Transferring

Residents in Columbia Residential who wish to move to a different room or apartment may apply for a transfer in the Housing Portal. 

To be eligible to transfer, a resident must:

  • Be a current resident in Columbia Residential 
  • Be a full-time student, postdoc, faculty or staff who was approved for housing by their school, whose affiliation does not end within six months. Residents who received housing through the waitlist and those whose affiliation ends within six months will not be considered. 
  • Be in good standing with Student Financial Services (students) or the Office of the Controller (faculty, staff and postdocs). 
  • If approved to transfer, must complete the move between 7-14 days (1 to 2 weeks) from the date the unit is confirmed through housing selection or directly assigned. 
  • If approved to transfer into couple or family housing, must comply with the terms of couple and family housing. 

Students

General Transfer

For student residents in Columbia Residential who would like to move to another apartment or room.  

Direct Transfer

For a student in Columbia Residential who wishes to move to a vacant room within their current apartment share or dorm suite, or to move in with a friend who has a vacant room in their apartment share.   

  • Applicants must indicate in the application the specific room to which they wish to transfer. If the room is not listed, it likely means that the current resident has not submitted a move-out notice.
  • Single occupancy, studio or 1-bedroom apartments cannot be requested through a direct transfer, nor can completely empty apartment shares.
  • Direct transfers must also be approved by residents who live in the requested apartment.
  • Students approved for Direct transfers must be present to complete the transfer.
  • Rooms must be taken as-is, meaning they will not be painted or cleaned. If maintenance work is required, the transfer may not be able to be accommodated.
  • If the requested unit has already been selected by another student, the Direct transfer cannot be approved. For this reason, we encourage applicants to submit their transfer applications prior to September 30 in the fall and January 31 in the spring, so that they can be reviewed prior to the processing of General transfer applications.
Group Transfer

For two or three single students in Columbia Residential who would like to transfer together into a new apartment share. Kindly note, availability for group transfers is very limited, and most group transfers cannot be accommodated. If group units are available, eligible applicants will receive a direct assignment to one option. 

  • All group members must apply listing their preferred roommates/group members.
  • All roommates/group members must accept a room in the same apartment for the transfer to be completed. If one or more roommates/group members does not accept, or if their offer is declined or expires, the transfer will be canceled for all.

Applicants interested in transferring may apply in the Housing Portal on a rolling basis.

The transfer application does not close, but applications are reviewed in February and October only. Applications must be received by February 15 to be reviewed in time for the February transfer period, or by October 15 to be reviewed in time for the October transfer period

  • All Transfer Types: Applications must be received by the above deadlines to be considered.
  • Direct Transfers: Applicants for Direct transfers are encouraged to apply earlier, by January 31 for spring or September 30 for fall, so their requests can be reviewed prior to General transfers. The application must indicate the specific unit requested. Residential will confirm with building staff whether the unit may be offered for a direct transfer, and will ask for current roommates to approve the transfer before it can be considered. 
  • Group Transfers: All group members must submit an application for the group transfer to be considered.
  • Change of Status: If both partners are affiliates and are eligible to transfer, only one application will be considered. We recommend that the student whose affiliation ends latest apply.

Transfer applications are reviewed twice per year, in February and October. Residents who apply by February 15 will be notified by email by February 18. Residents who apply by October 15 will be notified by October 18.  

  • Direct & Group Transfers: eligible applicants will receive notification of a direct assignment to the requested or available unit, if available. 
  • General Transfers: eligible applicants will be scheduled for transfer housing selection and will have access to housing selection for 30 days from the date of notification. Residents may enter transfer housing selection at any time during those 30 days to review availability. All available options will be viewable during selection, and applicants should keep in mind that availability is not guaranteed. If no options are available, eligible applicants may apply again during the next transfer season the following semester. For more information about housing selection, please review FAQ | Student Housing Selection.  
  • Offers will expire within two business days, at 11:59 PM (Eastern). Log into the Housing Portal to accept the offer and choose a move in date. 

Applicants who are not eligible to transfer or those whose requests must be denied due to lack of availability will be notified by these same deadlines.

For more information about housing selection, please review FAQ | Student Housing Selection. 

Units that are ready and not under construction may be viewed by scheduling a viewing appointment in the Housing Portal. For more information, please review Viewing a Housing Offer. 

Offer expiration dates unfortuantely cannot be extended; students should be aware that it is possible that a decision will have to be made on an offer prior to viewing.

Residents who accept a transfer offer select a move-in date at the time the offer is accepted. Shortly after, a move-out notice is created for the current unit. The resident is expected to move out of the current unit by that date, and that unit is made available for other students to select through the transfer process.

Residents who would like to cancel their transfer and remain in their current unit are advised that they should not accept the transfer housing offer. If they accept the transfer offer and would like to cancel, they are required to email [email protected] at least 7 days prior to the move-in date to request cancellation of the transfer.

Signing the New Housing Agreement 

The new housing agreement will be sent within ten days of move in and must be signed through DocuSign. 

Residents who receive a transfer offer but do not accept the offer within the time allotted may remain in their current unit. Those whose offers are declined or expire may reapply in a future semester, if eligible. Those who choose to move out of Columbia Residential may face a cancellation fee. 

Completing the Transfer & Billing Information 

Approved transfers must be completed between 7 to 14 days (1 to 2 weeks) from the date of housing selection/offer. 

  • Columbia Residential will create a move out notice on your behalf. Your move-out date will be one business day after your transfer move-in date. 
  • You will receive the keys for the new unit on your move in date, and you will have until 4 PM on the following business day to remove your belongings from the previous unit and return the keys to the superintendent. 
  • Billing for the previous unit will be prorated based on your move-out date, and billing for the new unit will begin on the following day. 
  • Please note, your account will be updated after the transfer is completed. Please allow approximately 2 weeks from your move-out date for your account to be updated. 

The transfer application is open year-round, but applications are reviewed in February and October only.

Student residents who wish to petition to transfer outside of these periods may contact us at [email protected] to request an exception if one of the following conditions are met. Exceptions are rare and will be considered for the following reasons only: 

  • University Mandated Transfers 
  • Documented medical or disability-related need, with the approval of Disability Services only 
  • Documented financial need 
  • Direct Transfers (not guaranteed and dependent on unit availability and eligibility)

Faculty, Staff & Postdocs

Faculty, Staff & Postdoc transfer applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year, and reviewed between October and March. Transfer applications are not reviewed during the Summer months. Residents interested in transferring may apply in the Housing Portal.

Faculty, Staff & Postdoc transfer applications are reviewed between October and March.  Residents approved to transfer will be notified by email and will receive information about participating in housing selection. For more information, please review Faculty, Staff & Postdoc Housing Selection.

All faculty, staff & postdoc applicants, including those not approved, will receive an update on their status each month during the transfer season. Kindly note, there may be times when transfers cannot be approved due to lack of immediate availability. During any month when this is the case, Columbia Residential will send a status update to all faculty, staff & postdoc residents with active transfer applications on file. 

Signing the New Housing Agreement 

The new housing agreement will be sent within ten days of move in and must be signed through DocuSign. 

Residents who receive a transfer offer but do not accept the offer within the time allotted may remain in their current unit. Those whose offers are declined or expire may reapply in a future semester, if eligible. Those who choose to move out of Columbia Residential may face a cancellation fee. 

Completing the Transfer & Billing Information 

Approved transfers must be completed between 7 to 14 days (1 to 2 weeks) from the date of housing selection/offer. 

  • Columbia Residential will create a move out notice on your behalf. Your move-out date will be one business day after your transfer move-in date. 
  • You will receive the keys for the new unit on your move in date, and you will have until 4 PM on the following business day to remove your belongings from the previous unit and return the keys to the superintendent. 
  • Billing for the previous unit will be prorated based on your move-out date, and billing for the new unit will begin on the following day. 
  • Please note, your account will be updated after the transfer is completed. Please allow approximately 2 weeks from your move-out date for your account to be updated.