Housing Fair guides students

Free candy, doughnuts and popcorn are all goodies that you could have received just for walking down the Physical Education hallway on Wednesday afternoon.

“Where will you live next year?” This question and others were answered at the UVU Housing Fair, which took place Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Student housing complexes from the Orem-Provo area were invited to set up booths and pass out information to students seeking housing for the coming summer and fall semesters.

“Our main goal is to give students an opportunity to see what housing opportunities are out there since we don’t offer on-campus housing facilities,” said Dawn Burgess, UVU Off-Campus Housing Office Director. “We also try to give the area complexes a chance to meet students and advertise what they have available.”

In addition to the seven complexes that had booths set up, representatives were on hand from the UVU Off-Campus Housing Office and UVU Judicial Affairs Office.

Ashley Robertson, UVU Ombuds, said that a lot of students come in with housing complaints, mostly due to complex managers not refunding student-housing deposits.

“I know the Utah Renter’s Guide and can help students with housing disputes,” said Robertson. “If I can’t help you, I know who can.”

She added that students do not realize how many rights they have when it comes to housing; however, students need to understand that when renting an apartment, they are entering into a legal contract.

During the fair, representatives from local apartment complexes were on hand to answer any questions that students had.

“The biggest questions that we had was about pricing,” said Celena Wunder, Parkway Crossing Residence Director. “The next question students asked is if we have married housing.”

Wunder said that Parkway Crossing is one of the only student complexes in the area to offer married housing.

The Off-Campus Housing Office hosts its fair biannually, once in the fall and again during spring semester. The office is located in the Sorensen Student Center at Campus Connection.

Students are welcome to stop by their office for an information packet or to visit their website for more information at www.uvu.edu/housing.