New first-time, first-year undergraduate students and exchange students are required to live on campus. Undergraduate transfer students may be able to live on campus depending on availability  and should consult with UVM Residential Life.

To get housing on campus, students eligible for housing must complete a housing contract. Residential Life will contact students via their UVM email account inviting them to complete a contract. This will happen usually in May for Fall arrivals and around November/December for Spring arrivals. You will be notified of your housing assignment the week before arrival to campus.

Rooms at UVM are generally shared and there are shared bathrooms on the floor. Some students might live in other room types, depending on availability and personal circumstances. UVM housing is billed through UVM. Read more about housing, what to expect, and what to bring on ResLife’s website.

We recommend that you start your housing search as soon as you know that you will be enrolling at UVM, as Burlington's apartments tend to fill quickly. While we are not able to recommend a specific housing option for you we are available to help you think about the things most important to you in your own off-campus search. At times our staff have helped students look at communications from prospective landlords to understand local terminology or to assess if a student is possibly the garget of a scam. Each year in late April, the OIE offers an off-campus housing workshop to help newly admitted students understand the local off-campus housing landscape - see our events calendar for details. 

You can search for housing using online resources, even if you are not in Burlington yet. We strongly recommend identifying your housing plan before arrival in Vermont. Here are some places to start:

• UVM has multiple affiliated housing options that may appeal to UVM students. These are off-campus and are managed by other Burlington entities in partnership with UVM. Not all of these options are well suited for all student needs. These options include:
  • Catamount Run
  • Spinner Place
  • Redstone Lofts
  • Redstone Apartments
  • Ethan Allen Apartments (on bus route about 6.5km from campus)
  • Catamount Lane Apartments (on bus route about 6.5km from campus)

• Office of Student and Community Relations (OSCR) - If you would like to get information about off-campus-housing resources, please email UVM's Office of Student and Community Relations at oscr@uvm.edu. This office provides support for students who are looking for housing. You can also contact the office if you need assistance with concerns about your rental unit. The OSCR hosts an off-campus housing database that is available to students, faculty, and staff. On this site you can:
  • Search for off-campus housing
  • Find a UVM roommate
  • Find helpful off-campus living resources
     
• Real Estate Operations (REO) Office is a new resource, run through the UVM Office of the General Counsel, designed to assist students that are looking for off-campus housing.
• Gradnet is a listserv for graduate students and a place where students sometimes post searching for roommates and subletters. Sign up here using your UVM email address.

Burlington has a high occupancy rate for its rental housing, meaning that it can be hard to find housing that is immediately available. Here are some tips to help as you start your housing search.

• The rental market in Burlington is driven by student rentals. Many of the leases in Burlington are one-year leases that run May-May or August-August.
• If you sign a lease for an entire year, you are responsible for paying the entire lease unless you sublet your room, apartment or house. Subletting is taking responsibility for the remaining time on someone else's lease. Subletting requires the approval of your landlord. If you plan to sublet, check that subletting is allowed before you sign your lease.
• Rent in Vermont may feel expensive compared to other places you have lived. Students occasionally choose to live in neighboring towns such as Winooski, Colchester, and South Burlington rather than downtown Burlington. Rent in these towns may be less expensive or you may have a nicer rental for the same price. Check out the local bus schedules to see if the rental you are considering is on the bus line.
• As you look at housing options, make sure that you understand which utilities are included in the rent. Utilities include things like electricity, gas and internet. Utilities can add $100 or more per month to housing costs, especially in the winter.
• Please be careful when communicating with people over the internet. It is common for landlords to ask for a security deposit at the time you sign a lease. Burlington law limits the security deposit to the value of one month’s rent. Some landlords may also charge an application or administrative fee. Be careful of online scams where people ask for money but they may not actually have a room or apartment to rent.
• Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) - offers a Rent Right Program, designed to provide participants the skills, materials, and confidence necessary to find and maintain stable housing
• Be aware of advertisements from online resources that offer free or reduced rent in exchange for childcare, housework, or other services; these opportunities are not appropriate for international students.

As you look at housing ads, you may find words, phrases and abbreviations that are new to you. Here are some useful words and phrases for your housing search.

Burlington Neighborhoods

• Five Sisters - A section in Burlington's South End neighborhood.
• Hill Section - A neighborhood south of downtown and west of campus with many large, historic houses.
• New North End (NNE) - A neighborhood north of the Old North End. Not within walking distance of campus.
• Old North End (ONE) - A neighborhood north of downtown that is home to many of the town's international grocery stores.
• South End - The area south of downtown, with a diverse range of housing options.

Housing Vocabulary

• Bd - An abbreviation for "bedroom."
• Br/ba - An abbreviation for "bedrooms and bathrooms."  Often written as 2br/1.5ba. A half bathroom is just a sink and toilet, without a shower or bathtub.
• Coin op laundry - Washers and dryers are available but you will need quarters (American coins worth $0.25) to use the machines.
• Condo - An apartment in a building where the apartments are owned by individual people rather than the same company.
• Duplex - A building that has two homes in it, usually side-by-side.
• Efficiency - A small apartment that does not have a separate bedroom. The bedroom and the living space are all part of one area. These are also called studio apartments.
• ISO - An abbreviation for "in search of."
• Landlord (Landlady) - The person or company who owns the apartment or house you rent.
• Lease - The agreement between a tenant and a landlord.
• Studio - Another name for an efficiency.
• Subletting - Taking responsibility for the remaining time on someone else's lease.
• Tenant - The person who rents an apartment or house (you!).
• Townhouse - A small home that shares one or more walls with other homes.
• Utilities - The extra services you need for your house or apartment, like electricity, gas and internet.
• W&D - Washer and dryer.

Occasionally, students have problems with a roommate or landlord. UVM and Burlington have resources to help you understand your rights and responsibilities and to help you find a solution to roommate or landlord problems. UVM's Office of Student & Community Relations (OSCR) is a great place to start. Be sure to read their Off-Campus Living Guide (PDF) to understand the basics of renting in Burlington. If you have problems with your roommate(s) or landlord, OSCR can help you start a conversation with them. It can also refer you to community resources if you have serious problems, especially problems with your landlord.

As a renter, you and your landlord have certain rights and responsibilities to each other. For example, you have the responsibility to pay your rent on time. Your landlord has the responsibility to make sure that sure that your house or apartment is a safe place to live. You can learn more about your rights and responsibilities from An Illustrated Guide to Vermont Renter's Rights (PDF). If you believe that your rights are not being respected, please let the OIE know.