UCSF Housing Services is predicting occupancy rates will be higher than originally anticipated. During the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, many tenants moved out of Housing. Now, on-campus tenants are back, and all of the Housing communities are almost 100% full. The communities, which consist of Mission Bay Housing, The Tidelands, Aldea San Miguel, Avenues Homes, and the newly added Mount Zion Housing, are offered to UCSF students, faculty, trainees, and staff.
The new inclusion of staff in campus housing, in conjunction with below-market rents, contributed to the high occupancy rates. Housing Services extended term limits from 2 years to 5 years. This allows current tenants who love their homes to stay, rather than have to look off campus, pay a deposit, and move.
As of July 1, 2022, Housing Services is expecting 98% occupancy. Some vacancies are unfilled for use as quarantine units in case a tenant needs to remove themselves from a COVID-positive roommate.
“It is unlikely there will continue to be a surplus [of units] this year. This will help stabilize the campus housing program after the financial hit of the COVID pandemic,” says Housing Services’ Assignments & Leasing Manager, Zainab Sadoun.
The most in-demand apartment types are 1-bedrooms, shared apartments, and efficiencies. Students, trainees, and faculty receive priority for housing placements. Staff employees and other eligible groups are offered apartments pending space availability. Housing Services has reached out to the remaining applicants to provide them with alternative housing resources.
Over the last three months, the Assignments Team has processed approximately 1,200 applications. “This feels a lot like pre-COVID times when we had so much demand we couldn’t keep up,” stated Sadoun. “But don’t worry, we have more housing coming online next year through the UC Hastings housing partnership.” The partnership will bring an additional 230 units online for our UCSF Community.
