The Effects of COVID-19 on Apartment Leasing

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va., – With the fall semester almost over I wanted to take a look back at what students who wanted to rent, or leases had to go through with this time of crises. There are a lot of students around the country that lease or rent apartments when they go away for college, but this year had been completely different with how they do things.

Shepherd University student, Davian Hester said, “There is no real limit on the number of people in your apartment. You just have to be safe about it. The landlord said there should be no parties though due to the risk of the corona virus”.

While talking to Hester, he sounded like he did not really like this rule because he is a very social person and likes to have gatherings with his friends. He understands the risk level it presents when you have a large gathering of people and understands this is not the time for that for his safety and his friend’s safety.

Before signing the lease, students were unable to actually visit the unit they were looking to rent. 

Treyvon Stephenson said, “No, we were not allowed to come in person and take a tour of the place. They had to give us other options if we wanted to look at it.” options included tours via Zoom or Facetime.

 Many people who want to rent want to see the apartment in person and really get an understanding of how much space they have and what they will put in there. It’s hard to do that though because people are worried for their health and don’t want to get sick.

Landlords might also lose people that possibly want to rent because they can’t show them in person and that might scare people away. It has been hard on students and landlord trying to work things out, so everything works out smoothly and they are both happy.

Having a landlord that will understand your problems and work with you is big in a time like this. Everyone is having a rough time and is getting frustrated with this corona virus but being able to work together will help a lot.

Shepherd student Tyler Hardy said, “Yes, she [his landlord] expects use to pay the full amount on the day that it is due, but if there are any problems with getting her the money just to let her know, and she will work with you to get it paid or give you more time to pay it.”

Many students lost their jobs or are trying to find new jobs to help them pay and having a landlord that is understanding really helps. Trying to rent an apartment during this crisis has been difficult sometimes, but when you have a good group of people who work together and understand each other makes it a little bit easier for everyone and can make this process go faster.

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