Housing FAQs

To be eligible for campus housing, a student must meet the following conditions:

•    Be a full-time registered student with at least 12 credits

•    Pay the non-refundable $50 application fee

•    Complete the housing application

•    Sign your Residence License Agreement and agree to the rules and regulations of the residence halls. 

•    Maintain an approved academic and conduct status throughout the year. 

Housing preferences and requests cannot be guaranteed. This includes roommate, room type, or building requests. Housing assignments are done through a random allocation process in StarRez (housing application software) which takes preferences, application completion time, and room availability into consideration.

Students are allowed three days to confirm their housing assignment after receiving the official notification. Once this step is complete, students must undergo a sublicense process and locate a new student without housing to take over the responsibility of their license. Students that move into the residence halls after 9.23.2024 (Fall) and 2.14.2025 (Spring) will be able to receive a prorated amount if they are not taking over from a current resident. Students assigned to The Lanes or Vie towers specifically will not be prorated for Fall 2024 or Spring 2025. This process must be approved through the Office of Residence Life and is not complete until the new student picks up their key and moves in. A student who leaves housing without sublicensing will be held responsible for their full school year charges. 

Students may only relinquish housing due to withdrawal, deferral, suspension, graduation, study abroad, or active military status. These cancellation requests must be processed through the cancellation form located at https://forms.office.com/r/an3JC1Byit.

Students will remain responsible for all charges, if they decide to move out of the hall for reasons other than those mentioned above. Students may try to locate another seeking housing to transfer to their assigned residence hall unit. If you find an alternate, please email hureslife@howard.edu and copy that student on the communication to begin the process.

No. All residents of the residence halls must be currently registered students. Those who are academically suspended, withdraw, or graduate will have 24 hours to move out of the residence hall.

Summer School l housing is reserved only for Howard University students taking summer classes at the University. These students may apply through the Office of Residence Life via this form: https://forms.office.com/r/fTPdPijBu5 .  

Students participating in internships or campus conferences must apply through Campus Apartments at this link for official confirmation: https://www.liveathoward.com/college-hall/college-hall-summer-housing-program 

All students are required to move out for Winter and Summer breaks. The residence halls are closed to all students during Winter Break. During the one-week period between the end of Spring semester and the start of the move-in process for Summer Session, students must have alternate living arrangements. 

The $50 non-refundable housing application fee is paid by students who desire to live in our residence halls and want to begin the application process. It does not guarantee a housing assignment. If you receive notification of a housing assignment, you must pay the $200 deposit to secure your living space. 

You can expect to receive your official room assignment in July. If you completed the housing application and paid the housing fee/deposit by the deadline, we encourage you to check your Bison email for updates and information. 

NOTE: The timeline may be adjusted as needed. 

You may request roommates through the Housing Application under the “Roommate Groups” section. Under this section, you will have the ability to search and invite friends to join a group of potential roommates. For processing roommate requests, we encourage students to submit their applications within the same timeframe to avoid delays. The room assignment email will state your roommate's name and email address. This will allow you to build a bond and plan for your arrival to your home away from home.

Roommate preferences are not guaranteed. 

The Office of residence Life will inform students if there is a roommate preference swap available after room assignments are sent out. There is typically one week to sign up. Roommate switches are the only preferences accepted. Our Office requires one week to confirm or deny the request 

While preferences are not guaranteed, Residence Life does its absolute best to match students with their preferences. Preferences include residence hall location, room type and roommate. These are awarded based on availability and time of submission. If your listed preferences are no longer available, you will be assigned to the next availability. 

These are off-campus units secured or leased by the university, designed to offer more flexibility and independence while staying connected to university life.

We'll share specific locations and rates before registration opens in May.

You’ll receive a link to your Howard email address when registration opens to begin the process through StarRez. 

We're working to keep costs competitive with local market rates.

There will be an opportunity to submit a preferred roommate during the registration process, but this is not a guarantee.

In order to make available the housing close to campus that students have repeatedly requested, we must offer leases that are 12-months long.

The Residence License Agreement (RLA) is the main document that confirms the student's responsibility for their housing assignment. This document is signed during the housing application process and goes into effect once the student confirms their housing assignment and/or moves in. 

ResFest is an annual weeklong, campus-wide celebration of living and learning in the residence halls. It is full of fun activities and friendly competitions among the  residence halls, including a Mister and Miss ResFest pageant, step team competition, and Bison spirit-filled activation events for our resident students.