FAQs

Residential Living supports the living experience of all Syracuse University students: those in residence halls, South Campus apartments, off-campus houses and apartments, and commuters. Our staff build community, offer programs, and help students solve problems where they live.

Housing, Meal Plan, and ID Card Services handles housing applications, assignments, room relocation requests, and billing. Residential Living handles community life, student team members, policies, roommate support, and off-campus resources. If your question is about where you live or what you pay, start with Housing.

Start with your Resident Advisor (RA). If your RA cannot resolve it, contact your Residence Director (RD). For apartments, off-campus, or commuter questions, contact the Apartment and Off-Campus Living team.

• North Campus: 111 Waverly Avenue, Suite 200, 315.443.3637, orl@syr.edu
• South Campus, campus, and commuters: 206 Goldstein Student Center, 315.443.3893, orlsouth@syr.edu
• Review Contact Us for more information on business hours.

What should I do in an emergency?

Call 911, or call the Department of Public Safety at 315.443.2224. The Orange Safe app also connects you directly to DPS.

A Living Agreement is a conversation, led by your RA, where you and your roommate(s) set expectations for things like guests, cleaning, sleep, and study habits. You then record it in Roompact, where it stays on file to help if disagreements come up later. You can update it at any time during the year.

Talk with your roommate directly first; most conflicts start with poor communication, and texts or notes usually make things worse. Revisit your Living Agreement together. If that does not help, ask your RA or RD to facilitate a conversation.

You can request a relocation through Housing, Meal Plan, and ID Card Services. Requests depend on space availability and University policy. See Room Relocation Request for deadlines and eligibility.

Quiet hours run Sunday through Thursday, midnight to 7 a.m., and Friday and Saturday, 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. Courtesy hours apply at all other times, so noise should stay at a level that lets others sleep and study. During finals, 24-hour quiet hours begin on the first reading day.

A residence hall room may hold no more than double its number of assigned beds, so a double room may have four people total. South Campus Apartments may have no more than the following number of individuals in the unit:

• 1-bedroom apartment: 4 people;
• 2-bedroom apartment: 6 people;
• 3-bedroom apartment: 8 people.

This information may be found in the Occupancy Limits, section 1.3c5, of Residential Living’s Handbook and Policies

Residence halls have laundry facilities in each building. Lazybones also offers a paid pickup laundry service: you leave laundry in the lobby bin on your building’s pickup day and it returns to the main desk the next day. See Lazybones Laundry and Storage for more information.

Residence hall mail and packages are handled at your building’s main desk. Main desk phone numbers are listed on the Residence Halls page. Packages may be picked up whenever the main desk of the residence hall is open, unless others posted or communicated.

Packages to South Campus apartments are delivered directly to the apartment’s front door . more information is available about the South Campus Mail and Package Operation.

A guest is affiliated with Syracuse University (a current student, faculty or staff member) or is a SUNY ESF student. A visitor is anyone else, such as a parent, family member, friend, or former student. Both must be signed in by their host.

In a residence hall, meet your guest or visitor at the main entrance and sign them in with the Residence Community Safety Officer (RCSO) using your SUID card. Visitors must show a photo ID. When they leave, walk them back to the lobby.

Yes. Submit the online Visitor Registration form at least two business days ahead. The confirmation email serves as the visitor pass, and your visitor must also carry a photo ID.

Yes, with your roommate’s or suitemates’ prior approval. A guest may stay no more than three nights in a row, you may host overnight guests no more than six nights a month, and you may host no more than two overnight guests at once.

Visitors under 16 may enter only with their parent or guardian present and may not stay overnight. Visitors who are 16 or 17 must be related to you, need a signed parent or guardian permission form, and must be registered online at least 72 business hours ahead. You will also meet with your RD before the visit.

Yes. Guest privileges may be limited during openings, breaks, finals, and closings. For example, new first-year and transfer students are asked not to host overnight visitors during Welcome Week. Current restrictions are posted on Guest and Visitor Information.

Yes. Hosts are responsible for their guests’ and visitors’ behavior, and a conduct complaint may be filed against the host for a guest’s violation.

Common prohibited items include air conditioners, space heaters, electric blankets, candles and incense, extension cords (UL- or ETL-listed power strips with a circuit breaker are allowed), halogen or multi-head lamps, wall-mounted TVs, weapons, fireworks, and large furniture. Prohibited items are confiscated and discarded. See the full Prohibited Item Policy.

Refrigerators must be under five cubic feet and microwaves under 1,000 watts. In residence halls, microwaves and microfridges must also have built-in smoke detection and automatic shutoff; you can rent a compliant one through MicroFridge. Standard microwaves are fine in South Campus and Milton apartments.

Not in residence halls. Air fryers, toasters, toaster ovens, rice cookers, crockpots, hot plates, and indoor grills are prohibited there. Indoor grills, air fryers, toasters, toaster ovens, crockpots, and rice cookers are permitted in South Campus apartments.

No. Electric scooters, e-bikes, hoverboards, other motorized vehicles, and their chargers are prohibited in University housing because of fire risk.

No. Drones may not be operated from or within residential facilities, and the University does not permit recreational drone use on campus.

Pets are not permitted, except fish. Approved emotional support animals and service animals are handled through the process in the Housing Terms and Conditions. The Winding Ridge Apartment area on South Campus is pet friendly.

In residence halls, food preparation knives and pocket knives are allowed if the blade is four inches or shorter. South Campus apartment residents may keep standard kitchen knives for cooking purposes.

Residence halls and South Campus apartments stay open during Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break, and Spring Break, although services such as main desk hours and package distribution are reduced. Residence halls close for Winter Break, while South Campus apartments stay open. Dates for each break are on the Welcome, Break, and Closing Information page.

Residence hall students must leave within 24 hours of their last final or by the posted closing time, whichever comes first. Select your checkout time in the Housing Portal. See Winter Break/December Closing for this year’s date.

Indicate in the Housing Portal that you will be in your apartment so the heat stays on. If you are staying and have no heat, submit an online service request.

Unplug, empty, defrost, and clean your microfridge (South Campus students leave the full-size refrigerator plugged in). Take out trash, close and lock windows, turn off lights, and lock your door. Staff check rooms after you leave and will unplug anything left plugged in.

You will be charged for a lock core change ($50 for a residence hall key; $75 for a Milton fob). South Campus fees are $50 for the front door key, $10 for the bedroom key, and $5 for the mailbox key. Keys cannot be mailed back to avoid these fees. *All fees subject to increase and were accurate at the time of posting.

Lazybones is the only authorized moving and storage vendor allowed inside residential buildings. Family and friends may help, but in residence halls they must sign in with the RCSO. If you use another company, you must bring your items outside the building yourself.

Yes, through Lazybones storage, which picks up from your room, prices by item, and charges no monthly fee. Items left behind after you move out are treated as abandoned.

South Campus has space for about 2,400 students in the apartments and Skyhalls. The Skyhalls are are comprised of 3 residence halls each having 60 single rooms.

For general help, visit Residential Living at Goldstein Student Center, suite 206. For apartment assignments, lockouts, keys, and mail, visit Housing at Goldstein Student Center, suite 210.

Mail goes to the mailbox cluster near your building. USPS packages too large for your mailbox go into a parcel locker, and a locker key is left in your mailbox. Amazon, UPS, FedEx, and DHL deliver to your door. Review additional information on South Campus Mail and Package Operations.

Use this format:

First and Last Name
Building number and street, apartment number
Syracuse, NY 13244

Contact the seller or the carrier first. You can also file a report with the Department of Public Safety at 315.443.2224. If you will be away, pause or reschedule deliveries, including auto-ship orders.

Skyhalls RAs are on call each evening starting at 8 p.m.; the number is posted in the Skyhalls.

Use the labeled trash and recycling dumpsters near every apartment building. Taking trash out regularly helps keep pests away.

Free campus shuttles run between South and Main Campus. Schedules are on the Parking and Transportation Services site.

Students may move off campus after completing the University’s housing requirement.

Yes. The Apartment and Off-Campus Living team can help you decide whether to move off campus, search for housing, review what to look for in a lease, and handle problems once you move in. Contact us at 315.443.3893 or visit the Goldstein Student Center, suite 206.

Use the University’s Off-Campus Housing Search site, run with College Pads. Listings are checked at the time of posting for pending code violations, occupancy certificates, and a City inspection within the last three years. Listing a property is not an endorsement by the University.

Use the City of Syracuse Look Before You Rent tool to check its Rental Registry status, Certificate of Compliance, and code violations. You can also call Code Enforcement at 315.448.8695.

Yes. Undergraduates can have a lease reviewed through Student Legal Services, which is covered by the student fee. Always keep a signed copy of your lease.

Yes. The Off-Campus Housing Search site has roommate and sublease boards open only to Syracuse University students. Before you sublet, confirm your lease allows it, and remember you stay responsible for the rent if your subtenant does not pay.

Only if the lease allows subletting and you are confident you can find a subtenant. Otherwise you will owe rent while you are away. A one-semester on-campus agreement may be easier; contact Housing to ask.

The City of Syracuse allows no more than five unrelated adults to share a dwelling unit, and they must live as a single household. Bedrooms cannot be leased individually or have exterior locks.

Put trash and recycling out and back on collection days, shovel sidewalks and steps, park only in legal spaces, and keep noise on your own property. Large or disorderly gatherings can be cited as nuisance parties under City code.

For non-emergencies, file an Off-Campus Neighbor Concern Report. For emergencies, call 911. For broken streetlights or other City issues, use the SYRCityline app.

On-campus options may be available. Email Housing at housing@syr.edu to ask.

Residential Living serves commuters through its Apartment and Off-Campus iving team.