Your Guide to Housing in Ann Arbor

Finding a place to live in Ann Arbor may be one of the first new challenges that you face as a U-M student. Many continuing U-M students seek out fall term housing nearly a year in advance. As a result, new transfer students are arriving late to the housing-search process. But with a little bit of work and this housing guide, you’ll quickly learn the tricks to finding a place to live.

Understanding the Language

Contrary to popular belief, the “on-campus” versus “off-campus” distinction on U-M’s campus has nothing to do with location and everything to do with ownership. "On-campus" refers to properties owned by the University. These properties include traditional dorms (known around here as residence halls), and some University owned apartments, like Northwood apartments on North Campus. "Off-campus" signifies all properties owned by Ann Arbor area landlords and includes apartments, houses, co-ops, fraternity and sorority houses, and lofts. Despite being considered “off-campus,” many of these apartments and houses are even closer to campus than the residence halls.

On-Campus Housing

For some new transfer students, living in a residence hall is a great way to get adjusted to the U-M environment. Residence halls offer many time-saving conveniences which can be helpful as you make the transition to a new school. Some residence halls offer unique programs such as the Global Scholars Program or the Max Kade German Residence which give you the opportunity to live in a small community with others who share a common interest. For others students, apartment-style living might be a better fit for your lifestyle.

University Housing offers both residence halls and apartments. Residence halls are located on all areas of campus, including Central Campus, North Campus, and the "Hill" area (Medical Campus), while University-owned apartments are on North Campus only. The University also runs a University-owned all-female cooperative, called Henderson House.

Spaces in University-owned housing for transfer students are not guaranteed and are primarily located on North Campus or require participation in a Michigan Learning Community (Global Scholars, Max Kade German Residence, or Living Arts) or a Housing Theme Community (Adelia Cheever, International Impact, or Transfer Year Experience).

You will receive an email about applying for on-campus housing within a few weeks of submitting your enrollment deposit to the University. After you complete your housing application, you will be able to self-select a room. In the self-selection process, the inventory changes throughout the summer, so if you don't like what you see, you can check back later. However, there is no guarantee that what you are looking for will ever appear. Once you make a selection, you cannot change that selection and make another one. If you're confused about the housing application process, be sure to check out this online tutorial (this is a PDF file that takes a long time to load, so be patient).

Another way to find a residence hall space is to utilize the Housing Contract Reassignment Process. If you have NOT already signed a University Housing contract, you may utilize the contract reassignment process to take over the contract of another student who is looking to get out of their housing contract.

If you are interested in on-campus housing and have not yet applied, don't delay. Have questions about living in on-campus housing? Contact the Housing Information Office at 734-763-3164 or email housing@umich.edu. Be sure to identify yourself as an incoming transfer student!

Off-Campus Housing

Ann Arbor has a diverse array of off-campus student accommodations. From modern high-rise apartment complexes to rooms in hundred-year-old houses, Ann Arbor has something for everyone. However, you can expect to pay a high price for whatever your dream location may look like. The cost of living in Ann Arbor is higher than most other areas in the state of Michigan. As you would expect, the closer you are to campus, the higher the rent. However, if you expand your search just a few miles away from campus, housing becomes more affordable; but then you will need to factor in additional transportation time getting to and from campus every day. Students are also able to use the city buses for free with your MCard.

With so many off-campus options, it’s hard to know where to begin your search. The Dean of Students Office has created a program to help you in that effort. Beyond the Diag is a program is a program that assists students in finding off-campus housing and building a sense of community in their off-campus neighborhoods. Beyond the Diag’ s listing service includes off-campus housing resources, message boards, and a roommate finder that you can use to connect with other U-M students looking for housing. The website also includes a housing search feature that can be filtered based on your desired budget, number of bedrooms, and many other amenities. You may also want to join the Transfer Connections Facebook page. Many transfer students use this page to communicate to other transfer students, including those that may be looking for housing.

In addition to Beyond the Diag, individual landlord company websites can also be a great place to search remaining available houses and apartments (just do a google search for a long list of rental options around campus), or check out sites like Cribspot, HousingAnnArbor, Abodo, Rent College Pads, and others. For those of you on a tight budget, you may also want to consider one of Ann Arbor’s many cooperatives. Co-ops are communities of around 15-20 students who live and work together in one of the co-op houses. This relatively affordable option often times has space for transfer students still seeking fall term housing. You may also want to check out the Michigan Affordability & Advocacy Coalition's crowd-sourced document called the Guide to Not Being Rich at U-M. The Guide provides extensive information from other students about ways to save money living in Ann Arbor.

Since most housing for the following school year is leased in the fall prior, off-campus housing can be hard to find by summer, so if you haven’t done so already, start your search as soon as possible. If the remaining off-campus housing choices aren’t meeting your needs, there is the option of subletting. Many students have to leave Ann Arbor for the fall semester to take advantage of special programs like study abroad, the Michigan in Washington program, or for a number of other reasons. These students will be searching for a fellow Wolverine to take over their room. Subletting a room can often be a great way to save money on rent, as students searching for a subletter may lower the price of the room. A great place to begin your sublet search is by using the advanced search option and filtering by “sublet” at offcampushousing.umich.edu.

And remember, not all off-campus rental units include parking. If you need a parking space, be sure to ask about available parking before you sign your lease. Parking in Ann Arbor is limited and therefore can get very pricey.

Best of luck in your housing search! Wherever you decide to live, we hope you will feel at home at U-M.

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