Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.

The pandemic affects everyone. Many people have lost their jobs and have had to depend on unemployment checks to ensure they can continue to buy food and pay rent. However, earlier in the pandemic, rent prices were relatively low, and there was more leeway for those who needed to pay rent — everyone was struggling.

However, now that fear of the pandemic is lessening and vaccine rollout is in full swing, the leeway that renters experienced over the past two years is gone. Rent has been continuously increasing, and as a result, people are beginning to lose their homes or are forced to downsize in order to continue to afford their necessities.

This struggle that renters are facing is nationwide and largely affects those in Colorado. Rates for rent within the Front Range area have increased to “about triple the rate seen before the pandemic” and are continuing to rise. However, for Fort Collins residents who are renters — which includes college students — the U+2 law still remains in place.

“Unfortunately, students are left to wonder whether it is possible for them to afford these costs as a group of three rather than a group of four or five. The solution to making sure these cost struggles don’t deter students is removing the ordinance.”

U+2 was established in the 1960s and began to be fully enforced in 2007. The ordinance only allows families and one nonrelated resident to live in a household. If you’re not family, it only allows three nonrelated renters. However, college students have continuously violated these restrictions and repeatedly fought for them to be removed. Many students are still being forced to violate this law to ensure they can afford increasing rent prices.

For college students, including those who are searching for their first place to live off campus next semester, this means many of them will have to question whether or not they are willing to break the ordinance to make up for the increasing costs.

The average rent price in Fort Collins as of October 2021 for a 930-square-foot apartment is around $1,735. Not only is this a hard price for many college students to pay, but it is still a hard price even if they go to school and work full time.

Unfortunately, students are left to wonder whether it is possible for them to afford these costs as a group of three rather than a group of four or five. The solution to making sure these cost struggles don’t deter students is removing the ordinance.

With 47% of violations resulting from college students in 2018, the Fort Collins City Council should see a need for change, ensuring students can have safer housing without having to frequently worry about paying a fine.

The Fort Collins U+2 law forces students to not only pay large sums to the University for their tuition but also have to worry about making more money to ensure they can stay in their household.

As one of the many college students who can’t afford these rental prices without breaking the housing ordinance, the solution is clear. Only being allowed three people on a lease means the rent we are paying could be upwards of $600 a month per person, which does not include utilities or other expenses, like groceries.

Students who work on campus at minimum wage are going to have to take on more hours — or more jobs — so they can afford to stay within the Fort Collins area to complete their degrees in person.

So why has the ordinance not been changed? Why are the increasing rent prices not something the Fort Collins City Council has taken into consideration?

Fort Collins and the Front Range area are beautiful, but if living here means reducing the number of meals you can eat in a day, is it really worth staying? That is the question with which many students in this area have to grapple, and it clearly needs to change.

Reach Dominique Lopez at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @caffeinateddee6.