Hundreds of CSUMB students receive startling notices about rent increases.

About two months after moving in for the 2022-23 academic year, students at CSU Monterey Bay were dealt a surprise: Some may have to cough up additional cash for their on-campus housing, or figure out another place to live.

On Oct. 3, East Campus housing management sent an email to nearly 800 students, informing residents of a “price adjustment” for single-person rooms. For some, rent is spiking by $100 to $500 per month.

Fifth-year student Janette Amezcua Alcala, a first-generation student who’s been at CSUMB since her freshman year, says she originally chose the school because of its lock-rate housing program. That program – offered to students at any point in their studies – allows students to pay less rent per month for on-campus housing, locked in at the rate at which they originally signed up.

For Alcala, that meant her rent for the current academic year aligned with what she originally paid in 2018: $709 for a single room, or $506 for a double.

After she received the email, Alcala checked her RentCafe account online: Her single room would now be $1,252/month, a 77-percent increase. Students were also asked to pay for the “prorated” rates for August and September.

Alcala joined about 30 students at a protest on Friday, Oct. 7; seven students spent the night camped in front of the Frederick Park housing office.

CSUMB spokesperson Aaron Bryant says the message was sent in error to hundreds of students, whereas it affects approximately 85 total students. The issue, he says, is that the newer Frederick Park housing community in East Campus had not previously been available for students. Frederick Park is a lower-density occupancy community, with two students instead of three per unit, and a higher rental rate compared to other campus housing.

“There are no students who would have a rate-lock on this option because this housing didn’t exist prior to this year,” he says. “In the future, the students who chose the lower-density option will be charged the rental rate they agreed to in their license, and the university will work with students to resolve unpaid portions of the prior months’ rent.”

This batch of rent increases is on pause for the time being, meaning Alcala is still awaiting a definitive answer.

“We want this to be resolved, not swept under the rug,” she says. “This is definitely putting a bitter taste in a lot of our mouths.”