In July, K&D Group, the owner of Reserve Square, an apartment property in Cleveland, announced it would not contest a Fannie Mae foreclosure.
The Willoughby, Ohio-based apartment owner didn’t have to turn in the keys on its nearly 1,000-unit asset because of high borrowing costs or rising expenses. Instead, Douglas Price, K&D’s CEO, blamed the Trump administration’s immigration policies, according to News 5 Cleveland WEWS.
Those moves, which could limit international enrollment at U.S. colleges by as many as 150,000 students this fall, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators, were already wreaking havoc on the Cleveland property, which sits near Cleveland State University.
Half of the beds in the property were empty in July as international students hadn’t yet arrived, Price told the news outlet. The company didn’t reply to a request for comment from Multifamily Dive.
While later reporting from Cleveland.com questioned whether immigration policy was the sole cause of Reserve Square’s problems, the ordeal did highlight how the Trump administration's policy could impact student housing.
Rob Dinwiddie, executive vice president of management services at the Athens, Georgia-based residential owner, manager and developer Landmark Properties, is one of many student housing executives watching the immigration situation.
“What we've seen is that the pace of international student leasing has changed this year due to the broader impacts of the current policies that the administration has taken,” Dinwiddie told Multifamily Dive in July.
But that isn’t the only federal issue facing student housing firms this fall. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, cuts $300 billion in federal support to students over 10 years, leaving operators to navigate funding challenges that they hadn’t anticipated.
Immigration concerns
While international students represent about 6% of total enrollment nationally, there are markets where they represent a higher percentage of the off-campus demand pool, according to Miles Orth, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Philadelphia-based student housing owner and operator Campus Apartments.
“In these cases, changes to immigration and visa policies can have an impact on occupancy at the property level – or at the very least can cause a delay in leasing velocity,” Orth told Multifamily Dive in emailed comments.
Lindsey Bright, senior vice president of operations for Subtext, said the St. Louis-based student housing developer, owner and manager is remaining flexible to deal with uncertain international enrollments.
“We’re staying closely tuned to the policy landscape and its potential long-term implications for student demographics and housing demand,” she said in emailed comments to Multifamily Dive.
Orth said that visa issues and related uncertainties have caused international students to delay signing leases. To address these issues, Campus Apartments is maintaining a robust year-round leasing pipeline, working closely with university partners and incorporating operational flexibility into its move-in processes.
“We also place special focus on supporting international students by helping to streamline their leasing and arrival experience, providing clear communication across time zones and accommodating late arrivals if necessary for a seamless and supported process,” Orth said.
Financial aid flexibility
To succeed in 2025, flexibility is crucial, particularly with the changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid program.
“This year has reinforced the need for adaptability,” said Stacey Lecocke, division president at the Houston-based property manager Asset Living, in emailed comments to Multifamily Dive. “Leasing cycles are more compressed, and FAFSA delays have made traditional forecasting more complex.”
Asset Living is also leveraging performance data to optimize pricing, marketing cadence and staffing models, according to Lecocke.
“With FAFSA-related shifts and broader enrollment uncertainty, we’re building flexibility into our strategies, ensuring properties can pivot quickly while still meeting pre-lease and renewal goals,” Lecocke said. “Our focus is not just on leasing faster, but smarter — with resident experience, retention and reputation at the center.”
The firm is also enhancing collaboration among its operations, marketing and leasing teams. Those groups are working together more strategically and earlier to respond to market signals in real time, according to Lecocke.
“We’re also putting a greater emphasis on automating routine tasks so our onsite teams can focus on high-impact resident experiences,” Lecocke said. “Ultimately, we’re staying agile, dialing in on service and setting a strong foundation for long-term asset performance.”
Click here to sign up to receive multifamily and apartment news like this article in your inbox every weekday.
