Your Living Environment

Meeting Your Roommates

We recognize that residents will be living with individuals who are new to them. We hope that residents will view living within a diverse residential community as an opportunity to grow, expand their knowledge, and become more open to respectful discourse. If residents are looking for ways to communicate with and get to better know their room/suitemate(s), they should consider consulting with their Resident Assistant. The RA can provide helpful tips.

All suites should complete a Roommate Living Agreement online. This is located in their NYU Housing Portal.

We still offer the provision of room changes when appropriate for one or both parties involved.

Living Agreements

Residents are required to complete roommate living agreements with their roommate(s) and suitemate(s). This is an online living document that residents create to create the terms under which they will coexist and hold one another accountable for the suite.

Residents are especially encouraged to discuss the following key areas that often lead to unrest in the suite according to student feedback:

Cleaning and personal hygiene
Guest visitation
Sleep schedules
Communication
Boundaries around sharing personal belongings

Cleanliness

After suites have been professionally cleaned by professional cleaners prior to residents arriving, the residents of the suite are responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the space. Please be mindful of personal hygiene and coordinate a regular cleaning schedule with your suitemates.

According to resident feedback, the number one factor that contributes to resident dissatisfaction with their suitemates is cleanliness. Because each person has a different definition of cleanliness, and often this is not specifically communicated to their suitemates, it can sometimes lead to frustrations. Similarly, some residents do not have much if any experience cleaning for themselves. Learning how to clean for the first time can be an adjustment for individuals.

See the complimentary weekly cleaning schedule below as a resource for your suite. If you are still having difficulties with cleaning after this, reach out to your RA(s) for advice.

Cleaning Schedule

For resident convenience, we have created a Weekly Cleaning Schedule. Print a copy for your suite by clicking on the schedule image to the right of this text.

For a cleaning schedule that looks at tasks on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, please consider using the On Campus Experience cleaning schedule template.

Lipton Weekly Cleaning Schedule.pdf

Mediations

In general, most roommate conflicts tend to be a result of miscommunication. Often if a resident is feeling underappreciated, taken advantage of, or disregarded by their suitemate(s), there is usually an elephant in the room that has not been addressed or clearly expressed. Confronting a roommate can be a scary thought for many students who are not used to discussing their living habits with someone so personally.

We encourage residents to speak to their roommates or suitemates directly if something is bothering them. It can help to write down one's thoughts constructively first before talking face-to-face. But inevitably, the other person needs to know what is bothering that resident. If they don't know, they can't change. We discourage residents from settling conflicts via text messages or email, as written communication often leads to increased tension due to the lack of tone and respect that comes with face-to-face interactions.

If residents have tried speaking with their suitemate(s) about those matters that bother them, and there still has been no improvement, we recommend that residents reach out to their RA(s) for advice. The RA can schedule a sit-down meeting with the involved residents at a time that works for their schedule, and better facilitate the conversation so both parties feel that they are heard and understand each other's point of view.

Sometimes residents email their RAs at late hours of the night after an uncomfortable encounter with their suitemate(s). The resident may ask for a mediation in the heat of the moment, but the next day they may decide against it. Roommate conflicts are not always so cut-and-dry. Residents sometimes waffle on whether to confront the problem, avoid the problem, or move-out. Residents should weigh their choices carefully, but in either case, an RA will be ready to support a conversation when the resident(s) take the initiative to make contact with their RA(s).

Room Changes

If residents have already found little luck after having multiple constructive conversations with their roommate, or after a mediation facilitated by their RA(s), residents might consider changing rooms. Residents can locate the bed-for-bed forum by logging into their NYU Housing portal. There, residents can locate other residents also looking to switch rooms, and swaps can be arranged.

Generally, vacant bed spaces are either limited or nonexistent in the fall semester due to the high demand for housing. The bed-for-bed forum is the best resource for residents until the academic year room change request process opens later in the fall semester.

Find more information on room changes and cancellations.

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