On Jan. 27, the Associated Students of the University of Oregon hosted their annual State of the University. This event covered a range of notable topics, including housing affordability, which many UO students encounter.
Nick Aguayo, the Deputy Director of the Springfield Eugene Tenant Association, spoke at the ASUO forum. SETA is a nonprofit organization that provides education and resources to tenants in Lane County.
“We believe (SETA) is a vital resource – we don’t provide legal services, but we provide education so that tenants can advocate for themselves,” Aguayo said. “We have interpretation services in over 140 languages, so we can make sure that we can provide help and support for anyone who asks.”
For students who choose off-campus housing, the options are numerous and often too expensive for the average student’s salary. According to the NMHC, between 2013 and 2020, student housing costs increased by 25%, while average tuition rose by only 20%.
Aguayo points to a simple explanation for the problem: not enough housing supply.
There were four major areas that contributed to this supply shortage, but one of the main issues lies in zoning laws. Zoning laws are how a city or municipality organizes its city into different zones, such as industrial, commercial or residential zones.
“Historically, in Oregon, there’s been many cities that have a lot of residential zones that are restricted to single-unit housing,” Aguayo said. “Restricting to single-unit housing basically stops the ability to build middle housing, which are two to four unit houses like duplexes.”
Brayden Higley is the Secretary of Basic Needs at ASUO and is working on an advocacy campaign to partner with the City of Eugene to address affordable housing issues.
Students face a myriad of different challenges throughout the renting process, starting from unclear pricing strategies, rental agreements that are difficult to leave and difficulties in being able to sublet 12-month leases.
“What we’re trying to do is invite the city council to be more involved with students and start discussions with us around affordable housing,” Higley said.“Without having us involved in the conversation, do we really need another multimillion dollar high rise?”
One student’s story that stood out to Higley was of a student who was promised a bed for $95 a month, but during the final steps of signing the
lease, they had noticed that there were two beds per room. Those rooms that are often marketed as affordable can be misleading or advertised with false pretenses.
He is currently organizing an event where students can write letters to the Eugene City Council, share their personal stories about the rental process and deliver them to the city council in hopes of starting a partnership between the ASUO.
“If students are frustrated with the marketing tactics, anything from the start to the end of the renting process, you can come to ASUO and we’re ready to talk to you about it,” Higley said. “We’re going to need to start working with the city council, and ask them to start working with us — currently there is no communication with students on what housing should look like.”
The Eugene City Council needs to work with students on the unique challenges they face in finding affordable housing, and a sustained partnership with the ASUO will bridge the communication gap.
