Housing Guide 2020

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HOUSING GUIDE

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HUSKY MEDIA GROUP

HOUSING GUIDE WHICH WINS: ON-CAMPUS OR OFF-CAMPUS?

Finding housing can be quite stressful, and the decision to live on or offcampus is a big one.

There’s no right or wrong way to decide when you should decide to live off-campus, but understanding your preferences and needs are critical when choosing a place that you can comfortably call home for at least the next academic year.

Here are a list of pros and cons of living on and offcampus for you to consider.

Convenience vs. Flexibility Convenience is definitely a big plus when living on-campus.

There is less travel distance to class or campus jobs. Classes are only a 10-15 minutes walk from your dorm, unless it’s a building in the middle of nowhere like Fisheries.

You can also join the

school’s meal plan, which means you don’t have to worry about cooking. Lastly, your monthly rent includes utilities, so you don’t have to worry about an additional cost to your rent.

Although living off-campus can require a longer commute, the trade-off is you’ll have more flexibility. Campus housing often has more rules than the average off-campus apartments or house. In addition, you can choose what kind of housing you would like to live in, your roommates, your price range, and you can cook your favorite food if you’re no longer fond of meal plans.

Support vs. Independence In a residence hall, you will have the Residence Hall Directors, Resident Advisors, and the custodial staff to assist with any housing or

By Annie Trieu Staff Writer

facility issues. For freshmen, Resident Advisors are a great resource to navigate college life and life on your own.

However, for some students, having a Resident Advisor feels like they’re being supervised or overseen. Living off-campus might be the right fit for those who want to have a more independent lifestyle.

Living off-campus is a way to transition yourself into adulthood. Unlike living on-campus where there is assistance from professional residential life staff, you are responsible for everything living when living on your own, from little things such as buying toilet paper to paying monthly rent and utilities.

Building Community Living on-campus makes it easier for you to build a community, especially if you’re a freshman. In fact,

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many UW residence halls here are built in a way to encourage community building.

MacMahon has cluster style rooms where students live close together. Madrona, Alder, Elm, Maple and Terry Halls have Living Learning Community programs where students of the same or similar majors live together on the same floor. The goal is to help students make connections on campus.

Expand Your Network As you become older, you probably want to explore areas outside of U-District.

Living on-campus can make you feel restrained only to the school’s neighborhood.

You can start to look for fun events in Capitol Hill, Fremont, or the International District/ Chinatown. Living off-campus gives you the ability to break from your college bubble, and

explore other neighborhoods around Seattle, meet other people and spice up your social life.

If you’d like to live oncampus, look out for applications in early April.

HFS will send out a room selection email for you starting April 19 and ending June 9 for 9-month housing, and April 30 for 12 month housing. Current residents will have priority to their current rooms. For more information, you can visit the HFS website at hfs.uw.edu.

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HOUSING GUIDE

OFF-CAMPUS COMMUTING OPTIONS The University of Washington is uniquely situated in the northeast corner of Seattle and is far enough removed from the city to have ample housing and neighborhoods, but close enough to be connected to many central public transit lines, including buses and the Link Light rail. Thus, no matter where you live, there is always an easily accessible commuting option!

Walk If you live anywhere within a mile of campus, you are in a

perfect zone to walk. If you are a student who walks to campus, just be sure to get a pair of (mostly) waterproof shoes and a water-resistant backpack. This will save you from having damp socks and wet textbooks throughout the day.

If you find yourself having to return home late at night by yourself, call Husky NightWalk to have a UWcertified security guard escort you home if you live close to campus. The downside of living within walking distance

Walking to class from home is a convenient and healthy option, but remember to stay safe.

Photo by Peyton Pedrozo

By Peyton Pedrozo Photo Editor is that housing tends to be priced higher per square foot the closer to campus you are.

Bike Most off-campus housing options in the U-District are within biking distance of campus. Seattle is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the United States, with lots of bike-specific lanes on the streets, the Burke-Gilman Trail, and plenty of places to lock your bike up on campus.

Make sure to buy a u-lock to properly secure your bike and have an extra chain to put through both wheels and the frame for added security.

Light Rail Even students who live very far off campus or commute from home have the option of using the Link Light rail. This high-speed train (also free to students) has 16 stops that begin at campus and run past the SEA-TAC airport.

In addition, there are going to be new lines that will connect to the eastside as well as north to Everett. This means in the near future the Link Light rail will allow more people to commute from home or cheaper housing districts to campus.

HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT PLACE TO LIVE It may seem daunting to look for a place before the school year ends, but this guide will make the search easier. Here is a compiled list of resources available to students.

On-campus housing resources: Housing & Food Services: HFS is UW’s guide to oncampus housing. This is the simplest way to renew your current UW housing agreement or begin to live in the dorms or campus apartments. The housing application opens at the beginning of April.

Off-campus housing resources: Searching for a home online is the most convenient method, though going in person can be more effective.

Both allow you to search for homes by area, size, price range, and many other features. Here are a few favorite student resources.

Zillow: Zillow is by far the most popular real estate website when looking to rent a home off-campus. Using the same search terms on Zillow and competing real estate websites, Zillow always came out with the most results.

Trulia: Although Trulia doesn’t

have the most listings, it has the most helpful resources in the way that it filters searches.

Along with the typical house size, price range, and location filters, it allows you to limit your search by pet allowances, home amenities, and house type.

Zumper: This site has all of the same properties as other online real estate websites. Like Trulia, it does not compare to the amount of search results as Zillow, however, you can narrow down your search results by lease length, neighborhood, and whether it’s student housing. You can also create alerts to see when more housing opens up.

Take a walk around U-District: This option seems the most time-consuming, but offers features that no real estate website can offer. By walking around the U-District, students will find out hands on exactly how long the walk would be to campus. Likewise, it makes it clear how close a building is to restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, and bus stops.

The only way to get the full picture of a place is to tour apartments and see the floor-plans and amenities in

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Husky U-PASS allows students to use any King County Metro Transit service for free.

Bussing If you live more than a mile off campus, bussing is an easy way to get to school quickly, and using King County transit is free with your Husky Card.

Over 60 bus routes come to the U-District, so there are options in every direction.

Apps like Google Maps and OneBusAway can help you plan your route as well as determine when the next bus will arrive and which bus lines go to each stop.

Photo by Peyton Pedrozo

Driving If you are a student that has a car and are commuting from home, driving and parking near campus is also an option. There are paid quarterly parking options throughout campus, but there is also free street parking about 5 blocks north of campus, about 8 blocks west of campus, and just north of University Village, where you would then be able to take the 372 directly up to campus.

By Martina Povolo Staff Writer

person. Any questions can be answered by the leasing agent directly.

Walking through the U-District might even score you a place not on the market yet.

Craigslist: When asking students about Craigslist, they all said to be wary of this site.

Although hidden gems can be found, there have been a lot of sketchy situations that have come out of this service.

An alternative route would be to ask mutual friends about housing they recommend.

Off-campus sublets: Sublets are another affordable option in the U-District. This is especially helpful when finding a place to live over the summer. Here are a few recommendations from students.

Word-of-mouth: The most reliable resource when looking to sublet or rent a room in an existing lease is to ask your social network and mutual friends. This helps avoid getting into dangerous situations where you are living with people you do not know.

Even if the person you end up living with is a distant mutual friend of a friend, it is better than living with strangers.

Facebook: UW runs Facebook groups specifically for

renting and subletting rooms and houses. This is also a safer choice than Craigslist, because even if you don’t know who your roommate is, you know they are from the UW community.

Some Facebook groups include: UW Housing, Subleases, Roommates, Apartments; UW Housing, Sublets & Roommates; University of Washington Housing, Rooms, Apartments, Sublets; and Seattle Housing.

Newspapers: Most newspapers, like The Seattle Times and The Stranger, have a classified section.

Utilizing these sections

is useful because people are constantly posting advertisements about subletting rooms in their apartments and houses.

Since most people don’t read classified sections anymore, there are a plethora of unexplored options. Be careful though; like Craigslist, there isn’t a lot of information about the seller and there is no guarantee that your roommates will be UW students.

To avoid this, visit The Daily’s classified section for a more reliable source.

Housing options can be found on various Facebook pages and websites.

Photo by Peyton Pedrozo

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HOUSING GUIDE

HUSKY MEDIA GROUP

HOUSING ADVICE

HUSKY MEDIA GROUP

WORD ON THE STREET: HOUSING EDITION

By Martina Povolo Staff Writer | Peyton Pedrozo Photo Editor

MATTHEW GOMEZ

DEREK MOURAD

Where do you live? “I live on 42nd and 5th.”

Why did you choose to live there? “With a group of friends from a house we lived in our sophomore year we found a new house and have been living there for the past couple years.”

Housing tips? “Earlier is easier. Always look earlier, stuff runs out, people get houses early. Look before you think.”

Where do you live? “I currently live in an apartment on 8th and 42nd.”

Why did you choose to live there? “Definitely cost is one of the biggest reasons. I thought that by living in an apartment I could have more freedom regarding how I spend my money on food.”

Housing tips? “If you want to live off-campus, it’s not that bad going a little bit farther away. Just be strategic around bus stops.”

JASMINE CHOI

Where do you live? “I live in Haggett, honestly like a lot of people say it’s like not a great place to live but it’s not that bad, it’s the good vibes. It’s not a traditional hotel feeling that the new dorms have, it’s like, community building.”

Why did you choose to live there? “Honestly I just got placed into it, I didn’t have any choices.”

Housing tips? “Always wear shoes around.”

KENDALL SMITH

Where do you live? “I live in a sorority.”

Why did you choose to live there? “I wanted to be able to come to college and find an instant community and be surrounded by people all the time cause I’m a really social person.”

Housing tips? “I would say to join a sorority.”

KYLIE KIRKSEY

Where do you live? “On 20th and 52nd. It’s a sorority live-out.”

Why did you choose to live there? “Because a group of girls from my sorority and I were looking for a house to all live in together, so we moved in after another group of girls from our house moved out.”

Housing tips? “Start your own lease because it always makes it cleaner. Also, when you move into a house off campus, they have you do an initial walk through of it, mark everything, any little scratch, mark that off because you don’t want to be charged for things you didn’t do.”

SREE ARAVINDAN

HOUSING GUIDE

Where do you live? “I live in McMahon Hall.”

Why did you choose to live there? “It was actually like one of my last choices actually.”

Housing tips? “Try to be as clean as possible. It can get really dirty in the cluster bathrooms.”

AJAY RAWAT

Where do you live? “Maple Hall.”

Why did you choose to live there? “I’m in the college of engineering, and they have an engineering LLC, and also they have Area 01.”

Housing tips? “I personally like West Campus more than North Campus.”

VICTORIA HARMON

Where do you live? “I live in Haggett.”

Why did you choose to live there? “They kinda placed me there.”

Housing tips? “Be very truthful when filling out the roommate application. I think it’s important because if you aren’t truthful, it could hurt you or your roommate, and then it’s awkward.”

LAUREN WITTY

Where do you live? “I live in Sundodger apartments, which is kinda like Portage Bay Cafe.”

Why did you choose to live there? “We didn’t like how you have to have a dining plan on campus so we wanted to go somewhere off campus and it was a brand-new building.”

Housing tips? “I think starting early is good and then organizing a lot of tours, because there are a lot of places but not all of the places are somewhere you really want to live.”

CHAD FOSTER

Where do you live? “In a fraternity.”

Why did you choose to live there? “Because it was more affordable and brotherhood.”

Housing tips? “Shop by price, save money.”

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HOUSING GUIDE

HUSKY MEDIA GROUP

HOUSING ADVICE

HUSKY MEDIA GROUP

WORD ON THE STREET: HOUSING EDITION

By Martina Povolo Staff Writer | Peyton Pedrozo Photo Editor

MATTHEW GOMEZ

DEREK MOURAD

Where do you live? “I live on 42nd and 5th.”

Why did you choose to live there? “With a group of friends from a house we lived in our sophomore year we found a new house and have been living there for the past couple years.”

Housing tips? “Earlier is easier. Always look earlier, stuff runs out, people get houses early. Look before you think.”

Where do you live? “I currently live in an apartment on 8th and 42nd.”

Why did you choose to live there? “Definitely cost is one of the biggest reasons. I thought that by living in an apartment I could have more freedom regarding how I spend my money on food.”

Housing tips? “If you want to live off-campus, it’s not that bad going a little bit farther away. Just be strategic around bus stops.”

JASMINE CHOI

Where do you live? “I live in Haggett, honestly like a lot of people say it’s like not a great place to live but it’s not that bad, it’s the good vibes. It’s not a traditional hotel feeling that the new dorms have, it’s like, community building.”

Why did you choose to live there? “Honestly I just got placed into it, I didn’t have any choices.”

Housing tips? “Always wear shoes around.”

KENDALL SMITH

Where do you live? “I live in a sorority.”

Why did you choose to live there? “I wanted to be able to come to college and find an instant community and be surrounded by people all the time cause I’m a really social person.”

Housing tips? “I would say to join a sorority.”

KYLIE KIRKSEY

Where do you live? “On 20th and 52nd. It’s a sorority live-out.”

Why did you choose to live there? “Because a group of girls from my sorority and I were looking for a house to all live in together, so we moved in after another group of girls from our house moved out.”

Housing tips? “Start your own lease because it always makes it cleaner. Also, when you move into a house off campus, they have you do an initial walk through of it, mark everything, any little scratch, mark that off because you don’t want to be charged for things you didn’t do.”

SREE ARAVINDAN

HOUSING GUIDE

Where do you live? “I live in McMahon Hall.”

Why did you choose to live there? “It was actually like one of my last choices actually.”

Housing tips? “Try to be as clean as possible. It can get really dirty in the cluster bathrooms.”

AJAY RAWAT

Where do you live? “Maple Hall.”

Why did you choose to live there? “I’m in the college of engineering, and they have an engineering LLC, and also they have Area 01.”

Housing tips? “I personally like West Campus more than North Campus.”

VICTORIA HARMON

Where do you live? “I live in Haggett.”

Why did you choose to live there? “They kinda placed me there.”

Housing tips? “Be very truthful when filling out the roommate application. I think it’s important because if you aren’t truthful, it could hurt you or your roommate, and then it’s awkward.”

LAUREN WITTY

Where do you live? “I live in Sundodger apartments, which is kinda like Portage Bay Cafe.”

Why did you choose to live there? “We didn’t like how you have to have a dining plan on campus so we wanted to go somewhere off campus and it was a brand-new building.”

Housing tips? “I think starting early is good and then organizing a lot of tours, because there are a lot of places but not all of the places are somewhere you really want to live.”

CHAD FOSTER

Where do you live? “In a fraternity.”

Why did you choose to live there? “Because it was more affordable and brotherhood.”

Housing tips? “Shop by price, save money.”

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HOUSING GUIDE

HUSKY MEDIA GROUP YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR You probably heard from your friends that apartment hunting is so stressful, but it doesn’t have to be with this guide.

Rent in Seattle was as high as $2,750 per month in 2019 with rent and utilities combined, according to real estate website Zillow.

For many college students, $1,000 per month for rent is considered expensive and unaffordable, but depending on the different prices and the features that you want, you get what you pay for. $1,000-1,500 per month offcampus Many apartments around the U-District are priced around $1,000-1,500 plus utilities for a 188 to 452 square feet studio. These apartments come with modern kitchens, new interiors, a professional management team for maintenance requests, and are walking distance to the Ave. Some apartments, such as the Nolan, have fully equipped bedrooms with a 32” bedroom TV, pillowtop mattress and even a study room in the apartment complex. Others, such as Malloy Apartments, are pet friendly. $1,000-1,500 per month oncampus HFS also has apartment-style residence halls available to choose, including Nordheim,

Kelsey Apartments

Mercer, and Stevens Court for student housing. All three have options for students to choose from, ranging from 2- and 4-bedroom apartments to studios. The rate varies depending on the type, but is mostly around $1,200-$1,300 per month.

With this price range, you get a shared kitchen, a gym, communal dryers and washers, professional staff and 24/7 support from Residential Life staff.

As for dorm-style residence halls, about $1,1001,300 a month will get you a double room with a private bath for West Campus and the New North dorms. These rooms are more expensive than the other dorms because the facilities are new,

YOUR RIGHTS AS A TENANT While finding a new place to live is exciting, it isn’t always a risk free endeavor.

Everything from a broken faucet to a careless landlord can complicate your living situation.

Luckily, as a tenant you have certain rights that can make all the difference. Here is a list of some of your most important rights as a tenant in Seattle as outlined by Seattle Landlord-Tenant Laws: Obligations of Landlords: Landlords in Seattle are required to provide tenants with living conditions that are clean, safe, and secure.

This includes maintaining the structural integrity of the building, ensuring that utilities function, and keeping fire alarms in operation, as well as getting rid of rodents and changing the locks on doors when appropriate. However, landlords are not responsible for cosmetic improvements.

Obligations of Tenants: Tenants are required to maintain the safety and cleanliness of the rental housing. This includes taking out garbage, avoiding the storage of dangerous materials in the building, and repairing damages caused by the tenant. It also mandates that tenants allow for inspection, maintenance, and pest control.

The Just Cause Eviction Ordinance: Landlords must have a just cause for evicting a tenant and must warn the tenant of the eviction at least 20 days before the next rental period.

Just cause can include the tenant not paying rent within three days of receiving a notice, the tenant paying rent late four times in a single year, and the tenant failing to comply with the terms of the rental agreement or with their obligations under Seattle

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By Annie Trieu Staff Writer

Photo by Peyton Pedrozo

sustainable and more modern.

Utilities are also included in this lump sum. However, note that living with HFS also means you would need to adhere to compliance and housing policies established

by HFS. $700-900 per month offcampus If your budget is within the $700-900 range for off campus, you can find a 2,300 to 3,000 square foot house to share with 7-8 roommates within U-District or Wallingford.

The houses are usually within walking distance to the UW or only a few bus stops away. Many houses will have a parking space, in-unit laundry, a living room, dining room, and full kitchen. A few

have fully furnished bedrooms with beds, dressers, and desks with chairs if you’re lucky enough.

Price: $700-900 per month on-campus The price for dorm-style residence halls on campus depends on how old the building is and the number of roommates you will be sharing with. Haggett Hall, Hansee and McMahon are the older dorms, and you will pay on average $750-850 per month for a double, private or communal bath depending on the dorm you pick. If you want to find this price range for newer dorm-style residence halls, such as West Campus or the New North, then it would be a triple or quadruple

Sundodger Apartments

with private bath.

Just like the on-campus apartments, the pro is you don’t need to worry about paying utilities because it’s included in the lump sum. HFS also requires residents living in dorms to buy meal plans, which can be a convenience if you have a busy school or work schedule, or you’re not the person who doesn’t like to cook.

Photo by Peyton Pedrozo

By Asad Tacy Staff Writer Landlord-Tenant Laws within 10 days of receiving a notice.

Other reasons that a landlord can evict a tenant include the tenant causing serious damage to the building, engaging in illegal activities within the rental housing, and the landlord wishing to demolish or personally occupy the building.

Actions Considered to be Harassment or Retaliation: It is considered harassment or retaliation for landlords to tamper with locks on doors; remove fixtures, such as windows; stop providing utilities; remove the tenant outside of a formal eviction process; enter the tenant’s unit without a two day notice; or increase rent without proper notice.

It is also retaliation or harassment for a tenant to change locks on doors, remove fixtures from the unit,

or purposefully damage the building.

Increase in Housing Cost: Landlords must give tenants a warning 30 days before a rent increase of less than 10 percent. A warning must come 60 days before an increase of more than 10 percent. Increases in rent can only occur at the beginning of a rental period. Additionally, rent cannot be increased if the unit does not meet the minimum habitability standards.

Deposits: The amount of a security deposit must be specified in the rental agreement and cannot be greater than the cost of the first month’s rent. The landlord must also provide the tenant with a list that specifies under what conditions the security deposit will be withheld.

Pet deposits cannot exceed 25% of the cost of the

first month’s rent and cannot be required if the animal is an assistance animal. As with security deposits, pet deposits must be specified in the rental agreement.

Move-in Fees: Move-in fees cannot surpass the cost to obtain a background check or credit report and to pay to clean the unit after the tenant leaves.

Additionally, move-in fees cannot exceed 10% of the cost of the first month’s rent.

For more information, visit: http://www.seattle.gov/sdci/ renting For student legal services, visit: http://depts.washington. edu/slsuw/

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