UTD Housing scraps proposed rent increase days after opt-out deadline

Update June 5, 2026: University housing announced that summer 2026 rates will be lowered to match the summer 2025 on-campus housing rate. Assistant Vice President for University Housing Matthew Grief said that students will receive “the appropriate credit” in their accounts to offset the reduction. 

Update June 10, 2026: UTD Housing has stated it will reach out to all students who opted out of housing before the June 1 deadline and offer them a priority position on the housing waitlist.

UTD Housing announced today that it has reversed its May decision to raise housing costs. Instead of increasing rent by an average of $339, Housing will keep the current rates which were first implemented in academic year 2024-25. 

This announcement comes less than one month after the initial announcement to increase housing costs across all nine on-campus housing options. Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Matthew Grief said in an email to on-campus residents that the rent increase decision was a multi-month process which failed to account for the financial stress students were facing. 

“The costs impacting our communities have continued to rise in ways that were not anticipated when housing rates were originally reviewed last fall,” Grief said in the email.

The original decision of University Housing to hike rent prices was announced May 11. University officials said the decision was motivated by the need to consider increasing “labor expenses, utility rates and material supply costs.” 

Housing’s operational expenses have remained stable in recent years, with the department typically bringing in multi-million dollar profit for the campus — labeled as “excess income” in official budget reports. In fiscal year 2025, Housing’s operational costs were $46,424,777 with an “excess income” of $5,376,219. In fiscal year 2026, Housing’s operational costs were exactly the same with an even higher “excess income” of $6,561,927. Despite these increases in “excess income,” the decision to hike rent prices by an average of 7.3% was approved, and Housing told students they had until June 1 to decide whether or not they would keep their campus housing under the new rates.

In today’s reversal of the decision, Grief said that University Housing now understands how housing, food and other expenses in current circumstances can add up and become difficult for students to handle.

“Our goal remains to provide a convenient, well-maintained housing option for UTD students while being mindful about the financial pressures many are experiencing,” Grief said. “We hope this decision provides some relief and helps reduce the financial stress many students may be feeling.”

The Retrograde reached out to Grief asking whether students who requested to cancel their housing contract prior to the June 1 deadline would be allowed to change their decision without penalty following the repeal of the May 11 price increase. As of publication, Grief has not responded to The Retrograde’s request for comment.

This is a breaking news story. The Retrograde will provide more details as new information emerges.