Rent increases for UM housing concern students on tight budget
Mosabber Hosain
(Missoula Current) Rent will rise again this summer for residents of the University of Montana’s University Villages, adding another financial burden for students and families already dealing with high living costs in Missoula.
University Villages residents received the new rent list by email, according to a notice reviewed by the reporter. The email said that, under the UM Housing rental agreement, rental rates will increase effective July 1, 2026.
Under the new schedule, monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment will increase to $1,292 in Craighead and Sisson, $908 in Elliott Village and $1,234 in Toole Village.
Rent for a one-bedroom unit will rise to $1,074 in Craighead and Sisson, $736 in Elliott Village and $1,020 in Toole Village. The increase comes at a difficult time for many students, students said. Rent is already one of their biggest monthly expenses. Students also pay for food, transportation, university fees, internet and other basic needs.
For some University Villages residents, the listed rent is not the full housing cost. Craighead and Sisson rent includes utilities, but Elliott Village and Toole Village residents pay heat and electricity separately, according to UM Housing.
The new rates continue a multi-year increase in University Villages rent. Based on previous UM housing rates, two-bedroom rent in Craighead and Sisson was $963 in 2021-22 and will be $1,292 in 2026-27. Elliott Village two-bedroom rent rose from $676 to $908, while Toole Village two-bedroom rent rose from $920 to $1,234 during the same period. That is an increase of about 34% in six years.
University Villages serves students and others who need apartment-style housing near campus. UM describes University Villages as apartment housing for students with dependents, undergraduate students with more than 30 credits, graduate students and UM faculty or staff.
That makes the rent increase especially important for graduate students, student parents, married students and international students. Many of them have limited income while studying.
“Even a small increase in housing costs can be difficult for students because many of us are not earning much while studying,” said Onila NM Don, president of the International Student Association and a teaching and research assistant in computer science. “Rent is already one of the biggest expenses, so any increase can add more pressure to students’ overall living costs.”
Don said the challenge can be especially hard for international students, who are usually limited to working 20 hours per week on campus during the academic semester.
“Their income may not increase, but their expenses do, which makes it harder to afford housing and other basic needs,” Don said.
The resident said the increase is frustrating because some students have not seen major new facilities or services connected to the higher rates. The broader Missoula housing market gives students few easy choices. Off-campus rent remains high, and lower-cost units can be difficult to find. For students who depend on campus housing, moving out of University Villages may not be realistic, especially if they are balancing school, work, family responsibilities and transportation costs.
Access to University Villages housing is also not automatic. UM’s University Villages application page refers applicants to their application or waitlist status, suggesting that some students may have to wait for housing availability.
For scholarship-based and graduate students, the problem can be more difficult. Some students depend on limited monthly stipends while also paying rent, food costs, fees, transportation and other expenses. If rent increases but stipends do not rise at the same rate, students may have to reduce spending in other parts of their lives.
UM’s communication team and student welfare officials did not respond to the reporter’s request for comment after more than 48 hours. The request asked about the reason for the rent increase, its impact on students and whether the higher rates are connected to new services or facility improvements.
Students questioned said they we are already balancing rent, food, tuition, transportation and limited work hours. For them, the increase raises a larger question: How much can campus housing rise before it no longer feels affordable for the students who rely on it most?
Several students said they are already in difficult financial situations and have few affordable alternatives. For them, University Villages is not a luxury choice but one of the only housing options they can manage while studying. They said there is no clear low-cost payment option or rent-relief program connected to the new increase, making it harder for students with limited income to adjust.
"We do not see major upgrades or extra facilities,” one resident said. “The buildings are old, but the rent keeps increasing. It is hard to understand the logic of this increase."
Another University Villages resident, who asked not to be named because he did not want to speak publicly, said students had hoped rent would go down or at least stay the same because the cost of living is already high.
“We expected the rent might be reduced for the coming year, but instead it increased,” the resident said. “Now we have to cut our meals and other costs to adjust. It is bad news for all of us.”