Collegiate Student Housing: A Comprehensive Overview

Student housing is a critical aspect of the college experience, influencing academic success, social integration, and overall well-being. This article delves into the multifaceted world of collegiate student housing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and regulatory frameworks.

Introduction

For many college students, living away from home marks a significant transition. Student housing aims to provide a supportive and conducive living environment during their academic years, fostering a sense of community and helping to ease the transition into college life. It encompasses a range of accommodation options, each with its unique characteristics and implications for students and the surrounding community.

Types of Student Housing

Student housing comes in various forms, each designed to cater to different student needs and preferences. These include:

On-Campus Dormitories: Typically the most convenient option, located within the university grounds, offering students a convenient and immersive campus experience, close to classes and other campus facilities. These are often the most expensive option.
Off-Campus Housing: This includes apartments or houses that are situated outside the university premises, offering a taste of independence. Living in an off-campus house can be a rite of passage, introducing students to the real estate rental market and their obligations as a tenant. About one-quarter of students who live off campus rent rooms in an apartment community designed specifically for students, but the majority live in single-family homes and small rental buildings near campus.

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Purpose-Built Student Housing: These are apartment communities designed specifically for residents in higher education. These communities offer amenities tailored to college students, such as individual leases, study areas, fully furnished units, and roommate matching. Purpose-built student housing offers student-centric leasing and furnishing options not typically offered via traditional off-campus housing, while boasting modern amenities such as pools, hot tubs, and outdoor living areas that may not be available at an on-campus residence hall.
Student Co-ops: These are cooperative housing arrangements where students live together and share responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning, and paying rent, presenting a unique blend of communal living and shared responsibilities.

Benefits of Student Housing

Student housing offers several benefits to college and university students:

Convenience: Located near educational institutions, reducing commute times and making it easier for students to access classes and campus facilities. Proximity to campus is a major factor in the choice of where to live since living physically closer to classrooms is often preferred, particularly for first-year students who may not be permitted to park vehicles on campus.
Community: Fosters a sense of community by bringing together students with similar academic goals and interests, creating opportunities for collaboration and social interaction.

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Amenities: Often includes amenities such as study and common areas, simplifying daily life and promoting a productive environment.
Structured Environment: Offers a structured and safe living environment, particularly for those living away from home for the first time, easing the transition into independent living and academic responsibilities.
Increased Knowledge and Use of Mental Health Services: Students who live on-campus have increased knowledge and use of mental health services.

The Rise of Purpose-Built Student Housing

Purpose-built student housing has emerged as a great housing option for students and their parents, offering features such as leases tied to the academic calendar, and furnished units that reduce the hassle associated with moving. These communities offer amenities tailored to college students, such as individual leases, study areas, fully furnished units, and roommate matching.

A key differentiator of student housing is in the leasing model. Instead of leasing by the unit for 12-month contracts, purpose-built housing allows students to lease by the bed with options to lease for the months they are attending school. Many purpose-built student housing options come already furnished with living, dining, and bedroom furniture and kitchen appliances.

Purpose-built student housing often offers residence life programming, intended to support the development of residents as students - and beyond.

Challenges of Student Housing Management

Student housing management presents several unique challenges to property managers:

High Turnover Rates: Between academic semesters require efficient leasing and move-in/move-out processes.
Safety and Security: Ensuring the safety of a diverse student population is paramount, necessitating robust security measures.
Roommate Conflicts: Managing roommate conflicts and addressing student concerns promptly is essential to maintain a conducive living environment.
Seasonal Fluctuations: In demand can affect occupancy rates and revenue.
Compliance: Managing compliance with student housing regulations, including fair housing laws and campus policies, is crucial.
Property Maintenance: Maintaining the property to attract and retain student tenants while adhering to budget constraints can be challenging.

Impact on Local Communities

Student housing can have a significant impact on the real estate markets near college campuses, transforming them as investor capital competes with homeowners, making it so sale prices and rents increase. For landlords, student rentals are an incredibly lucrative real estate opportunity as students pay by the room, allowing landlords to charge more per square foot as there are several roommates paying a monthly rent. For neighbors, student housing can be disruptive as students keep different hours and enjoy different activities than their neighbors, such as late-night parties.

A 2014 analysis by Tom Laidley of NYU of 20 college towns found that an increase in the size of a college’s off-campus population is associated with higher market rents, particularly in areas that have a relatively high concentration of undergraduate students. Similarly, a 2009 Rutgers University analysis of New Jersey institutions found that the presence of a college is associated with a 10 percent increase in home prices. A 2017 regional housing study for the Bloomington-Normal Illinois region found that student housing rental rates in university towns drive up housing costs for family renters.

In weak real estate markets, transient student housing can provide a lucrative use for older single-family homes that would otherwise be abandoned and lost. In strong markets, student housing creates another competing use for limited affordable single-family homes and can result in displacement of lower-income households.

Regulations and Policies

Some municipalities are taking action to accommodate for the need of student housing while also maintaining the character of surrounding residential neighborhoods and preserving affordable housing units for long-term residents. Federal district courts in Pennsylvania have upheld the ability of municipalities to regulate student housing differently than other rental housing because college students are not a protected class as they have not faced historical prejudice.

Common legal tools that local governments use to regulate student rental housing include:

Housing Quality Standards: The most basic and least controversial regulation to address student housing is to enforce clear housing quality standards. Strategic code enforcement can ensure every student house is code compliant utilizing a municipality’s powers, as described by the United States Supreme Court in Berman v.
Occupancy Limits: Establishing occupancy limits, limiting the total number of students who can live in a single-family home to between two and five. By limiting the number of students who are able to reside in a home, communities better align rental income from student housing to that of permanent single-family rental housing.
Rental Registration and Licensing Laws: A growing number of cities are adopting rental registration and licensing laws that require landlords to obtain an annual license to rent properties or to register their rental properties. Some jurisdictions in Minnesota have limited the total number of rental licenses available in certain neighborhoods to encourage homeownership and restrict the number of student housing and investor-owned rentals.
Minimum Distance Requirements: In Pennsylvania, many municipalities have imposed a minimum distance requirement between student rentals. These requirements grandfather in all existing student housing and then accommodates new student rental housing within a dispersed pattern. Since 2012, student homes in Reading, Pennsylvania, cannot be located within 500 feet of each other except by variance.
Neighborhood Overlay Design Guidelines: Appear to have success in achieving a balance of diverse housing types. A neighborhood overlay typically uses zoning and design standards to define the physical characteristics of a district surrounding a university, including height, density, and scale of the new development, as well as to specify the acceptable density of student housing.

Historical Context

Student accommodation is thought to date back to the 5th century Nalanda mahavihara, sometimes referred to as "the world's first residential university". Student accommodation appeared in the Islamic world as part of the 10th century masjid-khan (mosque-inn), the forerunner of the madrasa. In China, student accommodation was introduced during the Song dynasty (10th to 13th centuries), with students having combined sleeping and study rooms.

The first college at a European university was the Collège des Dix-Huit, established at the University of Paris in the late 12th century. In Islamic lands, madrasas offered student accommodation within the main building.

In the early modern period, residence in college became the norm in England and France, and was even made a legal requirement at French universities in the mid 16th century.

Finding the Right Student Housing

When it’s time to find the perfect student or off-campus housing, knowing where to look makes all the difference.

Your University’s Housing Office: This should be your first stop.
University Housing Events: Keep an eye out for housing fairs and similar events hosted by your university.

Financial Considerations

When considering your options for student housing, budgeting is crucial. Create a realistic budget that includes all potential expenses, not just rent. Look for housing options within your budget. Security Deposits are usually required for off-campus and student apartments. Sharing housing with roommates can significantly reduce costs. Some financial aid packages include housing costs.

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