Finding housing on the Central Coast is a burden for many people and for college students, it’s no different.
“Housing has always kind of been difficult for me. The 2020 year I lived in a motel for the first three weeks of school while I was waiting for the on-campus apartments to make room for me," said Cal Poly student Han Ewald.
A new partnership with Cal Poly aims to make finding off-campus housing easier.
According to the 2018 Cal Poly Basic Needs Task Force report, 12% of students had experienced homelessness at one point.
Cal Poly is hoping the free online platform EDUrain will help.
“EDUrain partners with colleges across the world to create these official off-campus housing communities," said Bryon Pierson Jr., CEO and founder of EDUrain.
The website offers features such as a roommate search function, subleasing feature, a credit-building program through on-time rental payments, an alternative security deposit program, and a scholarship search, among others.
“Our specialty is being like this first step for independence for students. You know, we really want to be this tool that it's like this safe environment where people can find out how to live independently," Pierson added.
The service is free for students searching for housing. The online website charges landlords a fee once a student signs a lease with them.
“I think it's definitely like the right step because I so far have only seen Facebook groups. They have like the housing and stuff. I never seen a dedicated app for it so I do think at least the university is actually like being aware of like a housing kind of crisis going on," said Cal Poly student Jasmine Wu.
“I think it is probably going to be beneficial just because there is a limit to how much housing is on campus. I know I've had trouble finding on-campus housing before. I think helping people find off-campus housing that's more affordable is going to be a benefit," explained another student, Finnegan Butler.
For students like Ewald, the new partnership may just be the answer he was looking for.
“I will go look into it afterward because I still don't have housing for next year," Ewald said.
EDUrain is available globally and so far has about 30 schools on board.
