Leases at our off-campus properties typically require 12 monthly rental installments, whereas leases at our residence hall properties typically correspond to the university’s academic year and require ten monthly rental installments. As a result, we may experience significantly reduced cash flows during the summer months at our residence hall properties. Furthermore, all of our properties must be entirely re-leased each year during a limited leasing season. We are therefore highly dependent on the effectiveness of our marketing and leasing efforts and personnel during this season, exposing us to significant leasing risk. In addition, we are subject to increased leasing risk on our properties under construction and future acquired properties based on our lack of experience leasing those properties and unfamiliarity with their leasing cycles. If we are unable to lease a substantial portion of our properties, or if the rental rates upon such leasing are significantly lower than expected rates, our cash flow from operations and our ability to make distributions to stockholders and service indebtedness could be adversely affected.

Additionally, prior to the commencement of each new lease period, generally during the first two weeks of August, we prepare the units for new incoming residents. During this period (referred to as “turn”), we incur significant expenses making our units ready for occupancy, which we recognize as incurred. We therefore experience seasonally decreased operating results and cash flows during the third quarter of each year as a result of expenses we incur during turn as well as lower revenue at our residence hall properties.

In some cases, we rely on our relationships with colleges and universities for referrals of prospective student-tenants or for mailing lists of prospective student-tenants and their parents. Many of these colleges and universities own and operate their own competing on-campus facilities. Any failure to maintain good relationships with these colleges and universities could therefore have a material adverse effect on us. If colleges and universities refuse to make their lists of prospective student-tenants and their parents available to us or increase the costs of these lists, there could be a material adverse effect on us.

Changes in university admission policies could adversely affect us. For example, if a university reduces the number of student admissions or requires that a certain class of students, such as freshmen, live in a university-owned facility, the demand for our properties may be reduced and our occupancy rates may decline. While we may engage in marketing efforts to compensate for such changechanges in admission policy, we may not be able to affect such marketing efforts prior to the commencement of the annual lease-up period or at all.

University enrollment can be affected by a number of factors including, but not limited to, the current macroeconomic environment, students’ ability to afford tuition and/or the availability of student loans, competition for international students, the impact of visa requirements for international students, higher demand for distance education, and budget constraints that could limit a University’s ability to attract and retain students.  If a University’s enrollment were to significantly decline as a result of these or other factors, our ability to achieve our leasing targets and thus our properties’ financial performance could be adversely affected.

On-campus student housing traditionally has certain inherent advantages over off-campus student housing because of, among other factors, closer physical proximity to the university campus and integration of on-campus facilities into the academic community. Colleges and universities can generally avoid real estate taxes, while we and other private sector owners are subject to full real estate tax rates. Also, colleges and universities may be able to borrow funds at lower interest rates than those available to us and other private sector owners. As a result, universities may be able to offer more convenient and/or less expensive student housing than we can, which may adversely affect our occupancy and rental rates.

We also compete with other national and regional owner-operators of off-campus student housing in a number of markets as well as with smaller local owner-operators. There are a number of purpose-built student housing properties that compete directly with us located near or in the same general vicinity of many of our student housing communities. Such competing student housing communities may be newer than our student housing communities, located closer to campus, charge less rent, possess more attractive amenities, or offer more services, shorter lease terms or more flexible leases. The construction of competing properties or decreases in the general levels of rents for housing at competing properties could adversely affect our rental income.

We have recently seen a number of large new entrants in the student housing business and there may be additional new entrants with substantial financial and marketing resources. The entry of these companies has increased and may continue to increase competition for students and for the acquisition, development and management of other student housing properties.

We intend to continue to develop and construct student housing. These activities include a number of risks, which may include the following:

Our newly developed properties will be subject to risks associated with managing new properties, including lease-up and integration risks. In addition, new development activities, regardless of whether or not they are ultimately successful, typically will require a substantial portion of the time and attention of our development and management personnel. Newly developed properties may not perform as expected.

We anticipate that we will, from time to time, elect not to proceed with ongoing development projects. If we elect not to proceed with a development project, the development costs associated therewith will ordinarily be charged against income for the then-current period. Any such charge could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations in the period in which the charge is taken.

We may in the future develop properties nationally, internationally or in geographic regions other than those in which we currently operate. We do not possess the same level of familiarity with development and related regulations in these new markets, which could adversely affect our ability to develop such properties successfully or at all or to achieve expected performance. Future development opportunities may not be available to us on terms that meet our investment criteria or we may be unsuccessful in capitalizing on such opportunities.

We typically provide guarantees of timely completion of projects that we develop for third parties. In certain cases, our contingent liability under these guarantees may exceed our development fee from the project. Although we seek to mitigate this risk by, among other things, obtaining similar guarantees from the project contractor, we could sustain significant losses if development

of a project were to be delayed or stopped and we were unable to cover our guarantee exposure with the guarantee received from the project contractor.

Our future growth will be in part dependent upon our ability to successfully acquire new properties on favorable terms. With respect to recently acquired properties, and as we acquire additional properties, we will continue to be subject to risks associated with managing new properties, including lease-up and integration risks. Acquired properties may not perform as expected and may have characteristics or deficiencies unknown to us at the time of acquisition. Future acquisition opportunities may not be available to us on terms that meet our investment criteria or we may be unsuccessful in capitalizing on such opportunities.

Our ability to acquire properties on favorable terms and successfully operate them involves the following significant risks:

Our failure to acquire or finance property acquisitions on favorable terms, or operate acquired properties to meet our financial expectations, could adversely affect us.

We intend to evaluate the potential disposition of assets that may no longer meet our investment objectives. When we decide to sell an asset, we may encounter difficulty in finding buyers in a timely manner as real estate investments generally cannot be disposed of quickly, especially when market conditions are poor. This may limit our ability to vary our portfolio promptly in response to changes in economic or other conditions. In some cases, we may also determine that we will not recover the carrying value of the property upon disposition and might recognize an impairment charge. In addition, in order to maintain our status as a REIT, the Internal Revenue Code imposes restrictions on our ability to sell properties held fewer than two years, which may cause us to incur losses thereby reducing our cash flows and adversely impacting distributions to equity holders.

We have acquired an interest in certain of our properties by acquiring a leasehold interest in the property on which the building is located (or under development), and we may acquire additional properties in the future through the purchase of interests in ground leases. We could lose our interests in a property if the ground lease is terminated, if a purchase option is exercised by the lessor or if we breach the ground lease, which could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

We hold land for future development and may in the future acquire additional land holdings. The risks inherent in owning or purchasing and developing land increase as demand for student housing, or rental rates, decrease. As a result, we hold certain land and may in the future acquire additional land in our development pipeline at a cost we may not be able to recover fully or on which we cannot build and develop into a profitable student housing project. Also, real estate markets are highly uncertain and, as a result, the value of undeveloped land has fluctuated significantly and may continue to fluctuate as a result of changing market conditions. In addition, carrying costs can be significant and can result in losses or reduced margins in a poorly performing project. If there are subsequent changes in the fair value of our land holdings that we determine is less than the carrying basis of our land holdings reflected in our financial statements plus estimated costs to sell, we may be required to take future impairment charges, which would reduce our net income.

University systems and educational institutions typically award us development services contracts on the basis of a competitive award process, but such contracts are typically executed following the formal approval of the transaction by the institution’s governing body. In the intervening period, we may incur significant pre-development and other costs in the expectation that the development services contract will be executed. If an institution’s governing body does not ultimately approve our selection and the terms of the pending development contract, we may not be able to recoup these costs from the institution and the resulting losses could be substantial.

The recognition and timing of revenues from our awarded development services projects will, among other things, be contingent upon successfully structuring and closing project financing as well as the timing of construction. The development projects that we have been awarded have at times been delayed beyond the originally scheduled construction commencement date. If such delays were to occur with our current awarded projects, our recognition of expected revenues and receipt of expected fees from these projects would be delayed.

As of December 31, 2018,2019, we were in the process of constructing seventhree owned properties. These properties are subject to the various risks relating to properties that are under construction referred to elsewhere in these risk factors, including the risks that we may encounter delays in completion and that any such project may experience cost overruns or may not be completed on time. Additionally, if we do not complete the construction of properties on schedule, we may be required to provide alternative housing to the students with whom we have signed leases, which would result in our incurring significant expenses, and may result in students attempting to terminate their leases, which may adversely affect occupancy at such properties for the applicable academic year.

In third-party developments, we typically provide guarantees of the obligations of the developer, including development budgets and timely project completion. These guarantees include, among other things, the cost of providing alternate housing for students in the event we do not timely complete a development project. These guarantees typically exclude delays resulting from force majeure and also, in third-party transactions, are typically limited in amount to the amount of our development fees from the project. In certain cases, however, our contingent liability under these guarantees has exceeded our development fee from the project and we may agree to such arrangements in the future. Our obligations under alternative housing guarantees typically expire five days after construction is complete. Project cost guarantees are normally satisfied within one year after completion of the project.

Tax laws remain under constant review by persons involved in the legislative process, at the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of Treasury, and by various state and local tax authorities, as evidenced by the Tax Cut and Jobs Acted signed into law in December 2017.authorities. Future changes in tax laws, including to the administrative interpretations thereof or to the enacted tax rates, or new pronouncements relating to accounting for income taxes, could adversely affect us in a number of ways, including making it more difficult or more costly for us to qualify as a REIT.

In addition to tax laws, we are subject to laws and regulations affecting our operations in a number of areas. Changes in these laws and regulations, including, among others, additional healthcare reform, employment law reform such as the enactment of federal overtime exemption regulations, and financial and disclosure reform such as revisions to the Dodd-Frank Act and related SEC rulemaking, or the enactment of new laws or regulations, may increase our costs. Also, compliance with these laws, regulations and similar requirements may be onerous and expensive, and they may be inconsistent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, which may further increase the cost of compliance and doing business.

Accounting policies are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. From time to time, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, entities that create and interpret accounting standards, may issue new accounting pronouncements or change their interpretation and application of these standards that govern the preparation of our financial statements. These changes could have a material impact on our reported financial condition and results of operations, and could also affect the comparability of our financial results to previous periods. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in restating prior period financial statements. The adoption of new accounting pronouncements could also affect the calculation of our debt covenants, and we cannot be assured that we will be able to work with our lenders to amend our debt covenants in response to such.

We use computers in substantially all aspects of our business operations. We also use mobile devices, social networking and other online activities to connect with our employees, suppliers and our residents. Such uses give rise to cybersecurity risks, including security breach, espionage, system disruption, theft and inadvertent release of information. Our business involves the storage and transmission of numerous classes of sensitive and/or confidential information and intellectual property, including residents’ and suppliers’ personalpersonally identifiable information (PII), private information about employees, and financial and strategic information about us. Further, as we pursue our strategy to grow through development and acquisitions and to pursue new initiatives to improve our operations, we are also expanding our information technologies, resulting in a larger technological presence and corresponding exposure to cybersecurity risk. As our reliance on technology has increased, so have the risks posed to our systems, both internal and those we have outsourced to third party service providers. In addition, information security risks have generally increased in recent years due to the rise in new technologies and the increased sophistication and activities of perpetratorscybercriminals who attempt to compromise our systems. We are periodically subject to these threats and intrusions, and sensitive or material information could be compromised as a result. The costs of cyber attacks.any investigation of such incidents, as well as any remediation related to these incidents, may be material. The theft, destruction, loss, misappropriation or release of sensitive and/or confidential information or intellectual property, or interference with our information technology systems or the technology systems of third-parties on which we rely, could result in business disruption, negative publicity, brand damage, violation of privacy laws, loss of residents, potential liability and competitive disadvantage, any of which could result in a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

It is important that the universities from which our communities draw residents maintain good reputations and are able to attract the desired number of incoming students. Any degradation in a university’s reputation could inhibit its ability to attract students and reduce the demand for our communities.

Federal and state laws require universities to publish and distribute reports of on-campus crime statistics, which may result in negative publicity and media coverage associated with crimes occurring in the vicinity of, or on the premises of, our on-campus communities. Reports of crime or other negative publicity regarding the safety of the students residing on, or near, our communities may have an adverse effect on both our on-campus and off-campus communities.

We have co-invested, and may continue in the future to co-invest, with third parties through partnerships, joint ventures or other entities, acquiring noncontrolling interests in or sharing responsibility for managing the affairs of a property, partnership, joint venture or other entity. In connection with joint venture investments, we do not have sole decision-making control regarding the property, partnership, joint venture or other entity. Investments in partnerships, joint ventures or other entities may, under certain circumstances, involve risks not present were a third-party not involved, including the possibility that our partners or co-venturers might become bankrupt or fail to fund their share of required capital contributions. Our partners or co-venturers also may have economic or other business interests or goals that are inconsistent with our business interests or goals, and may be in a position to take actions contrary to our preferences, policies or objectives. Such investments also will have the potential risk of impasses on decisions, such as a sale, because neither we nor our partners or co-venturers would have full control over the partnership or joint venture. Disputes between us and our partners or co-venturers may result in litigation or arbitration that would increase our expenses and prevent our officers and/or directors from focusing their time and effort exclusively on our business. Consequently, actions by or disputes with our partners or co-venturers might result in subjecting properties owned by the partnership, joint venture or other entity to additional risk. In addition, we may in certain circumstances be liable for the actions of our partners or co-venturers.

As a publicly traded owner of properties, we have become and in the future may become involved in legal proceedings, including consumer, employment, tort or commercial litigation, that if decided adversely to or settled by us, and not adequately covered by insurance, could result in liability that is material to our financial condition or results of operations.

Our ability to satisfy our financial obligations and make expected distributions to our security holders depends on our ability to generate cash revenues in excess of expenses and capital expenditure requirements. Events and conditions generally applicable to owners and operators of real property that are beyond our control may decrease cash available for distribution and the value of our properties. These events include:

In addition, periods of economic slowdown or recession, rising interest rates or declining demand for real estate, or the public perception that any of these events may occur, could result in a general decline in rents or an increased incidence of defaults under existing leases, which would adversely affect us.

We carry fire, earthquake, terrorism, business interruption, vandalism, malicious mischief, boiler and machinery, commercial general liability and workers’ compensation insurance covering all of the properties in our portfolio under various policies. We believe the policy specifications and insured limits are appropriate and adequate given the relative risk of loss, the cost of the coverage and industry practice. There are, however, certain types of losses, such as property damage from generally unsecured

losses such as riots, wars, punitive damage awards or acts of God that may be either uninsurable or not economically insurable. Some of our properties are insured subject to limitations involving large deductibles and policy limits that may not be sufficient to cover losses. In addition, we may discontinue earthquake, terrorism or other insurance on some or all of our properties in the future if the cost of premiums from any of these policies exceeds, in our judgment, the value of the coverage discounted for the risk of loss.

If we experience a loss that is uninsured or that exceeds policy limits, we could lose the capital invested in the damaged properties as well as the anticipated future cash flows from those properties. In addition, if the damaged properties are subject to recourse indebtedness, we would continue to be liable for the indebtedness, even if these properties were irreparably damaged and require substantial expenditures to rebuild or repair. In the event of a significant loss at one or more of our properties, the remaining insurance under our policies, if any, could be insufficient to adequately insure our other properties. In such event, securing additional insurance, if possible, could be significantly more expensive than our current policies.

We are at times required to use unionized construction workers or to pay the prevailing wage in a jurisdiction to such workers. Due to the highly labor intensive and price competitive nature of the construction business, the cost of unionization and/or prevailing wage requirements for new developments could be substantial. Unionization and prevailing wage requirements could adversely affect a new development’s profitability. Union activity or a union workforce could increase the risk of a strike, which would adversely affect our ability to meet our construction timetables.

Under various environmental laws, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), a current or previous owner or operator of real property may be liable for contamination resulting from the release or threatened release of hazardous or toxic substances or petroleum at that property, and an entity that arranges for the disposal or treatment of a hazardous or toxic substance or petroleum at another property may be held jointly and severally liable for the cost to investigate and clean up such property or other affected property. Such parties are known as potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”). Such environmental laws often impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of the contaminants, and the costs of any required investigation or cleanup of these substances can be substantial. PRPs are liable to the government as well as to other PRPs who may have claims for contribution. The liability is generally not limited under such laws and could exceed the property’s value and the aggregate assets of the liable party. The presence of contamination or the failure to remediate contamination at our properties may expose us to third-party liability for personal injury or property damage, or adversely affect our ability to sell, lease or develop the real property or to borrow using the real property as collateral.

Environmental laws also impose ongoing compliance requirements on owners and operators of real property. Environmental laws potentially affecting us address a wide variety of matters, including, but not limited to, asbestos-containing building materials (“ACBM”), storage tanks, storm water and wastewater discharges, lead-based paint, wetlands, and hazardous wastes. Failure to comply with these laws could result in fines and penalties or expose us to third-party liability. Some of our properties may have conditions that are subject to these requirements and we could be liable for such fines or penalties or liable to third parties.

Some of the properties in our portfolio may contain asbestos-containing building materials, or ACBMs. Environmental laws require that ACBMs be properly managed and maintained, and may impose fines and penalties on building owners or operators for failure to comply with these requirements. Also, some of the properties in our portfolio contain, or may have contained, or are adjacent to or near other properties that have contained or currently contain storage tanks for the storage of petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances. These operations create a potential for the release of petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances. Third parties may be permitted by law to seek recovery from owners or operators for personal injury associated with exposure to contaminants, including, but not limited to, petroleum products, hazardous or toxic substances, and asbestos fibers. Also, some of the properties may contain regulated wetlands that can delay or impede development or require costs to be incurred to mitigate the impact of any disturbance. Absent appropriate permits, we can be held responsible for restoring wetlands and be required to pay fines and penalties.

Insurance carriers have reacted to awards or settlements related to lawsuits against owners and managers of residential properties alleging personal injury and property damage caused by the presence of mold in residential real estate by excluding mold related programs designed to minimize the existence of mold in any of our properties as well as guidelines for promptly addressing and resolving reports of mold to minimize any impact mold might have on residents or the property.

Environmental liability at any of our properties, including those related to the existence of mold, may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, the trading price of our stock or our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and pay dividends or distributions to our security holders.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or the ADA, all public accommodations must meet federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Additional federal, state and local laws also may require modifications to our properties, or restrict our ability to renovate our properties. For example, the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, or FHAA, requires apartment properties first occupied after March 13, 1990 to be accessible to the handicapped. We have not conducted an audit or investigation of all of our properties to determine our compliance with present requirements. Noncompliance with the ADA or FHAA could result in the imposition of fines or an award or damages to the government or private litigants and also could result in an order to correct any non-complying feature. Also, discrimination on the basis of certain protected classes can result in significant awards to victims. We cannot predict the ultimate amount of the cost of compliance with the ADA, FHAA or other legislation. If we incur substantial costs to comply with the ADA, FHAA or any other legislation, we could be materially and adversely affected.

The properties in our portfolio are subject to various federal, state and local regulatory requirements, such as state and local fire and life safety requirements. If we fail to comply with these various requirements, we might incur governmental fines or private damage awards. Furthermore, existing requirements could change and require us to make significant unanticipated expenditures that would materially and adversely affect us.

Certain of our properties are located in areas that have experienced and may in the future experience catastrophic weather and other natural events from time to time, including fires, snow or ice storms, windstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, flooding or other severe weather. In addition, to the extent that climate change does occur and exacerbates extreme weather and changes in precipitation and temperature, we may experience physical damage or decrease in demand for properties located in these areas or affected by these conditions. These adverse weather or natural events could cause substantial damages or losses to our properties which could exceed our insurance coverage. Should the impacts be material in nature or occur for lengthy periods of time, our financial condition or results of operations may be adversely affected. In addition, changes in federal and state legislation and regulation on climate change could result in increased capital expenditures to improve the energy efficiency of our existing properties and could also require us to spend more on our new development properties without a corresponding increase in revenue.

We are engaged in a multi-year implementation of an ERP system, which includes certain functionality that is being designed internally, and which is in the process of being deployed in phases beginning in 2018.phases. The new ERP system will replacereplaces multiple current business systems and will maintainmaintains books and records, recordrecords transactions and provideprovides important information related to the operations of our business to our management. The implementation of the new ERP system has required, and will continue to require, the investment of significant personnel and financial resources. While we have invested, and will continue to invest, significant resources in planning and project management, implementation issues may arise during the course of implementation,the full deployment of the new ERP system, and it is possible we may experience delays, increased costs and other difficulties not presently contemplated.  Any disruptions, delays or deficiencies in the design and implementation of the new ERP system could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

In order to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we are required under the Internal Revenue Code to distribute annually at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding any net capital gain. To the extent that we satisfy this distribution requirement but distribute less than 100% of our net taxable income, including any net capital gains, we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on our undistributed taxable income. In addition, we will

be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we pay out to our stockholders in a calendar year is less than a minimum amount specified under federal tax laws. Because of these distribution requirements, REITs are largely unable to fund capital expenditures, such as acquisitions, renovations, development and property upgrades from operating cash flow. Consequently, we will be largely dependent on the public equity and debt capital markets and private lenders to provide capital to fund our growth and other capital expenditures. We may not be able to obtain this financing on favorable terms or at all. Our access to equity and debt capital depends, in part, on:

If we cannot obtain capital from third-party sources, we may not be able to acquire properties when strategic opportunities exist, satisfy our debt service obligations or make cash distributions to our stockholders, including those necessary to maintain our qualification as a REIT.

Dislocations and liquidity disruptions in capital and credit markets could impact liquidity in the debt markets, resulting in financing terms that are less attractive to us and/or the unavailability of certain types of debt financing. Should the capital and credit markets experience volatility and the availability of funds become limited, or be available only on unattractive terms, we will incur increased costs associated with issuing debt instruments. In addition, it is possible that our ability to access the capital and credit markets may be limited or precluded by these or other factors at a time when we would like, or need, to do so, which would adversely impact our ability to refinance maturing debt and/or react to changing economic and business conditions. Uncertainty in the capital and credit markets could negatively impact our ability to make acquisitions and make it more difficult or not possible for us to sell properties or may adversely affect the price we receive for properties that we do sell, as prospective buyers may experience increased costs of debt financing or difficulties in obtaining debt financing. Potential disruptions in the financial markets could also have other unknown adverse effects on us or the economy generally and may cause the price of our securities to fluctuate significantly and/or to decline.

As of December 31, 2018,2019, our total consolidated indebtedness was approximately $3.0$3.4 billion (excluding unamortized mortgage debt premiums and discounts and original issue discounts). Our debt service obligations expose us to the risk of default and reduce or eliminate cash resources that are available to operate our business or pay distributions that are necessary to maintain our qualification as a REIT. There is no limit on the amount of indebtedness that we may incur except as provided by the covenants in our corporate-level debt. We may incur additional indebtedness to fund future property development, acquisitions and other working capital needs, which may include the payment of distributions to our security holders. The amount available to us and our ability to borrow from time to time under our corporate-level debt is subject to certain conditions and the satisfaction of specified financial and other covenants. If the income generated by our properties and other assets fails to cover our debt service, we would be forced to reduce or eliminate distributions to our stockholders and may experience losses.

In addition, the indenture governing our outstanding senior unsecured notes contains financial and operating covenants that among other things, restrict our ability to take specific actions, even if we believe them to be in our best interest, including restrictions on our ability to consummate a merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets and incur secured and unsecured indebtedness.

We are subject to the risk that our indebtedness will not be able to be renewed, repaid or refinanced when due or that the terms of any renewal or refinancing will not be as favorable as the existing terms of such indebtedness. If we were unable to refinance our indebtedness on acceptable terms, or at all, we might be forced to dispose of one or more of our properties on disadvantageous terms, which might result in losses to us. In addition, if a property is mortgaged to secure payment of indebtedness and income from such property is insufficient to pay that indebtedness, the property could be foreclosed upon by the mortgagee resulting in a loss of income and a decline in our total asset value. If any of the foregoing occurs, such losses could have a material adverse effect on us and our ability to make distributions to our equity holders and pay amounts due on our debt.

As of December 31, 2018,2019, we had outstanding approximately $747.4$761.6 million of fixed and variable rate debt that was indexed to the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). Central banks aroundIt is unclear whether LIBOR will continue to be calculated or published as a reference rate/benchmark after 2021. To address the world, includingpotential for LIBOR’s cessation, the Federal Reserve have commissioned

We have an unsecured revolving credit facility and a term loan that bear interest at a variable rate on all amounts borrowed and we may incur additional variable rate debt in the future. Increases in interest rates on variable rate debt would increase our interest expense and the cost of refinancing existing debt and incurring new debt, unless we make arrangements that hedge the risk of rising interest rates, which would adversely affect net income and cash available for payment of our debt obligations and distributions to equity holders.

An environment of rising interest rates could also lead holders of our securities to seek higher yields through other investments, which could adversely affect the market price of our stock. One of the factors which may influence the price of our stock in public markets is the annual distribution rate we pay as compared with the yields on alternative investments.

Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, the major debt rating agencies, have evaluated our debt and have given us ratings of Baa2 and BBB, respectively. These ratings are based on a number of factors, which include their assessment of our financial strength, liquidity, capital structure, asset quality and sustainability of cash flow and earnings. Due to changes in market conditions, we may not be able to maintain our current credit ratings, which will adversely affect the cost of funds under our credit facilities, and could also adversely affect our liquidity and access to capital markets.

We may periodically enter into agreements to reduce the risks associated with increases in interest rates. Although these agreements may partially protect against rising interest rates, they also may reduce the benefits to us if interest rates decline. If an arrangement is not indexed to the same rate as the indebtedness that is hedged, we may be exposed to losses to the extent which the rate governing

the indebtedness and the rate governing the hedging arrangement change independently of each other. Finally, nonperformance by the other party to the arrangement may subject us to increased credit risks.

There is significant uncertainty surrounding the futures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Through their lender originator networks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are significant lenders both to us and to buyers of our properties. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have a mandate to support multifamily housing through their financing activities and any changes to their mandates, further reductions in their size or the scale of their activities, or loss of their key personnel could have a significant adverse impact on us and may, among other things, lead to lower values for our assets and higher interest rates on our borrowings. Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s regulator has set overall volume limits on most of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s lending activities. The regulator in the future could require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to focus more of their lending activities on small borrowers or properties the regulator deems affordable, which may or may not include our assets, which could also adversely impact us. In addition, during 2019, the membersTrump administration released a formal plan to overhaul the housing finance system and begin the process of the current Presidential administration and House and Senate banking committees have proposed various reform plans forremoving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government conservatorship, and there is uncertainty regarding the impact of these actions on us and buyers of our properties.

The market price and volume of our common stock will fluctuate due not only to general stock market conditions but also to the risk factors discussed above and below and the following:

To qualify as a REIT, no more than 20% of the value of our total assets may consist of the securities of one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries, or TRSs. Certain of our activities, such as our third-party development, management and leasing services, must be conducted through a TRS for us to qualify as a REIT. In addition, certain non-customary services must be provided by a TRS or an independent contractor. If the revenues from such activities create a risk that the value of our TRS entities, based on revenues or otherwise, approaches the 20% threshold, we will be forced to curtail such activities or take other steps to remain under the 20% threshold. Since the threshold is based on value, it is possible that the IRS could successfully contend that the value of our TRS entities exceeds the threshold even if the TRS accounts for less than 20% of our consolidated revenues, income or cash flow. FourFive of our fivesix on-campus participating properties and our third-party services are held by a TRS. Consequently, income earned from fourfive of our fivesix on-campus participating properties and our third-party services will be subject to regular federal income taxation and state and local income taxation where applicable, thus reducing the amount of cash available for distribution to our security holders. Our TRS entities’ income tax returns are subject to examination by federal, state and local tax jurisdictions, and the methodology used in determining taxable income or loss for those subsidiaries is therefore subject to challenge in any such examination.

A TRS is not permitted to directly or indirectly operate or manage a “hotel, motel or other establishment more than one-half of the dwelling units in which are used on a transient basis.” We believe that our method of operating our TRS entities will not be considered to constitute such an activity. Future Treasury Regulations or other guidance interpreting the applicable provisions might adopt a different approach, or the IRS might disagree with our conclusion. In such event we might be forced to change our method of operating our TRS entities, which could adversely affect us, or one of our TRS entities could fail to qualify as a taxable REIT subsidiary, which would likely cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT.

We intend to operate in a manner that will allow us to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes under the Internal Revenue Code. If we lose our REIT status, we will face serious tax consequences that would substantially reduce or eliminate the funds available for investment and for distribution to security holders for each of the years involved, because:

In addition, if we fail to qualify as a REIT, we will not be required to pay dividends to stockholders, and all dividends to stockholders will be subject to tax as ordinary income to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits. As a result of all these factors, our failure to qualify as a REIT also could impair our ability to expand our business and raise capital, and would adversely affect the value of our common stock.

Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Internal Revenue Code provisions for which there are only limited judicial and administrative interpretations. The complexity of these provisions and of the applicable Treasury

Even if we qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we may be subject to some federal, state and local taxes on our income or property and, in certain cases, a 100% penalty tax, in the event we sell property as a dealer or if a TRS enters into agreements with us or our tenants on a basis that is determined to be other than an arm’s length basis.

Our charter provides that, subject to certain exceptions, no person or entity may beneficially own, or be deemed to own by virtue of the applicable constructive ownership provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, more than 9.8% (by value or by number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of the outstanding shares of our common stock or more than 9.8% by value of all our outstanding shares, including both common and preferred stock. We refer to this restriction as the “ownership limit.” A person or entity that becomes subject to the ownership limit by virtue of a violative transfer that results in a transfer to a trust is referred to as a “purported beneficial transferee” if, had the violative transfer been effective, the person or entity would have been a record owner and beneficial owner or solely a beneficial owner of our stock, or is referred to as a “purported record transferee” if, had the violative transfer been effective, the person or entity would have been solely a record owner of our stock.

The constructive ownership rules under the Internal Revenue Code are complex and may cause stock owned actually or constructively by a group of related individuals and/or entities to be owned constructively by one individual or entity. As a result, the acquisition of less than 9.8% of our stock (or the acquisition of an interest in an entity that owns, actually or constructively, our stock) by an individual or entity, could, nevertheless cause that individual or entity, or another individual or entity, to own constructively in excess of 9.8% of our outstanding stock and thereby subject the stock to the ownership limit. Our charter, however, requires exceptions to be made to this limitation if our board of directors determines that such exceptions will not jeopardize our tax status as a REIT. This ownership limit could delay, defer or prevent a change of control or other transaction that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our security holders.

Certain provisions contained in our charter and bylaws and the Maryland General Corporation Law may discourage a third-party from making a tender offer or acquisition proposal to us. If this were to happen, it could delay, deter or prevent a change in control

or the removal of existing management. These provisions also may delay or prevent the security holders from receiving a premium for their securities over then-prevailing market prices. These provisions include:

Various Maryland laws may have the effect of discouraging offers to acquire us, even if the acquisition would be advantageous to security holders. Our bylaws exempt us from some of those laws, such as the control share acquisition provisions, but our board of directors can change our bylaws at any time to make these provisions applicable to us.

Maryland law provides that a director or officer has no liability in that capacity if he or she performs his or her duties in good faith, in a manner he or she reasonably believe to be in our best interests and with the care that an ordinary prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. In addition, our charter eliminates our directors’ and officers’ liability to us and our stockholders for money damages except for liability resulting from actual receipt of an improper benefit in money, property or services or active and deliberate dishonesty established by a final judgment and which is material to the cause of action. Our bylaws require us to indemnify directors and officers for liability resulting from actions taken by them in those capacities to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law. As a result, we and our security holders may have more limited rights against our directors and officers than might otherwise exist under common law. In addition, we may be obligated to fund the defense costs incurred by our directors and officers.

There were no unresolved comments from the staff of the SEC at December 31, 2018.2019.

The following table presents certain summary information about our properties.  Our properties generally are modern facilities, and amenities at most of our properties include a swimming pool and a large community center featuring a fitness center, computer center, study areas, and a recreation room with billiards and other games. Some properties also have a jacuzzi/hot tub, volleyball courts, tennis courts, in-unit washers and dryers, and food service facilities.  Leases at our off-campus properties typically require 12 monthly rental installments. Leases at our residence hall properties typically correspond to the university’s academic year and require nine or ten monthly rental installments.

    

These properties are included in the Owned Properties and On-Campus Participating Properties segments discussed in Item 1 and Note 1716 in the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Item 8.  We own fee title to all of these properties except for properties subject to ground/facility leases and our on-campus participating properties, as discussed more fully in Note 8 and Note 1514 in the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Item 8.  All dollar amounts in this table and others herein, except share and per share amounts, are stated in thousands unless otherwise indicated.