"Two months before the start of her master's program at New York University, Amrutha Kosuru hadn't found housing and posted requests for assistance on her university's Facebook group. This was Kosuru's first time in New York; she was born in India. Her goal was to complete two years of study in the city. She was ready for a challenge-a heavy academic workload and high tuition-but she didn't realize how difficult it would be to find a place to live."
"After a long search, she finally found an apartment that met her location and price needs. However, many landlords and property managers require that the tenant's gross annual income should equal or exceed 40 times the monthly rent. She didn't meet this requirement. She needed a guarantor, or someone to sign on as a backup who will cover the rent if the lessee is unable to."
"Finding housing in the city is difficult for many, but international students in particular struggle to meet the guarantor policy. They don't always have someone to ask, or someone who qualifies-the annual income of a guarantor often needs to be at least 80 times the rent-and most landlords won't take out-of-country guarantors. In addition, companies that offer guarantor services are expensive. This can leave international students confused, vulnerable and desperate to find housing."
Amrutha Kosuru, born in India, arrived in New York two months before starting a master's program at NYU and struggled to find housing. She eventually located an apartment that met location and price needs but failed to meet landlords' income requirements. Many landlords require tenant gross annual income equal to 40 times monthly rent and often demand guarantors with even higher income, while refusing out-of-country guarantors. Third-party guarantor services are costly or unresponsive. The combination of strict income rules, limited qualifying guarantors, and expensive services leaves international students vulnerable and sometimes unable to secure leases.
Read at City Limits
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]