HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/24/2026 Item 4a, Bacio
Sarah Joann Bacio <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:2/24 City Council Meeting: Item 4a.
I am hopeful that this is supported by city council. I think a rental registry would help improve
transparency in the off-campus rental market and improve housing safety compliance. In my
conversations with students anecdotally many students are afraid to report any issues with a unit for fear
of retaliation from their housing provider. In winter 2025, I did survey with students and I listed below
the top five challenges identified.
Finding Rentals in Budget: 69% of students cited this as a top difficulty.
Proximity to Campus: 61% struggled to find housing close to campus.
Knowing Where/How to Search: 53% didn’t know where to look or how to start.
Time Pressure: Fast-paced market, with leases opening as early as November, creating stress and
forcing early commitments.
Application Competition: Some students applied to 10+ properties due to limited availability.
I would also share that if the rental registry has a public facing component to it, The Off-Campus Housing
Program would drive students to that site in all advertising we do. Right now, we have the Off-Campus
Housing Marketplace which is hosted by a third-party vendor because I don't have the
capacity/expertise, but advertising is costly to landlords/property managers. I would imagine a city
rental registry would be significantly cheaper. Especially since many pay advertising fees to various
platforms so with a public facing component to a rental registry it takes away some of that need.
Thanks for all your work on this.
-Sarah
Sarah Bacio
pronouns she/her/hers
Off-Campus Housing Coordinator
Student Affairs | Dean of Students
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA
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805-756-1492
https://deanofstudents.calpoly.edu/offcampushousing
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