Housing FAQs

The student life portal is the online portal where students log into and apply for HLS Housing, select a room, room swap and perform other housing related functions.

Before you log into the HLS Student Life Portal you will need to have a Harvard University identification number (HUID).  You will also need an email address you have access to and is actively monitored.

In order to be included in room selection you will need to fill out and submit an HLS Housing application in the HLS Student Life Portal.  All submitted applications are confirmed with an email stating your application has been completed and submitted.

Find out when the housing application will be available on the Housing calendar.

We are unable to make guarantees that everyone who applies for HLS Housing will be given a room selection window.  The number of room selection windows are based on the number of housing applications and the number of rooms available in inventory.

Additionally, when you submit your application has no impact on your chances for a better room selection window.  All applications are weighted equally as long as you apply before the the application deadline.

HLS Housing provides students with the freedom to select their room during their assigned room selection window. This allows students the ability to explore room inventory and choose the specific room that best suits their needs.

All available rooms are accessible during the student’s room selection window providing them with a comprehensive view to make informed decisions on their own room assignment.

If you are considering on-campus housing at HLS and require a housing accommodation due to a medical or disability related issue, HLS Housing highly encourages you to reach out to our Accessibility Services Resource Office early, even before the housing application opens.

Applicants who do not self-identify early run the risk of not finding a room with the appropriate accommodation needs.

There are also other types of housing accommodations that can be supported at HLS Housing such as the ones listed below.

• Medical or Disability Accommodation Requests
• Religious Accommodation Requests
• Gender-Related Accommodation Requests

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

HLS Housing can only accommodate individual HLS students in both the residence halls and the apartments. Our residential options do not accommodate partners, dependent or pets.

There are many other housing options available for HLS students with partners, dependents, and pets.

• Harvard University Housing
• Off-Campus Housing

HLS Housing is a residential program based on a full-academic year. There are two application processes:

Full academic year:
Our full-academic year program includes a move-in and move-out date based on each student classification. Housing does not close for any period (such as winter/spring breaks) during the academic year; however we do not offer housing options during the summer.

Persons who will not be students during the spring semester (single-semester exchange students, persons who are on a leave of absence for the fall, persons graduating at the end of spring, students accepted to a study abroad/DC program for the spring) can cancel the spring portion of their full-academic year contract without penalty, as long as they fall into one of those categories. Please see the exceptions to the Cancellation Policy here. Please note that spring contract cancellations are not verified until later during the fall semester. It is not possible to sign a full-year contract and then cancel spring right away.

Students who will continue to study at HLS campus during their contract may cancel at any time; however penalties may apply. Please review the cancellation policy.

Spring Only:
Our spring only housing are for those who need housing for the spring semester.  Those looking for spring housing must be enrolled in spring semester at HLS.  The student life portal opens in November for students to apply for HLS Housing.

HLS Housing has a small portfolio comprised of less than 600 beds. The HLS population is greater than 2,000 students. As a result, students are required to reapply for HLS Housing annually if they would like to live on-campus in subsequent academic years.

Students must move out of housing at the end of each academic year and arrange for summer storage if they would like to leave items in the area.

If you are looking for an option in which you do not need to move out annually and can renew your housing for the same unit you may want to seek other housing options.

Once the grouping deadline has passed, we cannot accept any new group requests. You will need to coordinate with your potential roommates to log on and separately select rooms in the same area, building, or suite, based on what is available.

The vacancy will immediately become available to any other HLS Housing applicant who is viewing the available inventory. If you have another HLS student in-mind whom you would like to live with in your current space, you would need to advise them to log on as soon as possible to try to select the space.