Off-Campus Housing


Off Campus Housing 2007-2008

How to Apply

How can I get an application and when is it due?
 
Applications for rising seniors interested in applying to be exempt from the University housing requirement will be available on Monday, March 12th.  Randomly generated lottery numbers will be posted in the hallway outside the Office of Residential Life on Monday, March 26th.  The applications are due in the Office of Residential Life at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 9th.  Late applications will not be accepted.  If you or someone in your group is currently studying abroad, a completed application can be submitted to nhamilto@sewanee.edu via email.  Students currently on social probation are not eligible to live off-campus and need not apply.

Where can I live?   How can I get information about houses?
A list of local properties currently rented to undergraduate students will be posted outside of the Office of Residential Life. The list will include the address of the property, the number of tenants, the name of the current tenants, and the Zone designation for the property. This list may not be removed and Residential Life will not provide additional copies to students. If you want to learn about off campus properties, contact the students living there for information about their house and for any contact information for the property owner. Residential Life is unable to advise students on details regarding specific off campus properties and we do not inspect any of the properties.     
 
The surrounding community is divided into two housing “zones.” 
 
Zone 1 is anything on the Sewanee Domain. These houses and apartments will be filled before the properties located in Zone 2. Many Zone 1 properties are owned by retired faculty members.  If you know of someone who lives in a University property who has not rented to students in the past, but wishes to do so, the leaseholder must appeal to the University Lease Committee for permission to rent to students. A copy of the “Lease Policies and Procedures” pamphlet is available from Ms. Barbara Schlichting in the Office of Rental Housing. 
 
Zone 2 properties meet the following description: 1) anything off the Domain but on the Mountain, 2) in Franklin County, and 3) a few miles from the Quad. Zone 2 properties do not need to be vetted through the University Lease Committee process. Students may apply to live in houses that are not currently occupied by students as long as the house meets the definition of a Zone 2 property.
 
Students are urged to exercise good judgment and caution in terms of the properties that they might rent. Consider all the expenses and challenges associated with off campus living before you rush into the process (i.e. security, food, utilities, internet access, garbage removal, snow removal, insurance, etc). 

What should I be doing now?
Prior to submitting an application, students interested in living off campus must meet or speak with property owners to discuss the possibility of renting the property. On the application, students may list up to three properties where they would like to live. These properties should be listed in order of preference. You must have the permission of the property owner to list their house on your application. The property owner has the right to choose NOT to rent to you. Commitments, such as leases, are NOT to be made until the end of this process, but you ought to be contacting property owners at this time.

What happens after I submit my application?
After the application is submitted, applications are reviewed by the Deans of Students. Consideration is given to seniority and gown status, academic record, disciplinary record (students on social probation need not apply), date of graduation, property locations and the overall quality of the student’s application. Applications ought to show evidence of a student’s sense of responsibility and ought to discuss how they will be responsible to their housemates, neighbors, and wider community. If a member of your group plans to or decides to graduate early, the University will not grant permission for a new student to take the place of the person graduating (you will still be financially responsible for your rent payments). 

How will I know if my application is approved?
A list of all approved applicants will be posted outside the Office of Residential Life on Wednesday, April 11th by 5:00 p.m.  Any applicant not on the approval list may not attend the Off Campus Confirmation Meeting on Monday, April 16th.

The approval list will be ordered according to gown status and the lottery number of the group or individual student applying. The bolded property next to the student's name will indicate the property where the student(s) will most likely rent.  The list will be a fairly good indication of which applicants will be off-campus and in which property.  There will be 40 students living off-campus.  As in past years, the number of students applying to live off-campus next year may exceed the number of spots available.  Given that the number of students living off-campus will be 40, it is possible that all the approved applicants will not be granted a spot off-campus.

What happens after I am approved?
On, Monday, April 16th at 5:00 p.m., all students who have been approved for off-campus living will attend a meeting with Assistant Dean of Students to determine exactly which students will be living off-campus and in which property.  This meeting will be held in the B.C. Large Lounge.  Students interested in Zone 1 will be given first priority based on their lottery number.  After all Zone 1 spots are filled, applicants for Zone 2 spots will have a chance to fill the balance of spaces left by Zone 1 applicants.  So, for example, if 20 spots are filled by students living in Zone 1, that will leave a maximum of 20 spots in Zone 2.  Students will have an opportunity to choose any property that they have listed on their application.  At this meeting, students who will be living off-campus will receive a "Confirmation of Off-Campus Housing Agreement" form, which must be signed by both the student and the property owner.  Residential Life does not negotiate the students' leases.  

The Confirmation of Off-Campus Housing Agreement is due in the Office of Residential Life by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 20th.

Questions?  Contact the Director of Residential Life Nicky Hamilton at (931) 598-1446 or nhamilto@sewanee.edu