On March 23, 2020 Irvine Company released a new program known as the Resident Rental Assist Program. Through this program, tenants don’t have to pay the full price of their monthly rent upfront, but they will have to pay the rest of it later on. I’ve heard of many people saying that this program doesn’t do enough to help. Irvine Company tenants are not just tenants but they are students, students who work part-time, students who work full-time, students who receive financial help from their parents, and students who are independent and financially support themselves just to name a few. Many of these students have experienced reduced work hours, been laid off from work, or (if they’re financially dependent on their family) their family has experienced the same employment issues. Due to this widespread employment issue, many students and their families simply can’t afford to pay rent. Additionally, students and their families don’t know what to expect in the next coming months as far as stable employment and income goes. Therefore, this Resident Rental Assist program will not work and won’t suffice to accommodate students living in Irvine Company residences.
What Irvine Company needs to do at this time is accommodate students living in their communities by reducing the fee to terminate leases early. Currently, nothing has been done to lower the price of their lease termination fee, which is double the amount of rent. To give you an idea of the fees these students are facing, let’s say total household rent is $3,155.
- Let’s double that:
$3155 x 2 = $6310 - Let’s add in security deposit fees (which go towards move out costs and repair of the property upon moving out): $6310 + $800 = $7110
- Finally, let’s add in the cost of prorated rent of 30 days (rent you pay based on the number of days occupied in the unit as opposed to paying a whole month’s rent). That is, the amount of days that overlap with a new month, and is calculated based on the following formula:
(Rent / 30 days) x (# days in next month)
*Note: It is better to turn in your 30 day at the beginning of the month, so the prorated days are already covered in your monthly rent.*
For example: If we were to give our 30 day notice today, March 24th, we would be given 30 days to move out. This 30 days overlaps to April 23rd, so instead of paying the April monthly rent on April 1st, we will pay those 23 additional days with the above calculation.
($3155 / 30 ) * 23 days = $2,418.83
This is in addition to the 2x lease breakage fee of $6310.
Let’s say you live in a household with 5 people total, in which case these costs would be split 5-ways: $8,729 / 5 = $1746.
That’s an individual contribution of $1746!Let’s say you live in a household with 5 people total, in which case these costs would be split 5-ways: $8729 / 5 = $1746. That’s an individual contribution of $1746!
Now I understand that there has to be financial consequences, such as this individual $1746 contribution, in place to deter tenants from terminating their lease early. However, in emergency crises, like a pandemic, landlords like Irvine Company should be more accommodating.
Irvine Company isn’t compensating its tenants the way that the UCI Housing Department has compensated its tenants at this time. While the two companies operate separately from one another, I am comparing them because they’re both dealing with the same business… housing and tenants. UCI Housing has allowed its tenants to cancel their housing plans without financial consequences in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. I believe that Irvine Company should do the same. It’s unfair that there are UCI students that have to deal with high-priced lease termination fees and rent assist programs while others did not. At a time where we’re dealing with a pandemic, we should be at home with our families and not be worrying about paying rent for a lease that should have been terminated. Irvine Company needs to provide its tenants with more than just a rent "assist" program. When the rent cannot be paid because tenants are unemployed, there is no rent assist program that can be as effective as terminating a lease completely.
Many of you are following the updates on this petition’s page and I thank you for your following. I want to inform you that I have spoken with OC Register investigative journalist, Anthony Saavedra, and LA Times staff writer, Gale Holland. The purpose behind speaking with people from the OC Register and the LA Times is to publicize what Irvine Company has and has not been doing to accommodate its tenants at this time.
Once the OC Register and LA Times publicize Irvine Company, I plan to have a group phone call with Irvine Company, someone from US Congresswoman Katie Porter’s office (TBD), an Irvine city councilmember (TBD), Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Willie Banks, and Dean of Students Rameen Talesh. The purpose of the call is to discuss termination of Irvine Company leases with no penalties and pay zero in prorated rent (rent you pay based on the number of days occupied in the unit as opposed to paying a whole month’s rent).
It’s going to take some time to publicize this Irvine Company situation, so I highly encourage you all to reach out to someone from Irvine Company directly about your concerns (e.g. the rent assist program isn’t helpful enough). The more tenant/student pressure, the better. Please use this link to contact someone from Irvine Company and share what you’re going through. If you can’t call, please email Irvine Company and copy/paste this message.
If you live in a University Town Center apartment, please contact the leasing office at
(949)-854-4942 or email them at harvardrso@irvinecompany.com
I also would like to pass on what the ASUCI president, Randy Yan, has written in response to the current situation. Hopefully, it helps. You’ll find it here.
Please continue to share the link to this petition. Most importantly, please stay strong, safe, and healthy during this time.
Wishing you all the best,
- JS