Health and Safety Inspections

To maintain the highest standards of cleanliness and personal safety, maintenance and health and safety inspections are conducted on a regular basis. The University reserves the right to inspect students’ rooms at any time, regardless of whether the rooms are occupied at the time of inspection. These health and safety inspections are conducted periodically each semester by the resident director, graduate assistants, and the assistant director of residential operations. The New York state/ Nassau County fire marshal and any other authorized government or fire/emergency official may enter a student’s room at any time for inspection and in the event of a building evacuation or emergency.  

Possession of a prohibited item in a residence hall will result in confiscation of the prohibited item and an automatic fine. If the prohibited item cannot be removed by University personnel or if the resident or residents are being cited for a particular action or behavior, a follow-up date will be given for the resident(s) to become compliant. Failure to pass a follow-up inspection will result in a fine. Although fines are generally the sanction for health and safety inspection violations, any violation may be grounds for student conduct action. A confiscated item must be retrieved from the resident director on a day when the student can show that they will be taking the item off campus. Unclaimed items will be disposed of or donated to charity on the last day of the semester. Should additional concerns be raised, the Office of Residence Life reserves the right to pursue student conduct action and/or reassignment or removal of the student from the residence halls. All students have a right to live in a residence hall free from disruptions to their daily living, which includes a clean, safe environment.  

The list below is not an exhaustive list of prohibited items, actions, and behaviors, and is subject to change as per Residence Life policy, New York state law, Nassau County ordinances, and the International Fire Code (IFC). Any item not in compliance with New York state fire codes, IFC, and those of the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office is prohibited in Hofstra’s residence halls. If a resident is assessed a monetary fine for a health and safety violation, the cost will be $100 per violation. This amount will be added to the student’s account for payment. 

The following items are prohibited in the Hofstra residence halls and will result in confiscation of the prohibited item and an automatic fine:  

• Extension cords, surge protectors, and multiplugs that do not satisfy Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) and Intertek (ETL) standards and do not have the UL-listed or ETL approved markings. 

• Multiplug lamps and lamps with an outlet (even if the outlets are not in use), rock salt lamps and plug-in rock salt night-lights, lava lamps, sun lamps, halogen lamps, and black light bulbs.  

• Headboards with mutiplugs that are not UL or ETL-listed. 

• Scented and unscented plug-in air fresheners (unless UL or ETL-listed) and diffusers.  

• Candles (even if for decorative use), incense, and wax warmers.  

• Cooking appliances of any kind, including but not limited to broilers, hot plates, hot pots, slow cookers, microwaves, immersion coils, electric teakettles*, electric grills and electric skillets, toasters*, toaster ovens, rice cookers*,popcorn poppers*, and coffee makers* (unless it is a one-cup coffee maker that is UL-approved with an automatic shutoff).  

• Self-balancing scooters, hands-free personal transporters, battery-operated scooters, electric-powered skateboards, or similar devices and their chargers. 

*Permitted in the Graduate Residence Hall if used only in cooking areas.  

Other actions/behaviors/prohibited items that may result in a fine:  

• Blocked smoke detector/sprinkler/outlet.  

• Plugging strands of lights into one another (daisy chaining).  

• Bed tents.  

• Wall coverings that exceed more than 50% of total wall space.  

• Fabric on walls/ceilings/windows, including tapestries (unless flame-retardant is noted on the product), flags, curtains, drapes, and valances.  

• Oversized or excessive number of refrigerators. (Refrigerators cannot exceed one per room and two per suite.) Refrigerators cannot exceed 5 cubic feet.  

• Refrigerator(s), appliances, and devices not plugged directly into a wall outlet.  

• Personal microwaves and refrigerators, including the refrigerator/freezer/microwave multi-units rented through the University-sanctioned vendor, are prohibited in the Graduate Residence Hall rooms and suites.  

• Stand-alone freezers of any size.  

• Items on wardrobe or over egress (windows and/or doors).  

• Items suspended from the ceiling.  

• Unclean living conditions.  

• Illegal or double occupancy. (Students residing in multiple occupancy rooms/suites not assigned at full occupancy must ensure that the unassigned space remains vacant for resident placement. When a resident does not adhere to this and occupies the unassigned vacant space (e.g., by using a vacant bed, desk, dresser, or other unassigned space), this is referred to as double occupancy.)  

• Unauthorized pets in room or suite (including pets of a resident’s guest).  

• Unauthorized personal furniture in room or suite.  

• Unauthorized property in room or suite.  

• 3D printers.  

• Hookahs, e-cigarettes and vaporizers, drug paraphernalia, or illegal drugs.  

• Humidifiers/dehumidifiers.  

• Electric heaters/electric blankets.  

• Power bed risers.  

• Any type of firearm or weapon.  

•  Note: Personal Motorized Vehicles in Fire Safety Guidelines

• Failure to comply with residence hall procedures. 

Health and Safety Violation Appeals  

If you receive a health and safety violation fine, specific instructions on the appeals process will be provided to you at that time. Appeals of all fines must be typed and emailed by the deadline to Residence Life at reslife@hofstra.edu. The committee will review the appeal and respond in writing via the student’s Hofstra Pride email account.  

When it cannot be determined who is responsible for a violation, all occupants of the room, suite, or apartment will be fined the listed amount. Students assuming responsibility for the violation can do so by emailing Residence Life at reslife@hofstra.edu (by the scheduled deadline) and have the charges against their suitemates/roommates rescinded. Dropping charges against suitemates/roommates rests with the discretion of the Office of Residence Life. Should you have any questions about the health and safety violation appeals process, you may email the Office of Residence Life at reslife@hofstra.edu.