University of Nevada, Reno students were displaced by another student apartment complex, HERE Reno, due to construction setbacks delaying move in time.
HERE Reno is a new student apartment complex that began leasing with students in September 2021 while construction was still underway.
Students being misplaced due to construction continues to be a common recurring problem with student housing — in 2021, student living complex Park Place delayed move-in by several months. Nonetheless, residents living in HERE Reno are now placed in their apartments despite the move-in being delayed
They advertise themselves as luxury apartments with premium amenities such as a coffee bar, breakfast bar, 24-hour gym, computer and print bar, hot tubs, sun decks and more. The complex also offered sign-on bonuses to increase the amount of leases signed — get two months free of rent or get $80 off of monthly rent.
This incentive was enough to get sophomore Kamaya Tillett to sign.
Tillet is paying her own tuition, so she wanted the cheapest student housing option she could find. She was also hopeful that HERE Reno would be finished on time to move in, but that wasn’t the case.
“I was at work and I got the email, and immediately it was like panic,” Tillet expressed, “What am I going to do? I already paid the rent. I’m supposed to be moving in maybe in a week or two weeks, so it was very scary because I didn’t know where I was going to stay”
Tillet was placed on the 7th floor, and her original move-in date was August 26. HERE Reno notified Tillet about her delayed move-in on August 24 – two days before her original move-in date.
HERE Reno gave two options to students that were scheduled to move in.
The first option was that students could find their own temporary housing until they were allowed to move into their new apartment.Tenants would be given a $100 daily gift card for each day that they weren’t moved in. They would also get $30 put back into their account from the monthly rent they paid each day that they aren’t moved in.
The second option was that HERE Reno would give alternate housing accommodations Whitney Peak Hotel and a $40 daily gift card each day residents were not moved in. There is no rent abatement option like the previous.
Tillet chose option one and stayed with a friend, but she still isn’t happy with how HERE Reno treated the situation.
“I’m very upset because I know they’re giving the daily rent abatement back but I want my full month’s rent back because I shouldn’t have even had to pay,” Tillet said.
Tillet was finally able to move in on August 31. Despite the bumpy move in, she doesn’t regret leasing with Here Reno. She just wishes the communication was more effective.
Additionally, senior Roshan Kumar also hoped HERE Reno would have completed construction by move-in day. Kumar chose the second option of staying at a hotel.
Despite being placed at Whitney Peak before school started, Kumar still had to commute to campus as a NevadaFit Mentor. Whitney Peak is a 20 minute walk to and from campus, and HERE Reno did not provide any transportation.
“I was very exhausted working 14 hours a day,” Kumar stated. “They could have arranged it.”
His original move in date was August 20, and he couldn’t move into his apartment until August 27.
When Kumar moved in, some elevators on the complex were inoperational and construction was still underway.
HERE Reno was contacted for an interview, but failed to reply.
Contact Lizzie Ramirez at ed*****@***********nr.edu or via Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.
