Historically high enrollment numbers at Iowa State have led to an increase in demand for apartments, leaving some students scrambling for available space.

Maryanne Holland, the apartment manager for Stritzel Apartments in Ames, said they only have one three-person suite left for next fall. Holland said the increase in demand is noticeable.

“Previously, we had old houses on Welch, and I wouldn’t even start asking the old tenants until February if they were going to stay or not. This year people were calling to get on a waiting list before the other kids that were living here actually knew what they were going to do,” Holland said.

Jennifer Kapaun, the office manager for Hunziker Property Management, said they have required all renewal requests to be turned in by this week. 

“We had lots of phone calls last week, and this week is really busy with the renewals that are coming back,” Kapaun said. 

Holland said this is the her first experience with such a quick rental process. She also said those with internships off-campus and study-abroad opportunities tend to be the most concerned about finding a place to live.

“People are saying it’s hard to get a place even now for next fall … They’re worried they’re not going to have a place to stay,” Holland said.

Laura Kilbride, the community manager at University West Properties, has also noticed the increase in demand.

“Five years ago, we filled up in the summer, just before school started. Two years ago, we filled up by end of June. Last year, we filled up by May 1 … We are already 45 percent rented for August 2014, and these next eight weeks will be jam-packed with tours and lease signings. We recommend anyone looking for an apartment for August to look now, before they are all gone,” Kilbride said via email.

Last year, Iowa State rented several off-campus properties for student housing, including Legacy Towers and four buildings in West Ames. Kilbride, Holland and Kapaun all said they were contacted with a request for housing from Iowa State last year, but their properties were already full.

Kilbride and Holland said Iowa State has not contacted them about housing for the 2014-15 school year, and Kapaun said she was unsure if Hunziker had been contacted by Iowa State.

Kapuan said after securing an apartment, those renting will have to pass a credit check on either 12 months of credit history or 12 months of rental history. Those without a credit or rental history will need either a double deposit or a co-signer.

Adam Guenther, a senior majoring in genetics and animal science, said he began looking for apartments for next year in August 2013, but personal preferences such as the size of the apartment, have kept him from securing a lease.

“I’m getting a three-bedroom with two friends, and we just have different ideas of what we want to have,” Guenther said. 

Guenther said he has looked at apartments in West Ames, Campustown, and South Duff. He said none of the apartment complexes he’s looked into turned him down because they were already full. 

Guenther said he’s not concerned about finding a place to live with the growing enrollment, but doesn’t think it will be easy to find apartments in the future. 

“They’re not building any residence halls. They’ve pretty much expanded [Frederiksen Court] as much they possibly can and I haven’t seen any apartment buildings going up anytime soon or in the past,” Guenther said.