Off-Campus Policies and Procedures

Students may be released from the University’s residency requirement in one of two ways:

1. Students may enter the Off-Campus Lottery. This indicates a desire to live off-campus prior to fulfilling the residency requirement. As the Office of Residence Life and Housing finalizes the number of students able to live off-campus, they will use a random selection process to release the appropriate number of students.
   • FOR SPRING 2022: Students may form an Off-Campus Lottery Group and enter the Off-Campus Lottery from the Housing Portal between October 15 and November 1. Releases will be communicated by November 12. 
2. In support of students with disabilities, the Office of Residence Life and Housing has a wide variety of housing and dining options on campus that can accommodate the vast majority of disability needs. Students who need to request a disability-related accommodation should visit rlh.wfu.edu/accommodations to begin the request process. Please note that a release from the University’s six-semester on-campus housing requirement is generally not considered a reasonable accommodation. Students seeking an accommodation to live off-campus should explain in their request (and in providers supporting documentation) how living off-campus meets their needs in ways the University cannot in either on-campus or in University-sponsored housing (Crowne Apartments and/or Deacon Station).

Exceptions to the residency requirement for reasons other than living at home in the Winston-Salem area are typically very rare. If released, you are reclassified as a non-resident student and will no longer be eligible for any part of guaranteed campus housing (including Greek Block housing). All students who are released and remain enrolled as full-time students must register their off-campus address with the Office of Residence Life and Housing.

Students on named scholarships are reminded the must maintain four years of campus residency. Exceptions are rare, and may be granted at the discretion of the Scholarship Committee.

Students who are discovered to have moved off-campus without receiving prior permission will, minimally, have their class registration held (or possibly canceled), risk financial penalties, and be required to submit an application for review. If  approved, the student will receive a warning similar to those students who have had a law enforcement officer visit their residence (see Off-Campus Conduct).  If the application is denied, the student will need to apply to return to campus housing (based on space availability).

 Timeline Notes

• All housing and meal plan charges will continue to accrue and are the responsibility of the student until the student is officially released, in writing, from the University’s residency requirement and the Housing and Dining Agreement.
• Students requesting an exception to the University’s residency requirement should proceed as normal with the room selection process until receiving written confirmation.
• If you have a roommate, please be courteous and notify them of your intention to leave campus housing.

Questions

For specific questions, please contact the Office of Residence Life and Housing at housing@wfu.edu or 336-758-5185.

Once approved to live off-campus, you’ll next want to find a place to live.

• Decide on whether you want to look for apartments or single-family homes.
• If you plan to live in a single-family residence, check to see if the property is one of our registered properties.
  • Landlords must register their properties and agree to abide by the WFU Off-Campus Housing Policies.
  • No student will be approved to live off-campus in a single-family residential property that is not registered.
  • Per city ordinance, no more than four (4) students will be approved to live in any one single family home.

Regardless of where you decide to live, do not sign a lease until you have petitioned and been approved (in writing) to live off-campus. If living in a single-family home, also ensure the property is registered prior to signing a lease.

Eligible students choosing to live off-campus must register their residential address, thereby declaring their compliance with the University’s off-campus housing policy. Enrollment and registration for classes each semester are conditioned upon verification of compliance by the Office Residence Life and Housing. All students living off-campus, including those living in apartment complexes, will be required to provide addresses.

City of Winston-Salem ordinances state that there shall be no more than four (4) individuals that are not related by blood, adoption, or marriage living together in a single-family dwelling unit. The Office of Residence Life and Housing will monitor the number of students that are granted permission to reside in residential areas zoned for these units.  The office will, at no time, grant permission to any individual(s) to exceed the number, nor is there an appeal process to do so.

Students currently residing, or desiring to move, off-campus must register their address each year to comply with the policy and to ensure individual records are updated. Though a student has registered to reside off-campus, the application submitted is purely a request, and it should not be inferred that approval has been received. Students whose applications are approved will receive written notification. Once a student has been approved to reside off-campus, the local address provided is valid for one academic year only. Additionally, if a student changes location of residency, they must re-register their address and check to make sure that the location of residency is approved.

Continuing enrolled students who do not re-register to reside off-campus (prior to the expiration of the original approved local address) will have a hold placed on future class registration processes (or may risk having their registration canceled) until approval is received.

Students who previously lost, or lose during the current academic term, campus housing due to judicial sanctions also need to register to reside off-campus. Other populations of students who need to register upon acceptance to the University include transfer or any student classified with non-resident student status.

Meal plans are not required for off-campus students.  Visit Deacon Dining’s website for more information regarding individual meal plans.

To request a meal plan, please request your meal plan when registering your address or email housing@wfu.edu with your complete name, student ID number, and your meal plan choice.

The following conditions of eligibility are required:

1. The premises and the occupants must comply with all applicable local, state, or federal laws; housing ordinances; zoning regulations; and University policies. The University maintains the right as final authority on issues regarding the violation of University rules
2. Only students who have fulfilled, or been released from, the residency requirement, or are classified as non-resident day students, are eligible to live off-campus.
3. Students desiring to reside in an off-campus property must register their address with the Office of Residence Life and Housing prior to signing a lease, receive written approval of that address, and must keep the registration current.
4. Students residing in single-family dwellings must attend a mandatory Off-Campus Orientation Session held at the beginning of the Fall semester each year.  An additional meeting will be held in the Spring semester for students who begin living off-campus in the Spring.
5. A community disturbance must not be created, and for this purpose, is defined as:
   1. Noise that is unduly loud, continual, or at late hours.
   2. Vehicular congestion that would impede emergency vehicles.
   3. Lewd or indecent behavior that can be deemed as inappropriate.
   4. Behavior that is disorderly in that it disrupts the regular or normal functions of the Wake Forest University community (on- or off-campus), including behavior which breaches the peace or violates the rights of others.
   5. Any violation of the Student Code of Conduct.

1. A violation of Off-campus Conduct section (commonly referred to as Rule 21) of the Social Regulations and Policies of the Wake Forest Undergraduate Student Handbook may automatically make a student ineligible to live in single family housing. Rule 21 provides:
   1. Wake Forest [University] students are responsible for conducting themselves so as to not bring disrepute to the University. Conduct or activity by members of the student body living in, or hosting functions at, off-campus locations that have the effect of unreasonably interfering with the rights of neighbors is prohibited. This standard of conduct recognizes and affirms a responsibility to respect the rights of others appropriate to the setting in which one lives. It also recognizes the duty of Wake Forest students who are residents of off-campus rooms/apartments/ houses to control the nature and size of activities carried out in or on their premises consistent with the standards of the University. Disruptive off-campus social functions at single-family residences are subject to University review and sanctions. Individual students, groups of students, and student organizations may be held accountable for hosting disruptive events, parties, or social functions.
2. Residence Life and Housing will maintain appropriate procedures for acting upon notice of any violation of these provisions and may result in the termination of the Student’s eligibility to live in single-family housing in Winston-Salem. Notice of termination will be given to the Student and to the Landlord in accordance with those procedures.
3. Upon notice of termination of eligibility the lease will terminate as to the Landlord and Student’s Agreement and the Landlord will have no further rights against the Student except the following:
   1. Rent due and owing, plus rent for one additional month, but not beyond the length of the term as to the Student.
   2. Actions for damages to the premises or other liability arising out of the Student’s occupancy of the premises.
4. Landlord waives any other rights and claims under the lease as to the Student.
5. Landlord agrees to provide an appropriate parking area to accommodate all vehicles brought to the premises by residents of the dwelling. The parking area must be covered by a suitable material, such as asphalt, concrete or crushed stone. All parking and parking arrangements must be in compliance with applicable code and laws.
6. Wake Forest University makes no representation, assumes no liability for, and has no responsibility to the Student, the Landlord, or any third person with regard to any lease to or occupancy of off-campus housing to or by students of Wake Forest University. Students assume full responsibility for Student’s selection, use, or occupancy of such premises.
7. Student and Landlord assume full responsibility for compliance with these provisions as a condition to the Student’s initial and continuing eligibility to occupy the premises and the continuation of any lease or agreement for such occupancy. Wake Forest may communicate with Student, Landlord, or both of them with regard to the Student’s eligibility to occupy the premises.
8. Compliance with these provisions is a joint responsibility of all students residing at the premises. If a breach of these provisions occurs at the premises, the eligibility of all students residing there is subject to termination, whether or not any particular student was involved in the conduct or activity.
9. Submission of the Off-Campus Housing Registration (by students) and the Landlord Information Form (by landlords) means that both parties agreed to and will abide by the terms of Wake Forest University’s Off-Campus Housing Policy.

If you are a landlord and wish to rent your property to an undergraduate student, please contact housing@wfu.edu.