The first week of August has earned a nickname among students: “homeless week.”
Most off-campus apartment leases end July 31, while classes and exams continue through Aug. 8.
Jacob Mack, an 18-year-old University of Florida engineering sophomore, is one of the many students affected. He will be kicked out of his apartment at Sweetwater Gainesville July 31 and have to drive nearly two hours from his home in Jacksonville each way just to take his finals, Mack said.
With gas prices in Gainesville hovering around $3.40 per gallon as of June 7, the commute could cost Mack more than $60 on gas for two round trips. For students who rely on part-time jobs, scholarships or financial aid, it’s a meaningful and unplanned expense.
The timing discrepancy is largely due to rigid schedules where leasing companies maintain strict move-in and move-out dates. The standard lease term runs from Aug. 15 to July 31, and many complexes require a two-week turnaround period between tenants.
The result is a gap that leaves students scrambling for housing alternatives during one of the most academically intense weeks of the semester. Some resort to crashing on friends’ couches, booking hotel rooms or commuting long distances, all while trying to focus on exams and maintaining their grades.
Lanie Gardner, a 20-year-old UF microbiology and cell science junior, said she hasn’t experienced the issue herself but has seen its impact.
Her friends and classmates have asked her if she would be willing to share her storage space with them during the week while they stayed at friends’ apartments, she said.
“It’s really hard,” Gardner said. “One of my friends said that she’s just going to get an Airbnb for that whole week because there’s just no other option.”
Hotel prices in Gainesville range from $90 to $200 per night for the month of August. While Airbnb prices may be slightly more affordable, booking one for a week can still amount to significant additional expenses depending on the location and amenities.
For some students, like those involved in sororities or other campus organizations that may require early returns to campus for fall recruitment or leadership responsibilities, Gardner said the lack of housing creates additional complications.
“It’s just an unfortunate and stressful time that many students should not have to deal with,” she said.
From a leasing perspective, the housing gap is tied to operational demands.
Macy Shultz, the assistant manager of leasing and operations at Theory Gainesville Apartments, said the two-week period between move-out and move-in is necessary. The time is used for deep cleaning, maintenance and repairs to ensure units are ready for new tenants, she said.
Jessica Woo, a 23-year-old UF alumna from the Class of 2024, said she’s dealt with this housing situation almost every summer during her time at UF. As an out-of-state student from Portland, Oregon, commuting home during finals week wasn’t an option.
Woo usually stayed at friends’ apartments during the final week of the summer semester, but she said it was never comfortable.
“It was kind of stressful that I was staying at someone else’s house because I didn’t want to cause any issues to get them kicked out of their apartments,” she said.
She also struggled with parking access while staying with friends, since most apartment complexes in Gainesville charge separately for garage access and don’t include guest use. As a result, Woo often had to find alternative parking options farther away — a challenge given her work schedule.
She took up extra shifts at work to spend less time at friends’ apartments to avoid any issues with their roommates, she said.
“It added a lot of strain to my mental health and my [academic] performance,” Woo said.
Contact Swasthi Maharaj at smaharaj@thealligator.org. Follow her on X @s_maharaj1611.
