Iowa State has attempted to help students impacted by apartment lease gaps in Ames by offering housing August 1-10.

The Department of Residence now offers temporary on-campus housing to all newly admitted, early-arriving or international ISU Students, ISU Students in approved groups with fall contracts, and up to 60 students without fall contracts with need for temporary housing, according to the Temporary Housing website.

Student Body President Cody West and Vice President Cody Smith included addressing lease signings and lease gaps as part of their to-do list for the summer. West said he was thankful for the Department of Residence offering even 60 beds to non-contracted students.

“It’s a decent start,” West said. “We know it’s not convenient for them.”

Smith said he was particularly excited for international students, who don’t have the option to run home or do the things that U.S. students can during the gap. However, he knows the housing doesn’t address all the issues around lease gaps, something he and West will keep working on.

“This is something I’ve worked on since I was a senator last year,” Smith said. “When we had our joint city council and student government meeting last fall I brought it up to the city council members, and all of them, it was an issue they had never heard of. It was something that wasn’t even on their radar.”

Check in would be Wednesday, August 1 beginning at 8 a.m., with check out Thursday, August 10 before noon. Students with a fall housing contract would move to their fall assignment on August 10.

In Ames, many move out dates are July 31 and move in dates can be past August 10, for some complexes as late as August 21, so there is still at least one night where students will not have a bed to stay in. They also have to store furniture, etc. while staying in temporary housing.

Smith is one of those that doesn’t fall in the period. His lease ends July 29.

“I know personally I’m affected by the lease gap for three days,” Smith said.

West said the date range was decided based on move-in for fall residents, and could not be extended. He considered one night sleeping on a friend’s couch to be OK, but two weeks relying on another person’s generosity was too much.

“Sleeping in a car is never OK, honestly,” West said. “I reached out to multiple hotels and they were giving us rates 100, 200 dollars a night.”

The nightly rate for the university temporary housing is $35 a night.

West said students affected by lease gaps should contact Student Government so they have a better idea of the scope of who is affected and can further advocate for those students.

“Having that actual student testimony … gives us that driving force we need,” West said. “A lot of other universities struggle with this, but don’t have the relationships with administrators we do.”

This will help students whose apartment move out date is earlier than their apartment move in date. Many students experience this even moving within the same apartment complex. This period of mass homelessness has been combatted by past students with couch-surfing, staying in their cars or renting a hotel between their leases.

Students can fill out a form requesting the housing on the website. You do not have to stay all 9 nights.

Here’s the breakdown on the housing:

• Cost: $35 per person, per night.
• Location: Willow Hall
• Room Style: All rooms are single gender, double occupancy (for two people).
• Only provided furniture, including two single beds, is allowed in each room.
• All rooms are non-smoking.  It is AGAINST THE LAW to smoke on the ISU campus.  
• The possession and/or consumption of alcohol is prohibited.