Policies

The Appeals Board is designed to formally and confidentially review appeals from students who, for reasons beyond their control, must cancel their residence-hall contracts. Only cases of extreme hardship will be considered. The Appeals Board is the final decision-maker on all such requests.

Residence Halls Appeals Board Instruction Sheet

Upon arriving on campus, each student should report to the unit to which they have been assigned. Staff will verify their student ID and issue room keys. Each resident will also receive a Room Condition Report that will be used to assess damages at the end of the year.

If a student's cancellation request or appeal is granted, that student must follow all steps in the "Checking Out of Your Residence Hall Instruction Sheet" in order to complete the move-out process.

Note: Following these instructions alone does not mean that a student's contract has been cancelled - the cancellation request or appeal must be granted first!

Checking Out of Your Residence Hall Instruction Sheet

Students requesting to cancel their housing contracts must fill out and submit a cancellation request within the housing portal. Typically, the resident requesting contract cancellation shall continue to be liable for room and board fees until a replacement is found and/or the request is approved by the Assignments Office in writing. 

In order to be considered for a cancellation, students must complete the contract cancellation request form on the housing portal, move all items out of their room, and return their keys to the main desk of their unit/ complex. Please see the Terms and Conditions of the contract for further information about contract cancellation.

Students may access the Residence Hall Cancellation Request Form by logging in with their CalnetID at portal.housing.berkeley.edu. The form can be found in the "Online Forms" section, linked to at the top left of the page.

Each resident is individually responsible for loss or damage to their room. All residents of a hall, floor, or suite, are under the University's discretion and will be jointly liable for loss or damage to common areas where individual responsibility cannot be determined. The Room Condition Report will be used to assess any damages; reasonable wear and tear are expected. See Terms and Conditions for more information.

The Unit-level office staff asses damages to student’s Cal Central account balance. If a student wishes to dispute a damage charge, they should reach out to the unit-level front desk.

The Cal Housing Assignments Office will send housing agreement offers to students by email to the preferred email in your Cal Central account, which may default to your Berkeley.edu address. Be sure to set up your Berkeley email account and monitor it for a housing offer and other official University communication.

The University of California, in accordance with applicable Federal and State law and University policy, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer related or genetic characteristics), ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or service in the uniformed services. The University also prohibits sexual harassment.

This nondiscrimination policy covers admission, access, and treatment in University programs and activities.

Inquiries regarding the University’s student-related nondiscrimination policies may be directed to: Ella Callow, ADA/Section 504 Compliance Officer, access@berkeley.edu.

The room and board fees are paid as follows: A student’s housing rate is divided into five equal payments with five incremental due dates throughout the semester. These payments do not correspond to calendar months of residence. Payments are billed to the student's Cal Central account.

Housing Rates

Pets, other than fish in tanks not exceeding 20 gallons, are not allowed.

If you require a service or emotional support animal, please refer to the ADA Accommodations page, and scroll down to the Typical Accommodations Offered section, where you will find information about Service and Support Animals. Please fill out the Service Dog Acknowledgment and Emotional Support Animal Approval Application form found in that section.

To be eligible for a space in the residence halls, the applicant must be a registered UC Berkeley student. The University does not require any student to live in the residence halls. A student wanting to live in University housing needs to apply online by the deadline given for their student category, pay the $40 nonrefundable application fee, and accept a ten-month academic year contract. Notification that an offer has been made will be sent by email, with a designated deadline for acceptance.

Terms and Conditions

Housing Application

Residence hall staff may enter a student's room or suite for any reason allowed by law, and for the following reasons: cleaning, maintenance and repairs; ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations; and in the event of an emergency. For more information please see the Terms and Conditions of the housing contract.

Current residents of the Residence Halls and Undergraduate Apartments should review the Room Change Request Process document. After reviewing the Room Change Process document, current residents can submit a Room Transfer Request form at roompact.berkeley.edu

Students who are not yet in residence (before move-in) should email reshall@berkeley.edu for a link to the room transfer request form, which can also be found in the housing offer email.

Within 5-7 days of submitting the request, the resident can expect to hear from a Residence Life professional staff member with further information regarding their request. (This does not mean your room change will occur within seven days. You will be provided you with the status of your request within that time frame.)

If you do not hear from a ResLife professional staff member, please contact your Residence Director (RD). If you need help in identifying your RD please use the following Staff Directory.

After submitting the housing transfer request for an approved reason, students will be placed on the housing transfer waitlist. Housing transfers are not guaranteed and will be processed based upon the reason for the request, our housing availability, and the order in which we receive requests. Students who are concerned with the financial commitment of their housing and students with an accommodation request related to a medical condition or disability will receive priority consideration for housing if they provide proper documentation supporting their request. Students with financial requests are encouraged to discuss options for additional financial support with the Financial Aid Office.

There is a hold on housing transfers for the first two weeks of each semester. Room changes also cannot be processed at mid-year, during finals, or winter break.

If you require a room change due to an accommodation need, please email housingaccommodations@berkeley.edu for more information.

Before Move-In: Students who have received and accepted a housing offer may request a transfer before moving into their housing assignment by emailing reshall@berkeley.edu to get the form link (also found in the offer email). Students must first accept their housing offer in order to request a transfer.

Students who want to live together should list each other as roommates on their residence-hall applications, using full names and SIDs. They should also make matching lists of housing and environmental preferences. The Cal Housing Assignments Office will make every effort to match mutually requested roommates, as spaces allow - matches are not guaranteed.

All residence halls, with the exception of Martinez Commons, will be closed and all residents must vacate the halls by 10 a.m. upon commencement of the Semester Break. Students are not allowed to remain in the buildings during break due to energy curtailment. Residents are permitted to leave their belongings in the halls, at their own risk. Students may move back into the halls at 8 a.m. on the designated move-in day for spring semester.

Apartment-style living remains open during winter break. Students needing winter break housing are encouraged to request this option on their room profile in the housing application.

Martinez Commons residence halls will remain open for the winter break and room rates are inclusive of occupancy during this time period.

• Cash, check, or money order payments dropped off with SA Cashier for rent or room and board are transferred by SA Cashier to Campus Billing and Payment Services for processing.
• We will accept only cash, check, or money order payments at the window for add-on points for meal plans and Cal 1 Card debit dollars, until further notice. Credit cards will only be accepted via the Berkeley Dining or Cal 1 Card websites.

Students who withdraw from UC Berkeley must move out of the residence halls within ten days. A student who decides to withdraw must notify the housing office so that their contract will be cancelled accordingly. Any student in this situation needs to fill out a Residence Hall Contract Cancellation Request Form at portal.housing.berkeley.edu, and provide documentation supporting his or her withdrawal from the University. The student should then follow the Checking Out of Your Residence Hall Instruction Sheet to complete the move-out process.

UC Berkeley and Residential and Student Service Programs take the welfare of our students very seriously and have missing person policies and procedures in place to provide for each student’s well being. If you believe that any member of the campus community is missing or is in any danger, do not hesitate to report it to UCPD, Berkeley immediately.