First-year Housing Expectation

In accordance with the housing expectation, all first-year, full-time students are required to live in campus housing operated by the LSU Department of Residential Life for the entirety of their first year unless they meet one of the following criteria to be considered for an exemption:

• Age 21 years or older as of the first day of fall classes
  • Documentation to provide: None. Date of birth will be verified within LSU system. 
• Married as of the first day of fall classes
  • Documentation to provide: Marriage certificate
• Custody of one or more dependent children
  • Documentation to provide: Latest tax return (redacted) to show children claimed as dependent OR a birth certificate of dependent(s)
• Part-time enrollment
  • Documentation to provide: None. Res Life Staff will verify on the fourteenth day of class.
• Military Service
  • Documentation to provide: DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and/or Leave and Earnings Statement
• Medical and/or Disability
  • Submit the exemption request via the housing portal and also contact the Office of Disability Services for next steps. Exemptions and accommodation requests are not retroactive.
• Reside with parent or legal guardian within a 50-mile in-state radius of campus
  • Documentation to provide: None. Your ZIP code auto-populates into the housing exemption request. Review the failure to comply information below. 
• Reside in a property within a 50-mile in-state radius of campus that is owned by, but not occupied as a primary residence, an immediate family member (parent, legal guardian, or grandparent) with a bill of sale prior to October 1, 2017
  • Documentation to provide: Bill of sale
• Other compelling individual circumstances, such as financial hardship, or other circumstances not covered by the above criteria. These requests will be reviewed by committee.

Once students commit to LSU, they must either submit a housing application and contract to live on campus, or submit a request for and get approval to be exempt from the live-on requirement:

Log in to the housing portal with your myLSU credentials and select the Housing Exemption option.

• If your ZIP code is within a 50-mile in-state radius of campus, your ZIP code auto-populates in the exemption request. Submit the request and you will receive confirmation of the exemption via email.
  • *Note this exemption only applies if you reside with parent or legal guardian within a 50-mile in-state radius of campus. Review the failure to comply information below about providing false information. 
  • By completing the exemption, you certify that you will live at home with a parent or guardian and commute to LSU.  
• If your ZIP code is not within a 50-mile in-state radius of campus but you would like to request an exemption for a reason listed below, complete the request and attach supporting documentation. Staff will review your request for an exemption and respond with a decision or a request for more information.
  
  
• If you are requesting an exemption by reason of a medical and/or disability accommodation, you must submit the exemption request in the housing portal and also contact the Office of Disability Services to provide necessary documentation. Please note exemptions and accommodation requests are not retroactive.

You do not need to submit a housing application in order to request an exemption. However, if you receive an exemption to the live-on requirement and you also have an active housing application, you must properly cancel your housing contract to avoid cancellation penalties.

The last day to request an exemption or submit supporting documentation for your request is October 1 of the associated term. 

Who does this apply to? 
A full-time, first-year student at LSU is defined as a student who has graduated from high school and has not attempted any college coursework. Dual enrollment courses do not qualify as college coursework.

 

How long is LSU's live-on requirement?

First-year students sign an academic-year housing contract.

• First-year students who begin classes in the summer or fall term must reside on campus for the fall and spring semesters.
• First-year students who begin classes in the spring are required to reside on campus for the spring semester only. 
• If you qualify for an exemption, live on campus for the fall, and then decide to utilize your exemption for the spring semester, you are responsible for the spring rent penalty.  

 

Can I live in my greek house and still be compliant with the live-on requirement? 

On-campus housing is defined as campus housing managed by the LSU Department of Residential Life. Greek houses are excluded from on-campus housing. 

Any student, including first-year, second-semester students, electing to break the academic-year housing contract with LSU Residential Life to move into a Greek house will incur the stated cancellation penalties.

 

If I qualify for an exemption based on my zip code, does this mean I can live in an apartment or home off campus without my parents? What about living at home part time and in an off-campus apartment part time? 

No, it does not. Students who receive an exemption based on their zip code must live at home full-time with a parent or guardian and commute to campus from home, or opt to reside on campus full time. Students are not permitted to obtain an off-campus apartment/home for part-time purposes.  If you feel that you might need a space close to campus, you should live on campus.

 

Can I live off campus with an upperclass sibling or family member who is not my parent or legal guardian?

Typically this is not included in the exemptions. However, if you have a reason that makes living in this situation necessary, you can submit an exemption request and the exemption committee will review it and deliver a decision a based on evidence provided.

 

What if I have a medical reason and/or disability and need to live off campus? 

Every student attending LSU as a first-year student must complete a housing agreement to live on campus or complete an exemption request online. If you are requesting an exemption by reason of a medical and/or disability accommodation, you must submit the exemption request in the housing portal and also contact the Office of Disability Services to provide necessary documentation. 

Disability Services will review the information provided and relay the exemption approval or denial to Residential Life. Residential Life has multiple types of housing on campus, and works closely with Disability Service to find an accommodation on campus.

Please note exemptions and accommodation requests are not retroactive.

 

My preferred roommate has qualified for an exemption.  Does this mean that I will automatically qualify for an exemption too?

No, it does not. You may apply for an exemption based on special circumstance.  A committee is in place to review these requests and deliver decisions based on evidence provided by the student. 

Students who fail to comply with the housing expectation and/or who provide false or misleading information in connection with a request for exemption could be subject to the posting of published room rate charges for the term of enrollment to the student’s account for each semester in which the student does not comply, and/or subject to the student accountability process, which could include referral to the Dean of Students office. 

Requests for exemptions are accepted through October 1 of the associated term.