University of Virginia Library

'Sellers Market'

Thus the current expansion in enrollment at
the University has brought with it a sellers
market in rental housing; a situation spawning
tales of renter woes that boggle the mind.

Students who entered the race for living
space too late in the year have resorted to
pitching tents in a friendly backyard, as several
boys are reported to have done, or crashing on
a friend's floor for a month or so until they
find a place to live which vaguely resembles the
type of accommodation they want.

The situation has not reached the point
where students have rolled out sleeping bags on
Carr's Hill. But it is critical in the sense that
rents have increased measurably and students
are dissuaded from asking for minimal
maintenance by the knowledge, on their part
and the part of the landlord, that they have
nowhere else to go.