Welcome to Family Housing

Family Housing Application Form
Family Housing Manual

Dear Prospective Applicant,

Thank you for viewing our Website. The following information will give you an overview of important information regarding the policies and resources of Family Housing at UMass Amherst. Our primary goal is to provide comfortable, attractive, safe, well-maintained, and affordable apartments to students and staff members affiliated with the University.

Family Housing offers 12 studio apartments located in Lincoln Apartments. We also offer a total of 185 one-bedroom apartments and 124 two-bedroom apartments, which are all located in either Lincoln or North Village. Family Housing also has 12 one-bedroom apartments modified for the physically disabled. There are 10 furnished one-bedroom apartments in Lincoln, which can be rented for an additional fee. If you are single and applying for Family Housing, the only accommodation available is a studio apartment in Lincoln. In accordance with the Massachusetts State Sanitary Code, the total number of people residing in a North Village apartment may not exceed three for a one-bedroom apartment and four for a two-bedroom apartment. In a Lincoln apartment, the total number of people residing in an apartment may not exceed two for a studio apartment and three for a one- or two-bedroom apartment.

To be eligible to live in Family Housing, you must be married, in a domestic partnership (which has been registered with the Dean of Students Office), or have legal custody of a dependent child/children prior to being offered an apartment. To be on the waiting list, you must be officially enrolled as a full-time student working towards a degree. A copy from the Dean of Students Office of your Statement of Domestic Partnership or a copy of your marriage certificate and/or birth certificate(s) of your child/children must be on file with your application at the Family Housing Office. Applicants with children will be required to provide Family Housing with a copy of their children’s original birth certificate upon applying for housing. It is unlawful for Family Housing to make copies of birth certificates. For this reason, applicants must provide the copies themselves. If you are offered and accept an apartment, you will need to bring in the original birth certificate(s) so we can verify the documents on file. If you are a newly accepted UMass Amherst student, please send a copy of your acceptance letter.

The following items are important to know before filling out an application. All apartments in Family Housing include basic utilities (including heat and electricity) and HSCN-Cable TV. To park near your apartment, a permit must be obtained for an additional fee from Parking Services. Parking is not included with your rent and is an additional fee. For North Village, the U.S. Postal Service will charge a non-refundable $25.00 to secure a key to the Apartment P.O. Box. Laundry facilities are located on the premises for your convenience. Pets are prohibited in the apartments. Washing machines, clothes dryers and dishwashers are not allowed. Subletting is not permitted.

A University owned telecommunications system serves all University of Massachusetts' housing units. The University provides local telephone service and voice mail, high-speed internet (DSL) and cable TV to all tenants. For reasons of public safety, University telephone service is required of all units. The charge for the entire telecommunications service is $30 per month. You are responsible for furnishing your apartment with a touch-tone telephone set (telephone and line cord). Your apartment telephone service includes such features as local service, voice mail, call waiting, call transfer, conference calling and call diversion. There is no charge to activate your telephone service. Detailed information about how to use the telephone system and its more advanced features can be found at www.oit.umass.edu/guides/students.html. Long-distance calls are billed through PAETEC Communications.

Throughout the year, Family Housing offers apartments to eligible students and staff based on their priority on the waiting list. Please be aware that the demand for Family Housing apartments far exceeds the number of apartments available; therefore, it is important that you decide quickly. An offer of an apartment is made through email. Once you have an offer, you are given 24 hours in which to decide whether to accept. Payment will commence on the day of acceptance, if the unit is ready for occupancy.

It is important to understand that due to our extensive waiting list it may not be possible to offer you housing for the time period you have indicated. The waiting list is made current by emailing waiting list applicants asking if they still seek an on-campus family housing option and wish to remain on the list. If we do not get an email response by the requested date, the waiting applicant is dropped from the list. Therefore it is extremely critical to tell the Family Housing Office of ANY email address change that has been made since you have applied to Family Housing. After you apply, it is your responsibility to make sure to notify us of the email address change as soon as it is made so we can assure that you remain on the waiting list.

Family Housing is looking at possible lead based paint in some of its apartment units. In the interest of health considerations and consistent with Massachusetts law and Family Housing policy, please notify Family Housing if you are pregnant or if a child 6 years or younger will be a part of your household. If so, Family Housing will place you in an apartment unit which is free of lead paint.

The University reserves the right to deny housing in any residence hall or apartment unit to any individual who has been convicted of a felony involving bodily harm to persons, damage to property, or the sale or distribution of illegal drugs. The Dean of Students, who will make the final decision, will review specific cases on a case by case basis.

For a listing of other apartment complexes in the local area, contact the University of Massachusetts Amherst Off Campus Housing Referral website: www.umoch.org/areaAPTComplexes.php

General Assistance for Off Campus Housing
Monday to Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm
235 Whitmore Administration Building
Tel: 413-577-1451
Fax: 413-545-1241
Email: OCH@gw.housing.umass.edu

Additional Questions?
Call Family Housing at (413) 545-3115 or email family.housing@housing.umass.edu.