Proliferating Housing costs at UofU

As many University of Utah residents already understand, housing is anything but cheap. Housing has been one of the hottest issues surrounding the U, and management is doing everything they can to ease some of the stress of current and incoming students. Many of the biggest concerns people have is there is not enough on campus housing options. There have also been many reports of people wanting to come to the U, but can’t find housing or affordable housing and have to opt for a different institution.

 

Recently, the Salt Lake Tribune published an article stating housing prices for the University of Utah's West Village Housing were going to be increased dramatically next August. The article outlines rent prices going up from $980 a month to $1,750 a month for a two bedroom apartment. That is over a 79% rent increase in just one year! Many people have reported not being able to afford the increase and will need to pick up extra jobs to pay for the increase.

Conversely, the U has reportedly had a terrible time maintaining the aging West Village infrastructure and has noted reports of pipes breaking and other maintenance issues on the rise. The buildings are also not up to the latest seismic code because of how old they are. West Village is an extremely old building the U has completely paid off years back, thus being the reason for such cheap rents. 

 

Overall, it is very unfortunate that rents have to rise to such high numbers and I don’t believe anyone is happy about that. Housing remains to be one of the biggest issues the U is facing and it will be interesting to see how they manage the upcoming problems in the future.  

If you are being affected by rising housing prices please come see us at the Financial Wellness Center! We have many different strategies for students who are unable to afford the rising costs of living in Salt Lake. If you would like to schedule an appointment visit our website at https://financialwellness.utah.edu/. Also, if you are in need of legal assistance to do with housing, visit https://www.utahlegalservices.org/. 

 

 

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