As Mizzou Enrollment Plummets, Landlords Offer $1,000 Gift Cards, Big Rent Reductions

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The race-fueled protests at the University of Missouri took a huge bite out of enrollment, with the student population dropping 35 percent since the fall 2015. Local landlords are having so much trouble finding students to rent their off-campus housing that some are offering $1,000 gift cards or major rent reductions, the Devils Lake Journal reports.

A recent Columbia City Council report found that the vacancy rate has risen to almost 10 percent in Columbia—with rates spiking to nearly 13 percent outside a one-mile radius from campus.

The Lyfe at Mizzou, a 450-bed apartment complex with a computer lab and a free shuttle to campus, has tried to entice students with $250-per-tenant gift card. It also promises students they can apply for free and sign a lease with no money down, according to the Devils Lake Journal.

Mizzou provides an off-campus housing search, but several of the property managers we called said they did not want to comment about anything related to the university’s declining enrollment.

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