Skip to main content

Housing and Residential Experience

Off-Campus Authorization

Undergraduate Residential Requirement & General Information

The residential experience is understood to be an integral part of receiving a Vanderbilt education.  Our commitment to the residential experience is clearly expressed in the university’s residential requirement that was established by the Board of Trust:

“All unmarried undergraduate students are required to live in residence halls on-campus during the academic year, May session and summer sessions. Authorization to live off campus is granted at the discretion of the Director of Housing Assignments and Operations in special situations or when space is unavailable on campus.”

IN ALL CASES, STUDENTS REQUESTING OFF-CAMPUS AUTHORIZATION SHOULD NOT MAKE OFF-CAMPUS LIVING ARRANGEMENTS UNTIL THEY HAVE BEEN OFFICIALLY AUTHORIZED TO RESIDE OFF CAMPUS BY THE DIRECTOR OF HOUSING ASSIGNMENTS AND OPERATIONS. CONTRACTS BETWEEN STUDENTS AND OFF-CAMPUS LANDLORDS AND AGREEMENTS BETWEEN FRIENDS TO SUBLEASE A SPACE OFF CAMPUS ARE NOT VALID REASONS FOR GRANTING REQUESTS FOR OFF-CAMPUS AUTHORIZATION.

2024-2025 Off-Campus Authorization Application Process 

Housing and Residential Experience is no longer considering requests for 2024-2025 off-campus authorization.

2025-2026 Off-Campus Authorization Application Process

General Information

Housing and Residential Experience (HRE) anticipates granting off-campus authorization to approximately 1,750 students for the 2025-2026 academic year.  All rising 3rd– and 4th-year students or greater who submit their housing registration are eligible to apply for off-campus authorization which will be granted utilizing a seniority-driven, random selection process.  Levels of seniority are as follows:

  1. Students with current 2024-2025 off-campus authorization who properly apply for 2025-2026 off-campus authorization
  2. Rising 4th-year students or greater
  3. Rising 3rd-year students

Application Process for Current (2024-2025) Off-Campus Residents:

All current students with valid off-campus authorization who would like to continue residing off campus for the 2025-2026 academic year must apply for 2025-2026 off-campus authorization between Tuesday, November 12 at 12 a.m. through Thursday, November 14 at 6 p.m.  All students who properly apply will be granted 2025-2026 off-campus authorization.  Students in this process are not eligible to form a roommate group with other applicants.

New Applicant Priority Application Process:

The priority off-campus application will be available from Tuesday, November 12 at 12 a.m. through Thursday, November 14 at 6 p.m.  Decisions will be announced on Friday, November 15.

Applicants are permitted to form an optional roommate group with up to three (3) other applicants to link their applications together in the random selection process.  Roommate groups during this process can be mixed cohort.

Individual applicants and properly formed roommate groups who apply during the priority application period and are granted off-campus authorization will receive guaranteed off-campus authorization for the duration of their undergraduate career if desired.  Students interested in signing multi-year leases are encouraged to apply during this application window.

How to Apply:

  • Step 1 (REQUIRED):  Students must complete the Housing Registration online in the Housing Portal between November 4, 2024 at 12 a.m. CST and November 8, 2024 at 6 p.m. CST.
  • Step 2 (REQUIRED):  Eligible students must complete the Off-Campus Housing Application in the Housing Portal between November 12, 2024 at 12 a.m. CST and November 14, 2024 at 6 p.m. CST.
  • Step 3 (OPTIONAL):  Applicants will have the option to form a roommate group in the Housing Portal with other applicants between November 12, 2024 at 12 a.m. CST and November 14, 2024 at 6 p.m. CST.
    • Forming a roommate group links applicants together in the random selection process.  Properly formed roommate groups are either granted or denied off-campus authorization as a group.  Students interested in residing off campus with friends are strongly encouraged to form a roommate group.

How to Form a Roommate Group:

  1. Log into the Housing Portal.
  2. Click on “Roommate Selection”.
  3. Click “Select Roommates”.
  4. Select “Fall 2025” as the term from the dropdown menu.
  5. If any other student/s have already requested you as a roommate/hallmate, the requests will show under “Pending Roommate Requests”. To accept requests, click on the three dots to the left of their name and select the “Match” icon.
  6. To request a student, click on “Search for Roommate”. Students are encouraged to search by VUnetID.
  7. Confirm that all members of your roommate/hallmate group accept/request the student/s they would like in their group under “Roommate Requests.”

IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED A FULLY MATCHED ROOMMATE GROUP, ALL MEMBERS OF THE GROUP MUST EITHER REQUEST ONE ANOTHER OR ACCEPT ANY PENDING REQUESTS FROM OTHER GROUP MEMBERS. NO EMAILS OR COMMUNICATION REGARDING ROOMMATES/HALLMATES WILL BE SENT TO STUDENTS FROM THE OFFICE OF HOUSING ASSIGNMENTS. STUDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR COORDINATING WITH ONE ANOTHER TO ENSURE GROUPS ARE PROPERLY FORMED. 

Random Selection Process and Results:

A random selection will be conducted utilizing the lottery point average of all individual/group applicants.

Results will be announced via email on November 15, 2024.  Students should not commit in any way to an off-campus property until they have written authorization to reside off campus.  Vanderbilt will not reimburse students for application fees and deposits for off-campus accommodations.

Students who are approved to reside off campus but want to decline the offer in order to reside on campus may do so by November 22, 2024 at 12 p.m. noon CST without penalty.

New Applicant General Off-Campus Application Process:

If additional off-campus authorizations are needed upon conclusion of the priority application window, additional requests for off-campus authorization will be accepted between Friday, November 15 at 12 a.m. and Friday, December 6 at 6 pm.

Applicants can form an optional roommate group with up to three (3) other applicants of the same class cohort to link their applications together in the random selection process.

Individual applicants and properly formed roommate groups who apply by Sunday, November 24 at 6 p.m. will be notified of the status of their request on Monday, November 25.  Individual applicants and properly formed roommate groups who apply between Sunday, November 24 at 6:01 p.m. and Friday, December 6 at 6 p.m. will be notified of the status of their request on Monday, December 9.

How to Apply:

  • Step 1 (REQUIRED):  Students must complete the Housing Registration online in the Housing Portal between November 4, 2024 at 12 a.m. CST and November 8, 2024 at 6 p.m. CST.
  • Step 2 (REQUIRED):  Eligible students must complete the Off-Campus Housing Application in the Housing Portal between November 16, 2024 at 12 a.m. CST and December 6, 2024 at 6 p.m. CST.
  • Step 3 (OPTIONAL):  Applicants will have the option to form a roommate group in the Housing Portal with other applicants from the same class cohort between November 16, 2024 at 12 a.m. CST and December 6, 2024 at 6 p.m. CST.
    • Forming a roommate group links applicants together in the random selection process.  Properly formed roommate groups are either granted or denied off-campus authorization as a group.  Students interested in residing off campus with friends are strongly encouraged to form a roommate group.

How to Form a Roommate Group:

  1. Log into the Housing Portal.
  2. Click on “Roommate Selection”.
  3. Click “Select Roommates”.
  4. Select “Fall 2025” as the term from the dropdown menu.
  5. If any other student/s have already requested you as a roommate/hallmate, the requests will show under “Pending Roommate Requests”. To accept requests, click on the three dots to the left of their name and select the “Match” icon.
  6. To request a student, click on “Search for Roommate”. Students are encouraged to search by VUnetID.
  7. Confirm that all members of your roommate/hallmate group accept/request the student/s they would like in their group under “Roommate Requests.”

IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED A FULLY MATCHED ROOMMATE GROUP, ALL MEMBERS OF THE GROUP MUST EITHER REQUEST ONE ANOTHER OR ACCEPT ANY PENDING REQUESTS FROM OTHER GROUP MEMBERS. NO EMAILS OR COMMUNICATION REGARDING ROOMMATES/HALLMATES WILL BE SENT TO STUDENTS FROM THE OFFICE OF HOUSING ASSIGNMENTS. STUDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR COORDINATING WITH ONE ANOTHER TO ENSURE GROUPS ARE PROPERLY FORMED. 

Random Selection Process and Results:

A random selection will be conducted utilizing the lottery point average of all individual/group applicants.

Individual applicants and properly formed roommate groups who apply by Sunday, November 24 at 6 p.m. will be notified of the status of their request on Monday, November 25.  Individual applicants and properly formed roommate groups who apply between Sunday, November 24 at 6:01 p.m. and Friday, December 6 at 6 p.m. will be notified of the status of their request on Monday, December 9.

Students should not commit in any way to an off-campus property until they have written authorization to reside off campus.  Vanderbilt will not reimburse students for application fees and deposits for off-campus accommodations.

Students who are approved to reside off campus but want to decline the offer in order to reside on campus may do so by communicated dates without penalty.

Off-Campus Authorization Waitlist:

Any rising 3rd– or 4th year student who missed the priority and general application process as well as rising 2nd-year students are eligible to sign up for the Off-Campus Authorization Waitlist between Monday, January 6 and Friday, January 10.  Applicants can form an optional roommate group with up to three (3) other applicants of the same class cohort to link their applications together in the random selection process.

The waitlist will only be utilized if additional off-campus authorizations are needed.  Individuals and properly formed roommate groups will be selected utilizing a seniority-driven, random selection.  At this time, we do not have a specific date for when we may be able to grant off-campus authorization from the waitlist.  Applicants must participate in the housing assignment process and secure on-campus housing.  Doing so will not remove students from the waitlist.

Off-Campus Housing Information Fair:

All interested students are encouraged to attend the fair on Thursday, November 7 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the Sarratt Promenade and Gallery.   Representatives from local apartment complexes will be available to provide information about their offerings and answer questions.  Housing and Financial Aid representatives will also be available.

Prohibited Properties

Undergraduate students authorized to live off campus may not reside at certain properties. The landlords of these properties have failed to support University efforts to enforce good neighbor standards of behaviors by their student tenants.  If you live in any of these proscribed properties, your off-campus authorization for the entire academic year will be voided and you may be required to live on campus

As of this writing, students may not live in the following properties during the current academic year:

  • 3706 Benham Avenue
  • 2527 Blair Blvd.
  • 3104 Blakemore Avenue
  • 2405 Fairfax Avenue

Frequently Asked Questions

Click here to review the Off-Campus Authorization FAQS.