The start of August usually means the start of new leases in Ames. Many students are in the process of transitioning from one apartment to the next, and some students are left to find somewhere else to sleep because they cannot get into their new apartments soon enough.

Some students in Ames have to go through a period of time where they are considered homeless because their previous leases are up but their new leases have not yet started. Many leases in Ames require renters to move out by July 31.

Move-in dates can range anywhere from Aug. 1 to the weekend before school starts. During this time, the rental companies clean apartments and repair any damages. Some companies offer early move-in dates but there is no guarantees that the apartment will be clean or fixed.

Some renters are also able to submit a request to the manager to move in early, but not all of those applications can be accepted, thus making it difficult for students to be sure if they have a place to go for the month of August.

While some places have early move-in dates, others take much longer to clean and prepare for incoming students. More maintenance and cleaning staff could to be hired to make sure that the students can move in as soon as possible. The time it takes to clean and prepare the units is time that the incoming residents are living between homes.

While students are upset about the issue, they also carry part of the responsibility. Students that are signing leases to live in a new apartment should be aware of the dates that the leases begin and end and make arrangements if there is a time where the residents will be in interim.

Students already feel the financial pressures of school, buying food and trying to live on their own. Extra costs associated with not being able to move into a new apartment when a previous lease ends would be having to get a storage unit, paying a prorated cost to live somewhere else in addition to August rent, paying huge fees to move in days or weeks early or having to go home and commute — if possible — to jobs or classes in Ames.

Many renters are forced to contact friends or relatives to find storage or a place to sleep during the transition. Unfortunately, this also leaves students in a spot where they are forced to move twice before they are settled into their new apartments.

Students should not have the struggle of looking for a temporary place to live until their apartment is ready when they already have so much on their plate. Many rental places offer students to be able to move into their units before they are clean, but that can upset renters when the apartment is not up to their standards.

The apartments in the Ames area should make an effort to improve maintenance time so that students can get quickly moved into their new units without having to deal with the stresses of being homeless for weeks. The faster the maintenance work is finished, the sooner the new residents can move in and start enjoying their new apartments.

But students also need to be aware of their lease start and end dates. Renters should read their entire lease and understand that they may need to make other arrangements for the gap in between when companies are cleaning and fixing the apartments.