same. Many report that unties show wear and tear, amenities break down more often and maintenance requests take longer to resolve. Despite this renewal notices typically include increases ranging from 50$ to more than 150$.
For some, the rising cost of living has changed how they get to campus.
“It’s been harder to Uber to school,” resident Jirah James said. “Now I catch the bus.”
Transportation adjustments are increasingly common among students who say the cost of uber have become more unpredictable especially when they have to go to school and still need to pay rent, groceries and utilities.
As Tallahassee’s student population continues to grow students say they feel squeezed between the need to live near campus and the financial strain of securing stable housing. With no signs of rent slowing down, many worry the city’s affordability crisis will only worsen unless more affordable housing options become available.
