Housing FAQs for Newly Admitted Students

HLS Housing are resident halls or apartments located on or around the Harvard Law School campus.  It is housing managed entirely by the Harvard Law School.  HLS Housing is exclusively available for full-time eligible Harvard Law School students.

HUH is Harvard University Housing which can be described as affiliated housing.  HUH is available for Harvard University graduate students, faculty and staff.

Applying for HLS Housing is not the same as applying for HUH and vice versa.  The two units work independently of each other.

HLS Housing has a small portfolio comprised of less than 600 beds. A little over 570 rooms are in resident hall buildings which offer a dormitory style of living.  There are also about 25 rooms in the HLS apartments.  Apartments are offered exclusively to 2L and 3L J.D. students who resided in HLS Housing during a previous J.D. year.

Not all rooms are available for room selection. Rooms are held for various reasons such as special housing accommodations, administrative and maintenance holds.

For more information on the HLS resident halls including amenities, floor plans and virtual tours, visit the Residence Hall page.

HLS Housing provides single occupancy rooms exclusively for Harvard Law School students.  Our resident halls and the apartments cannot accommodate partners, dependents and/or pets.

If you require accommodations beyond what HLS Housing can provide, we recommend exploring the following resources:

•  Harvard University Housing
•  Off-Campus Housing

If you are considering HLS Housing and require a housing accommodation due to a medical or disability related issue, you must register with the Accessibility Services Resource Office and file a request using their portal.  This process may take up to 10-14 business days depending on the number of HLS students who register and file a request for the year.

We encourage you to file your request as early as possible, even before the HLS Housing application becomes available to eligible HLS students.  Students who do not self-identify early run the risk of not being able to secure a room in HLS Housing with the appropriate accommodation need.

There are also other types of housing accommodations that can be supported at HLS Housing such as:

• Religious Accommodation Requests
• Gender-Related Accommodation Requests

If you have a unique circumstance not listed here, please contact HLS Housing by email.

To secure a room in HLS Housing you will need to fill out an HLS Housing application before the appropriate deadline.

Deadlines are determined by your student classification such as J.D., LL.M, or S.J.D.

Check the Housing Calendar to find the deadline for your student classification.

HLS Housing is a residential program based on a full-academic year when the reservation is made for the fall semester.

If your program ends mid-year or some other event occurs where you will not be a full-time Harvard Law School student your reservation may be cancelled with approval.

Please refer to the cancellation page for more details.

The application can be found on the HLS student portal under the “HLS Housing” tab on the crimson bar.

To access the HLS student portal you will need:

1. A Harvard University identification number (HUID)
2. An email address you have access to and is actively monitored

Newly admitted students should contact the HLS ITS help desk at 617.495.0722.

When you submit your application has no impact on your chances for an earlier lottery time.  All applications are weighted equally as long as you apply before the application deadline.

Please refer to the Housing calendar.

Submitting an HLS Housing application does not obligate you to select a room.

At HLS Housing, we empower students to choose their living space. By allowing you to self-select from our available room inventory.

This approach means you can make informed choices on the available inventory in the portal.  It is important that you select a living arrangement that best aligns with your preferences and needs.

We encourage you to delve into the wealth of information provided on our Residence Hall pages. From floor plans to room/building amenities and virtual tours, each resource is designed to help you assess the potential advantages and drawbacks of different rooms. By carefully considering these details, you can make a choice that suits your individual needs and lifestyle perfectly.

On June 2nd the housing portal will open for all eligible HLS students that did not participate in the housing lottery for their classification.

You will need to complete and submit an HLS Housing application before you are allowed to view remaining room inventory.  Rooms remaining in inventory on June 1st will be available on a first come first serve bases.

Please consult with the Housing calendar for housing lottery classification dates.

A housing lottery is the method through which eligible HLS students engage to secure a lottery time for room selection in HLS Housing.

A lottery time is a day and time where the housing portal opens for eligible HLS students to review room inventory and secure a room for the fall.

Only HLS students who have completed and submitted an HLS Housing application BEFORE THE DEADLINE will be eligible for the housing lottery.

The lottery is conducted by taking all the submitted housing applications and randomly dividing them into one-hour increments from 9am through 4pm (EDT) over a one or two day period, pending the number of applicants.

An equal number of students are given the same lottery time which grants them access to room inventory to secure a room.  Each hour an additional equal number of students will be permitted into the portal to room select.  As the day continues more and more applicants are granted access to room inventory.

You may enter the housing portal anytime after your lottery time and as many times as you would like until the day room selection ends.

Please refer to the Housing Calendar for the opening of the housing portal dates based on your student classification.

This is a difficult question to answer accurately as the demand for rooms is difficult to gauge by the number of applications.  Many students apply for HLS Housing but may not secure a room thus making it difficult to know how many rooms will actually be secured for the fall.

Reasons for not securing a room may include:

• Room inventory did not have the desired room type
• Better housing fit found outside of HLS Housing

Yes, you can participate in both housing lotteries.

Please note the application deadlines, room selection process, and cancellations for the HUH lottery differ from those of HLS Housing. It’s essential to stay informed about these dates to avoid incurring any penalties or fees.

Due to the nature of the lottery, how rooms are secured and the need to ensure fairness for all HLS students, we are unable to accommodate changes to any of the lottery times.

Additionally, the lottery time represents the earliest opportunity you can access room inventory in the housing portal to secure a room.  You will continue to have access to any available rooms in the housing portal until room selection closes.

Room selection refers to the process of picking a room in one of the HLS resident halls in the HLS student portal.

You must have a submitted an HLS Housing application and be given a lottery time slot to be able to select a room.

You can check on room availability as often as you would like, once you once your lottery time slot begins.

You will not be able to check on rooms after room selection ends.

Please refer to the Housing Calendar for dates.

You may see more rooms available because the number of rooms for your student classification at that location has not been satisfied.  Each classification has a set limit, and all available rooms are visible to individuals within that classification until the set number is filled. Once that number is reached for a classification and location, it is turned off.  So, while it may still appear many rooms are available, it could already be closed to students in different classifications for that location.

A room swap is a process where students exchange their current selected room with another currently available room.

The ability to room swap is dependent on inventory.  If there are no viable rooms to swap then room swapping will not be available to you.

You can room swap until room assignments are final or until there are no other rooms available to swap with.

Please refer to the Housing Calendar for dates.

If the room swap button does not take you to a page with rooms then there are no rooms to swap.