Harvard Law School Housing

Each student has different housing needs and preferences in terms of type, location, roommates and cost, so housing decisions are individual and unique to each student. One housing option will not meet the needs of all students. Harvard Law students have a multitude of housing options available to them in close proximity to the HLS campus. There is HLS on-campus housing, Harvard University apartments, or privately owned apartments in Cambridge and the surrounding neighborhoods. The pages contained in this website have a lot of information on these options and Doug Walo, Housing Administrator, is glad to talk through housing options with you and answer any questions you may have.

2008-2009 HLS On-Campus Housing – HLS Residence Halls and HLS Apartments

For students who enjoy the convenience of being close to all of the activity being on campus has to offer as well as a short walk to the classrooms and Langdell Library, HLS offers a limited but diverse array of on-campus residence hall communities. Residents of on-campus housing enjoy the active social environment and the opportunity to meet other students outside their section as well as in other years and programs. Approximately 25% of all HLS students live in on-campus housing, nearly 40% of the 1L class and 50% of the LL.M. program. The options range from traditional single-occupancy dormitories to spacious suite-style housing, a converted hotel and just a few upper class student apartments. All operate on a 9-month contract, are fully furnished and include heat, hot water, electricity as well as local and University telephone service. All on-time applicants are included in a housing lottery and students with sufficient lottery numbers select their room online during the spring.

Harvard Real Estate Services' University Apartment Housing

For students interested in apartment-style living but would prefer an easier process for finding an apartment coupled with the certainty of a reliable landlord, Harvard Real Estate Services (HRES) provides a limited number of University-owned and -operated apartments throughout Cambridge. Most units operate on a fixed-term lease at market rate rents, include utilities, and are unfurnished. Unlike on-campus housing, spouses, children and domestic partners are allowed to live in HRES apartments. Approximately 10% of HLS students live in HRES, mostly preferring Terry Terrace and 29 Garden Street as proximate complexes, although HLS students do live throughout the HRES portfolio. All on-time applicants are randomly assigned to a “view-and-select window” (except students with dependents who are assigned to the first window), which occur once per week from the beginning of May through the middle of July. Available units are typically exhausted before the last windows.

Off-Campus Housing

For students not interested in HLS On-Campus Residence Halls or University-owned apartments, there is an ample supply of apartments in the private market in close proximity to the HLS campus. 65% of HLS students live off-campus and most choose to live within a 10-minute walk of HLS. Apartments in the area are often in either large brick apartment buildings or two-, three- or four-family wood-frame houses. Rents range with the most expense in close proximity to campus in one-bedroom apartments and decrease with each roommate added and as searches expand north and east of campus toward Somerville. Most returning students find their apartments via craigslist.org searches or by word of mouth. While HLS does not have any relationships with realtors, there are numerous realtors that service Harvard Square and Cambridge in general. To assist you in your search, HLS offers a listings page of apartments recommended by HLS students and HRES has a self-service roommate listing website.