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The Housing Agreement

For information about all Residential Life related happenings, please refer to our Residential Life Timeline

The Housing Agreement Form constitutes a contract between the student and Vassar College. When the student signs the agreement, they are assigned a space in the residences. The assignment cannot be transferred to another student. The agreement remains in effect in the event of an official room change. The agreement period begins on the move-in date designated for the student resident and ends on the move-out date designated for the student resident. These dates are set forth by the College and can be viewed on the Academic Calendar. Upon move-out, the student is required to remove all of their personal belongings and leave the room in its original condition.

Signing the Housing Agreement Form constitutes an agreement to abide by the rules and regulations of the College and the Office of Residential Life, including those published in the College Regulations and on the Residential Life website. Residents are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that demonstrates respect for College property, fellow residents, and guests.

Cancellation/Termination of Agreement

In the case of a leave of absence or withdrawal, the Housing Agreement between the resident and the College is automatically terminated. The room must be vacated and left in good order, keys must be returned to the Residential Operation Center (located on the first floor of Main House) within 48 hours after the day of leave/withdrawal or by the end of the semester’s occupancy period (whichever is sooner), and the resident must officially check out.

Students deemed ineligible for College housing or denied housing privileges for violations of the Housing Agreement remain financially liable for the entire term of their agreement unless other arrangements are made.

Housing Agreement 2024–2025

Vassar College furnishes housing to you as an integral part of its educational mission. In order to ensure collegiality and tranquility within its housing, the College sets forth the following rules with regard to your occupancy which are intended for the protection of other students and yourself:

  1. You agree to live in college housing for the entire 2024–2025 academic year unless you take a leave of absence, study abroad for a semester, or withdraw from Vassar College.
  2. Your occupancy is by license and is not a tenancy. Your occupancy is solely for your use with the exception of overnight and/or weekend guests who are not otherwise excluded from the campus by prior college action.
  3. You shall use the space assigned to you for private dwelling and no other purpose and may not change this assigned space without authorization from Vassar College.
  4. You shall make no alteration (including painting), additions, or improvements to the space occupied by you and any common areas in connection therewith without the College’s written consent.
  5. You shall take care of the space occupied by you and the furniture contained therein as well as the common area shared by you and other students.
  6. The college-provided furniture cannot and should not be removed from your room/house nor should it be used for outside purposes. If furniture is found missing or used inappropriately, the responsible student(s)’ account will be billed for repair or replacement.
  7. The outdoor areas surrounding your apartment or the corridor near your room must be kept clean and orderly. There shall be no trash, recycling, compost bins left on your patio or any personal items left in hallway or on stairwell. Failure to comply may result in a sanction by the College and/or fines levied by NY State Office of Fire Prevention and Control.
  8. The Office of Fire Prevention and Control will visit campus and randomly choose apartments or residence hall rooms to inspect.
  9. You expressly agree that in exchange for the privilege of occupying college housing, you will be responsible for all repairs and replacements (exclusive of regular maintenance) to the space occupied by you and for your pro-rata share of such repairs or replacements of the common areas relevant thereto when blame cannot be allocated to the wrongdoer. Such pro-ration shall be divided among those who use such common area as a normal function of their occupancy of the space assigned to them.
  10. You are expected to and agree to observe and comply with all rules and regulations prescribed by Vassar College. Failure to do so shall give the College the right to forthwith terminate your license of use and to remove you from occupancy. This right is reserved to the College as a condition of your occupancy, an available sanction for breach of our rules and regulations and to protect the tranquility of the housing area for other students who may have been disturbed by those abusing the rules and regulations promulgated by the College.
  11. You must be a full time student at the College to occupy space in housing.
  12. A break or termination of a student’s relationship with Vassar College, whether voluntary or otherwise, shall forthwith terminate the right of occupancy of the space assigned to the student and such student shall vacate the space immediately, or the College shall have the right to remove such students.
  13. The College reserves the right to enter the space occupied by you with reasonable notice (except that no notice need be given in the case of emergency or in addressing an incident with apparent violations of regulations) for the purpose of inspection and/or making of repairs or replacements as the College deems appropriate and you waive any claim for any reason as a result of the College entering onto the premises.
  14. You understand and agree that the general deposit held by the College shall be security for your fulfillment of the obligations set forth under the license of use. In the event your deposit is used to any extent to cure any obligations due from you to the college arising from your occupancy, the college reserves the right to demand an additional deposit to cover the amount so applied so that the college shall have a full deposit on hand at all times when you are a student at the college.
  15. The College reserves the right to deny occupancy of the space assigned to you during vacation periods and at the same time allow occupancy of other college housing during vacation periods, all within discretion, as determined from time to time.
  16. Room Condition Forms for the fall must be submitted by no later than mid September. If students change room assignment mid-year they will have 3 days after their move to complete a new form for that space. You will forgo your ability to appeal any fines/charges billed to you due to your failure to submit your Room Condition form.
  17. Your house and/or room key(s) must be returned upon check out. Keys are not accepted by mail. Post Office box key should be returned to the Mail Room.
  18. You must obtain a guest pass for any overnight guests. Guest passes can be obtained from the ROC office or Campus Safety & Security.
  19. The College reserves the right to fill any unassigned bed to another student at any point during the academic year.
  20. The College does not provide insurance for damage or loss to residents’ property. You should arrange for coverage of all property you bring to campus and into your residence. You may have coverage through the homeowner’s or renter’s policy for the household which serves as your permanent address. Check with your existing policy for more information. Renter’s insurance is available to individuals through most insurance companies and other specialized companies. You can find contact information for companies specializing in college populations on the Student Financial Services’ website.

Fire Safety Notice 

Creating a safe campus environment for all students, faculty, and staff is of paramount importance. To that end, all members of the College community are encouraged to review campus fire safety protocols, especially those pertaining to residence houses. Section 6438 of the New York Education Law requires private colleges to provide a written fire safety notification to each student living in a college-owned housing facility, both on and off campus. All Vassar College Residence Houses and Apartments (TA’s, TH’s and SC) are equipped with fire sprinkler and fire alarm systems that are regularly inspected, as required by NYS Fire Code, by certified fire alarm and sprinkler contractors. All members of the College community can access the College’s federal Higher Education Opportunity Act fire safety report, Fire Emergency Guide and Fire Safety Guide satisfying IFC 403.10.2.2 and NY Educational Law Section 6438. This guide meets the requirements of 2015 International Fire Code (IFC) 403.10.2.2 which requires Fire Emergency Guides to be reviewed and approved by the fire code official and distributed to each tenant prior to initial occupancy.

Each residential building is equipped with a fire alarm system. Each fire alarm system has pull stations, smoke and heat detectors distributed throughout the building.

Pull Stations—These devices allow occupants to trigger a building-wide alarm activation which will sound horns and strobes to alert occupants and initiate a complete evacuation of the building. Simultaneously, the fire department will respond and determine the nature of the alarm and respond accordingly.

Smoke and Heat Detectors and Alarms—These devices sense the products of combustion and if detected, will trigger a building-wide alarm activation which will sound horns and strobes to alert occupants and initiate a complete evacuation of the building. Simultaneously, the fire department will respond and determine the nature of the alarm and respond accordingly. Some buildings, specifically: Raymond, Strong, Lathrop, Josselyn, Cushing have two types of smoke detectors. There are system detectors that are connected to the fire alarm panel and single-station stand-alone smoke detectors in some student rooms. These single-station stand-alone devices are not connected to the fire alarm panel. If the smoke alarm in your room activates, you should immediately evacuate and pull the pull station on your way out of the building. This will activate the entire buildings’ fire alarm system. Portable Fire Extinguishers-Each building is equipped with ABC-type portable fire extinguishers. The extinguishers can be used by students, however, the most important requirement, is for students to safely evacuate.

If students choose to use the portable fire extinguishers, they should remember the PASS analogy:

P=Pull the pin

A=Aim the hose at the base of the fire

S=Squeeze the handle

S=Sweep at the base of the fire from side to side

Emergency Evacuation diagrams are posted on the back of each room. Please familiarize yourself with the locations of exits and the number of doors between you and each exit. In addition, to satisfy NY Educational Law, Section 6438, which requires a written fire safety notification to each student living in a college-owned housing facility, both on and off campus. Each Vassar College residential house and apartment building is equipped with fire sprinkler and fire alarm systems that are regularly inspected by certified fire alarm and sprinkler contractors as required by the International Fire Code.