Off-campus housing the the university district is currently renting. Credit: Michael Goulet | Campus Photo Editor
For Ohio State students, finding off-campus housing can mean signing a lease months before they plan to move in.
Rows and rows of homes surround Ohio State’s campus, offering potential living spaces to students already looking ahead to the next school year.
Mia Holley, a third-year in primary education, said she feared that she would risk losing housing if she did not commit to her lease last winter.
Holley began searching for housing last December for the 2026-2027 school year. Though she was still eight months away from moving in, she wished she had started searching earlier.
“I think we felt pressured because we really didn’t see any other houses that were [going to] be open for rent,” Holley said. “So I feel like we were just like, okay, we need to sign this lease because we need to get it, because other people also wanted this house, we need to get on it now or it’s gonna be taken by somebody else.”
Holley officially signed her lease in March and continued to struggle to fill the spots through the summer.
“We had people leave and drop out of the lease, or committed to moving in, and so the hardest thing is then trying to find someone to cover their spot,” said Holley.
Kira Schaffert, a second-year in biology, is currently hunting for housing for the 2027-2028 school year.
“I think there is some pressure right now because we want to be able to sign a lease, but at the same time, I think that looking early will give us an advantage, and then in the end, we’ll be glad we started the process so early,” Schaffert said.
Schaffert said she has to look early or spots will fill up. Her biggest concern is making sure each of her friends are able to commit quickly when the time comes for them to sign their lease.
“We typically see students looking in fall for next year, and then we still see students looking in spring for that fall, so I think depending on their own timeline and what that looks like for them, their budget, their circumstances,” Lauren Stazen, senior relationship manager for the university’s Off-Campus and Commuter Student Engagement, said. “I think they can really dictate those timelines.”
Ohio State offers an off-campus housing network which helps students be more aware of the housing process.
The housing network is a holistic approach that connects Ohio State, Student Legal Services, property owners and several City of Columbus departments such as police and public safety, Stazen said.
“One of the great things that you can access through the search is a community survey, and that is our property companies or the members, they will complete this survey annually,” Stazen said. “What they provide through the survey is like an overview of business practices, so you can really have a good understanding before you even pick up a phone or send an email to a property company or landlord.”
Resources, such as the survey, for the fall housing network can be found at the network’s website.
“Ultimately, we want all of our Buckeyes to feel like they have the details and information to really make informed decisions when they go to move off campus,” Stazen said.
It is important to walk around and see the properties themselves, Schaffert said. In August, she and her friends went to look at houses and saw someone outside. They ended up talking with someone who is now reaching out to the landlord for Schaffert and her friends to move into the house next school year.
“Just get a head start, take it one step at a time, and, also, before – if you’re trying to live with other people– make sure you have your people and have a conversation with them about ‘Is this really what you want? Is this what you’re going to commit to?’ ” Holley said.
