Tulane University’s updated housing policy went into effect this semester, requiring students to live on campus for the first three years of their undergraduate career, which has impacted the surrounding Uptown neighborhood.
Tulane Housing and Residence Life said the on-campus requirement was to provide students with more on-campus conveniences while reducing stress on the off-campus housing market and sustaining “the integrity of the neighborhood communities.”
The requirement has received mixed reactions from students and community members.
Many Uptown residents have long advocated against students moving into the neighborhood. The Stop Doubles to Dorms movement has gained traction among New Orleans locals, arguing that renting to students has led to the displacement of locals and rental rate inflation.
Other community groups advocating against off-campus housing include the Maple Area Residents Inc., the Carrollton Avenue Network and the Town of Carrollton Watch.
Residents have said that fewer students in the neighborhood reduced overcrowding and noise while creating more parking. However, the decrease in off-campus students has left many rentals empty.
Stanley Simeon owns two units on Lowerline Street.
“I believe it’s good for the people that live in the neighborhood that have a problem with college students,” Simeon said. For “somebody like myself that rents a property to the college students, these policy changes are devastating,” Simeon said.
Some single-family homes in Uptown may be also vacant due to high insurance costs. According to Fox 8 New Orleans and Insurify data, Louisiana home insurance rates could rise 23% by year’s end — the largest increase in the U.S.
Higher mortgage rates are causing fewer people to buy homes and fewer sellers to list their properties. Compared to a hovering 3% mortgage rate in 2020 and 2021, mortgage rates in Uptown have increased to around 6.3% in 2025.
As reported by Redfin on Uptown’s housing market, there has been a 22% decrease in homes sold between July 2025 and September 2025.
According to Nola News, some say that the oversupply of apartments will help drive down prices.
While rent prices in the Audubon and Uptown neighborhoods have increased overall between 2024 and 2025 due to the high mortgage rates and insurance costs, the monthly change in rent between August and October prices decreased by $50.
Students have varying perspectives on the new housing requirement. First-year Cadence Kogel said on campus living may be cheaper for students, but it is disappointing to have to wait until senior year to move off campus.
“I feel like [the on-campus requirement] just disproportionately impacts different groups of students”, off-campus senior Shelby Cantor said. Only junior students studying abroad have the opportunity to live off campus upon their return; juniors who do not go abroad have to live on campus all year.
“I think if they [Tulane’s housing] want to make it [living on campus] more enticing and provide better options to older students, I think that some of these new dorms should be focused on being apartment-style,” Cantor said.
For Simeon, he sees two ways to go from here. Either he’ll sell his property or convert it into a Section 8 rental, joining the federal government’s Housing Choice Voucher Program, which helps low-income tenants afford housing.
Landlords apply for Section 8 housing by contacting their local public housing authority for a property inspection regarding health and safety standard compliance. Once approved, the landlord can list the unit as Section 8–eligible.
“I just wish it went back to what it was before because it was so much easier,” Simeon said.
Tenants with housing vouchers pay a portion of the rent — usually around 30% of their income — while the public housing authority pays the remainder directly to the landlord. The rent must fall within “fair market rent” limits set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. While some landlords hesitate due to inspections or bureaucratic requirements, the program offers reliable rent payments and a consistent pool of potential tenants.