• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

With spring quarter under way, students choosing not to live in on-campus housing have been searching for apartments for the next academic year.

But with each passing year, apartment prices continue to rise, and it is increasingly difficult for students to find available apartments.

Frank Montana, manager for the UCLA Community Housing Office, said approximately 6,500 to 7,000 students live off campus in the Westwood area.

And though high prices have become more common in the area, some students are willing to pay.

Jessica Lin, a second-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student, said she would pay more to live closer to campus because it is more convenient and she does not have her own transportation.

And even though apartments closer to campus cost more, those prices are still less than the cost of living in the on-campus dorms, Lin said.

Though more upperclassmen will be living in on-campus housing next year, it will still be difficult to find an apartment because of an increase in demand and a decrease in turnover, Montana said.

The vacancy rate was 4 percent in February, compared to 4.8 percent a year earlier as reported to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Montana said.

He said the vacancy rate is even lower in West Los Angeles and Palms, meaning options for off-campus housing are becoming more scarce.

In addition to the reduced turnover rate, some apartment buildings have been converted into condominiums, leaving even fewer apartments available to students.

Club California, a condominium complex on Levering Avenue, was converted from an apartment complex late last year.

Erika Aspericueta, a transaction coordinator for Century 21 Award, which is handling the sales of Club California, said members of the UCLA community, including students, had purchased at least half of the condos sold so far.

Of the 50 units that have been sold, about eight have been to parents of students, Aspericueta said.

Parents are interested in purchasing units so that their children have a place to live while in college, and upon their graduation they can generally make a profit if they choose to sell it, Montana said.

Montana said apartments in Westwood tend to be more expensive than apartments in other areas because of the close proximity to the campus.

“As you leave campus and go a little further out to West L.A. or Palms, rent goes down,” Montana said.

While the public can access roommate listings, only students and UCLA affiliates can view the listing of vacancies in the surrounding area, Montana said.

At this point in the year, some students have already signed leases for apartments or have been put on waiting lists for vacancies in Westwood, as some landlords are currently accepting applications from students who are interested in living in their units.

But Montana said apartments become available every month and there is no need to look for an apartment until August.

If students are beginning to look for an apartment now for the 2006-2007 academic year, he encourages students to educate themselves about the entire process and to narrow down what they are looking for so that their search in August will go more quickly.

Montana added that applying for an apartment varies from building to building.

At some units, after students have submitted an application, their names are placed on a waiting list, Montana said.

Sometimes, this is done for free, but some complexes require a deposit in order to be placed on a list or even an immediate commitment to inhabit the unit.

Montana said students cannot be guaranteed apartments because landlords won’t “know who will have given notice until May or June or when leases run out.”

In an attempt to provide an alternative to independent apartments, Montana said UCLA Housing also offers its own apartments to students.

However starting next year, as part of an effort to reduce density in its buildings, Housing will be reducing the number of spots available in the university apartments from 900 to 831, Montana said.

Even so, according to the Community Housing Office Web site, living in the university apartments is typically the same price or cheaper than other apartments in Westwood.

According to the UCLA Housing Web site, a standard two-bedroom university apartment with four occupants costs about $5,300 per person for the academic year, just under $600 a month for nine months.

“Generally, it’s a philosophy to be at or below the current market price,” Montana said.

The Community Housing Office found the average rent in 2005 for a one-bedroom apartment to be $1,395 per month and a two-bedroom apartment to be $2,053 per month, according to its Web site.

Starting with the 2006-2007 academic year, the rent for university apartments includes all utilities, and now cable television and Internet, Montana said.

Montana also said these amenities are now being included because many students looking to live in apartments are coming from on-campus housing and are accustomed to having such expenses already calculated into their cost.