Explanation of Changes Apartments 2013 - 2014

Agreement/Lease Dates Each year we ask students to rate their housing experiences through surveys. Feedback provided by students identified the need for more 10-month (academic year) Agreements within our apartments. With this in mind, we have made the following changes (starting August 2013): South Lake Village: o 4 bedroom units at South Lake Village will only have 10-month (Academic Year) Agreements starting in August 2013. There are no 12-month (Full Year) Agreements available in 4-bedroom units. All students living in a 4 bedroom unit must move out of their apartment by May 31, 2014. o 2 bedroom, 1 bedroom & Studio units at South Lake Village will only have 12-month (Full Year) Agreements starting in August 2013. There are no 10-month (Academic Year) Agreements available in these units

Flint Village All units will have 10-month (Academic Year) Agreements starting in August 2013 and ending in May 2014. This includes 1, 2 and 4 bedroom units. There will be no 12-month (Full Year) Agreements available in Flint Village. All students must vacate their apartments by May 31, 2014. Students needing summer housing/storage will have the option to move to the Residence Halls for summer 2014. 12-month (Full Year) Agreements are only available in certain South Lake Village apartments. Flickinger Court and Creekside Village also offer 12-month Leases/Agreements for Graduate students only. Hadley Village All units will have 10-month (Academic Year) Agreements starting in August 2013 and ending in May 2014. There will be no 12-month (Full Year) Agreements available in Hadley Village. All students must vacate their apartments by May 31, 2014. Students needing summer housing/storage will have the option to move to the Residence Halls for summer 2014. 12-month (Full Year) Agreements are only available in certain South Lake Village apartments. Creekside Village & Flickinger Court There are no changes to the Agreement Lengths at Creekside Village or Flickinger Court. All units will have 12-month (Full Year) Lease/Agreements starting in August 2013 and ending in July 2014. There will be no 10-month (Academic Year) contracts available.

Please note, all the above changes will start in August 2013. If your current Lease/Agreement ends July 31, 2013 and you renew your apartment for next year, you will NOT have to move out of your unit between Agreements. In future years, only students renewing units with 12-month (Full Year) Agreements will be able to stay in their units without moving out between Agreements.

Reserving an Apartment for Next Year This year we have changed the renewal process to allow more options for both our current residents as well as our incoming residents. Please read the following carefully: Students who wish to KEEP THEIR SAME APARTMENT SPACE AND WHO ARE NOT PULLING IN NEW ROOMMATES will have the ability to renew their apartment between January 14th and January 18th. All students who wish to stay in their same apartment (and not pull-in any new roommates) must go online during this time and renew their Lease/Agreement for 2013-2014. If you do not participate in this process, you cannot renew your apartment for next year. Students who wish to PULL-IN NEW ROOMMATES. Anyone interested in pulling in a roommate (whether your goal is to stay in your current apartment or change apartments) should apply as a new applicant during the application priority period which takes place January 14th - January 25th. All students who apply during this time will be issued an Apartment Lottery Number (based on the number of semesters on campus). While we cannot guarantee assignments (room size or roommates), groups will have their numbers averaged and will be assigned before individuals, working from the lowest averaged number up. Our goal is to assign as many groups during this process as possible. Students who wish to CHANGE APARTMENTS FOR NEXT YEAR (with or without roommates) will also need to apply as a new applicant. These students (along with any requested roommate) will need to re-apply for an apartment during the application priority period, January 14th-January 25th. All students who apply during this time will be assigned an Apartment Lottery Number (based on the number of semesters on campus). Apartments will be offered to students based on their lottery number, working from the lowest number up, until all available apartments are exhausted. Groups will have their numbers averaged and are assigned before individuals, based on the availability of whole and partially open units.

In doing research, we believe this new process will allow us to offer the best options to both our current and incoming residents. Our hope is to be able to offer more new and returning students the option to live with who they want and in the size apartment type they want. Hadley, Flint, South Lake & Creekside Residents: As of the end of your 2012-2013 housing contract, Campus Living is eliminating the need for an Apartment Security Deposit. All students currently residing in these villages, regardless of their housing plans for 2013-2014, will be issued a refund of their current Security Deposit (minus any damages) after the end of their current Agreement (May 31 or July 31). For this reason, all students who secure an apartment space for next year will need to submit a $450 Advanced Payment (deposit) upon signing their new Agreement. This payment will be made online after you are sent the details of your apartment offer and will be applied to your fall 2013 housing charges. Flickinger Court Residents: Flickinger Court residents will still be required to have an Apartment Security Deposit on file. If you are renewing your existing Flickinger Lease, you will only be required to electronically sign a new Lease Extension. New Flickinger residents will be required to submit an Apartment Security Deposit equal to one months rent. Campus Living is very excited about the upcoming changes to our University Apartment Process. All current apartment residents will receive more detailed information about how to renew their apartment (or re-apply) during the week of January 7th via email (to their buffalo.edu accounts). If you have any questions before that time, please visit your Complex Director or contact the Housing Operations Office at 716-645-2171.

An apartment prepared just for you!

More 10 month options in a greater variety of apartments!

Why all the changes?

You spokewe listened!

You told us: We want more Academic Year (10 month) Agreements in our apartments.

We listened: In the past, most of our apartments were only available with a full year (12 month) Agreement. Each year students expressed concern about being required to sign a summer Agreement, even though they had other summer plans and did not want to stay on-campus. In response, starting next year, Agreement lengths will change for many of our on-campus Apartments to include more Academic Year (10 month) agreements. For a list of Agreement options, please review the attached letter and rate sheet.

You told us: We feel like we are moving into an apartment that has not been cleaned.

We listened: Many of our new residents felt like they were moving into someone elses apartment. While we have always been able to clean and paint the bedrooms before new tenants arrive, we could not always clean the common rooms. This was because most of our contracts were full year (12 month) Agreements. That mean the current residents were allowed to leave their belongings in the common areas, even if they were gone for the summer, making it seem like the new resident was moving into someone elses apartment.

With more Academic Year (10 month) Agreements, all occupants will move in on the same day. This way, roommates decide together on what goes in the common areas and confirms that the space belongs to everyone in the apartment.

You told us: "We want to live with our friends!

We listened: Our goal is to be able to place friends together in the same apartment, while giving students who have lived with us the longest, top priority to get the type of apartment that they want. With our current system, a single student was permitted to stay in an apartment by themselves, making it impossible to accommodate groups of friends who want to live together. We also had a number of current apartment residents pulling-in students who had never lived on campus, therefore allowing an off-campus student to get an apartment while a residential student did not. Having all students apply at one time allows us the best opportunity to place students where they want to be, with who they want to be with!

You told us: "Why do I have to fill out Federal Tax Documents? Why are you keeping my money for the full year?

We listened: By changing our policy relating to security deposits we were able to eliminate federal tax forms and allow you to renew your apartment space online. We also will no longer hold a deposit on file while you live in the apartment. Your money will stay with you! We will now mirror our residence hall process in which students make an Advanced Payment/deposit each year. This advanced payment (deposit) will be applied to your student account and will reduce your fall 2013 housing charges. . We listened: There will be no more summer housing bill. If you sign a Full Year (12 month) Agreement, you will be billed in fall and spring only. The fall bill will reflect August-December housing charges, while the spring will include January-July.

You told us: "We dont like getting a bill for our summer housing, during the summer!

You can renew the exact same space that you current live in for next year. If you choose to do this, all that you need to do is go online between January 14th and January 18th, electronically sign your agreement and make your $450 pre-payment. Your contract will begin on August 1, 2013, even though your billing will not begin until August 17 - that means you get 16 days RENT FREE!

Do you love where you live?

Dont want to change?