MADISON, Wis., Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Thousands of University of Wisconsin-Madison students were homeless for the night as they waited for their new apartment leases to begin.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel said most of the apartments and houses in Madison rented to students have leases that expired by noon Monday, but many of the new leases don't kick in until noon Tuesday so that landlords can get into the apartments to clean them up for the new tenants.
The newspaper said many students check into hotels with their parents or stay with friends, but others are forced to camp out on the streets with all of their belongings.
Megin McDonell, program director of Madison's Tenant Resource Center, said the idea of staggering move-in dates over the course of two weeks has been discussed, but that could leave some students homeless for even longer stretches of time.
"For every person who had a nice two-week zone of being able to move in and out, there would be someone who had to move out on Aug. 1 and move in on Aug. 15," McDonell told the newspaper.
