Undergraduate Housing Application FAQs

It is not required that students live in on-campus housing. You may find housing on your own; however, especially for new students, we encourage you to consider living on-campus for your first year at UC Berkeley and beyond. UC Berkeley has made great strides to increase our housing spaces to better support undergraduate students for all 4 years of their time with us.

We recommend students pursuing off-campus housing work with our off-campus housing services: UC Berkeley Off-Campus Rental Services. You may wish to reach out to our UC Berkeley Off-Campus Rental Services Rentals Coordinator by emailing homeinfo@berkeley.edu.

The housing application for the following academic year opens each year on February 1st. Deadlines are as follows:

• Continuing Undergraduate Students: February 15
• First-year Students: May 2
• Incoming Transfer Students: June 2

Students can review important deadlines, including application submission dates and the housing offer timeline, on the Dates & Deadlines page of our website. We encourage students to check this page regularly for updates and to ensure they meet all necessary deadlines.

Undergraduate housing offers are determined through a randomized lottery process. After each housing application deadline, all applications that meet the priority deadline are assigned a random lottery number. Our office then reviews applications in lottery order, considering each student’s housing preferences and our available housing inventory at the time of placement. We generally send out offers each week and students get up to 5 days to accept their offer before it expires.

As long as you submit your application by the deadline and have broad preferences, your chances in the lottery remain the same as any other applicant.

You can return to your application to edit your housing preferences and edit or add roommate groups for up to a week after the deadline. It will not affect your submission date.

First-year and incoming transfer students: All incoming first-year and incoming transfer students are guaranteed one housing offer during their first academic year, provided they meet all housing application deadlines and include “Any room size – Any location” as one of their housing preferences.

Continuing students: UC Berkeley does not guarantee on-campus housing to continuing students, but priority is given to students who apply by the housing deadline and list “Any room size – Any location” as one of their housing preferences. While many students receive a housing offer, assignments are based on availability and the lottery process.

Students admitted off the UC Berkeley admissions waitlist will receive a housing offer if they complete the housing application by their admissions acceptance deadline and include “Any room size – Any location” as one of their housing preferences.

The housing application deadline is the same as the deadline to accept admission. Missing this deadline or failing to accept your admission offer on time may jeopardize your housing guarantee.

Selecting “Any room size – Any location” as a preference in your housing application helps ensure a broader range of housing options are considered. Failing to include this preference may result in not receiving a housing offer and could void any housing guarantee for students who are eligible for one.

If you received a housing offer but would like to switch to a different hall or room type, you can submit a housing relocation request. This request allows you to be considered for different housing options based on availability. Housing relocations 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.

If you miss the deadline to accept your housing offer, the offer will be reallocated to other students in future housing offer rounds. However, you can still resubmit your housing application via your housing portal to be considered for available housing. Your application will be processed after those who have not yet received an offer and as space allows.

While there’s no guarantee that your original offer will be extended or that you will receive a second offer, we will do our best to extend an offer to you based on availability.

If you decline your housing offer, please note that we cannot guarantee you will receive another offer. If you are not satisfied with your housing assignment but have a preference for a different location or room type, we recommend that you accept your current offer and then go through the housing relocation process. This process allows you to be considered for other available options as space permits.

If you decide to decline your housing offer in favor of seeking off-campus housing, you can begin your search with the help of UC Berkeley Off-Campus Rental Services.

Incoming first-year students are not eligible for on-campus apartments, but continuing students and transfer students may apply for on-campus apartments through the housing application process.

Keep in mind that apartment assignments are subject to availability.

Our housing agreements are for the full academic year, and we do not offer fall-only agreements. However, if you are graduating or studying abroad in the spring, you can apply for housing under a full-year agreement and then submit a cancellation request and supporting documentation about your spring registration status. We will assist you in cancelling your agreement based on your situation.

If you are not graduating in the fall, studying abroad in the spring, or withdrawing at the end of the fall semester, we cannot automatically release you from your housing agreement. In that case, you will need to submit a cancellation request form during the fall semester.For more information about cancellations, please visit our cancellations page.

For students interested in spring-only housing, you can indicate this preference in your housing application.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) protects student information from being released to anyone other than the student without written consent. Review the U.S. Department of Education's FERPA webpage for more information including frequently asked questions and when FERPA applies.

If you would like to give family member(s) or another individual(s) access to your housing records, you will need to provide written permission by adding their information under the FERPA section of the housing application.

If you apply for a theme program, your chances of receiving your first housing choice may be affected, as each theme program has a preassigned location. When you apply for a theme program, you are applying to live within that specific theme program community. If you are accepted into the theme program, you will be offered housing based on the available inventory that aligns with the theme program's designated housing location.

While your housing preferences will be taken into account, your assignment will be influenced by the theme program’s availability. For more information about theme programs and their locations, visit the Theme Program webpage.

To see how your financial aid would be adjusted if you switched housing types (for example, from a residence hall to an apartment), you should contact the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office directly. They can provide guidance on how different housing options may impact your aid package.

You can also review your financial aid award letter in your CalCentral account, which may show estimates for various housing types. However, any changes in housing type should be discussed with the financial aid office to ensure accuracy and to receive the most up-to-date information.