On Tuesday, JSM Living, a housing company in the Champaign-Urbana area, emailed a statement out to current and potential residents responding to the incident that occurred outside its leasing office this morning.
The update came after dozens of students spent hours in the cold in hopes of signing a lease with the company. Many students were unable to accomplish this goal, with law enforcement shutting down the office before most people could sign.
The statement apologized to potential tenants, stating, “For those who experienced it and those who didn’t, our 2024-2025 Large Open Leasing procedures failed you.”
The Large Open Leasing process was meant to be a “streamlined approach,” the update said. Instead it, “generated confusion, competition, and unlimited frustration.”
The update included a proposed solution to the issue. The process will be replaced with a different, electronic application, which will be available to everyone who expressed interest in the Large Open Leasing program.
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The new application, called the Open Leasing Form, will be released on Wednesday morning between 8-8:30 a.m., the update said. The application contains updates including single-person submissions for group leases, following a queue-based format.
The statement also noted that the Open Leasing Form would only be available for specific JSM properties. It encouraged potential residents to ensure their property of interest was included.
Closing the email, JSM welcomed inquiries about the process change. They thanked potential tenants for their support, and noted that they are “confident these procedures will make for an improved lease signing experience.”
