Lottery Buy-Outs
Buy-outs allow students to secure a vacancy for themselves so that in essence their double room is a single, or their triple room is a double. The cost of buying-out any vacancy is $1200 per semester (this is split 2 ways for triples). The total cost of a buy-out is $100 more per semester than a single of the same type, so for $100 you are getting a lot more space and furniture... not a bad deal!
RLH will offer a set number of buy-outs during Housing Lottery 2012. Students who prefer to buy-out a double or triple room (in or out of a suite*) can now do so during Lottery for most areas of housing (see exceptions below). This option should be particularly attractive to students who are living in suites where they can reduce the number of students sharing amenities from 6 or 8 to as few as 3 or 4. Students do not have to declare their intention to buy-out a space until Lottery night, but once a buy-out is selected students are financially responsible for the buy-out cost through at least the fall semester. After the Fall Semester, students can remove their buy-out by having another student move in with them. In order to buy-out a room at Lottery students will be required to sign the following Buy-Out Request Form. In addition, students can buy-out rooms during Same Room Sign Up as well (the exceptions below still apply).
Download a Vacancy Buy-Out Request Form PDF Version
Exceptions:
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Buy-outs will not be offered for standard double rooms in Dana, Hughes, or Johnson Hall due to the historically limited number of spaces available for male roommate pairs. Buy-outs will be offered in Dana and Hughes suites, and in Dana, Hughes, and Johnson triples. Buy-out doubles are available in Dodd Hall.
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In rare cases, if double spaces are needed before Fall Opening, the RLH Office may reassign students who selected buy-out rooms to single rooms in the same building.
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Please note that in an emergency it could be possible that RLH would have to assign a student to a buy-out room. If this were to happen the student would be refunded the full buy-out cost for the entire semester. We have never had this happen and do not expect this will happen.
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Students who acquire vacancies in their rooms after Lottery (through their roommate going abroad, taking a leave, etc.) can also elect to buy-out their room, but have the option to cancel their buy-out by moving to another room or moving another student into the vacancy, which is not an option for students who select buy-outs at Lottery until the Spring semester.