One community launches a worry-free renting program for students looking to lease during the upcoming fall 2020 semester.

In late April, The Union at Auburn, a housing community serving students at Auburn University, launched its worry-free renting program for students looking to lease during the upcoming fall 2020 semester.

The program guarantees students will not pay any rent when they sign a lease for fall 2020 until in-person classes begin or they decide to move in before the campus opens. “It’s obviously a huge gamble for us but it is for the residents as well, we are trying to demonstrate by example we are their housing partner and be a part of the solution,” says Jason L. White, Sr. Vice President of Asset Management at William Fideli Investments, which owns the community.

The Union at Auburn also promised if students got accepted into the dorms before April 30, 2020, the community would allow them to cancel their lease.

“In a time of uncertainty, we want to make sure our residents who recently signed a lease and those looking for a home in the fall don’t have to worry about paying for rent when the future is so unclear,” said Tylar Grantham, Community Manager of The Union at Auburn in a release. “We hope our new worry-free renting program will give our residents peace of mind and confidence that school and everything else will get back to normal soon.”

White says the firm talked to capital partners before announcing the program. He also affirmed that the company had “contingency plans in place” in case of a prolonged shutdown.