TO THE EDITOR:
Students being evicted in the middle of a semester is a shame, but the fault lies with the greedy landlords who know the rules and defy them. A landlord charging $7,000 a month for a nine-bedroom home knows there will be more than four bodies in it and knows to have only four signatures on the rental agreement. They dare the town to enforce the rules.
Students argue that raising occupancy will free up homes for permanent residents. This won’t be the case. Home prices will increase with greater rental potential, making them less affordable to permanent residents.
Northside is not the only neighborhood affected. Student rentals have overtaken Davie Circle, dominated the Cameron-McCauley Historic District and represent fully 50 percent of the residents in the Franklin-Rosemary Historic District. For residents this is not an issue of race or discrimination as has been suggested by some. It is an issue of preserving our neighborhoods with a healthy balance of students and permanent residents.
Affordable student housing is a real problem and getting worse as high-end student apartments are built with rents in the $600-$700 per bed range. Developers predict Shortbread Lofts and The Lux at Central Park will bring down rents in residential neighborhoods as students leave for more attractive housing. Don’t bet on it.
Raising the occupancy cap will not create affordable student housing nor will it benefit the neighborhood residents. It will only benefit the landlords. If students are looking for cheaper housing options, I suggest they bring their concerns to the University.
Janet Smith
Chapel Hill, N.C.
