Nearly 80% of graduate and professional students and most scholars choose to live off-campus in New Haven and surrounding towns.   Yale provides a number of web-based resources to help you make an informed decision about where to live while you are at Yale.

To get a general idea of the residential communities of New Haven, visit New Haven area profiles.

Now that you have an idea about the neighborhoods, you will find all the information you need to begin your search for an apartment on the Yale Off Campus Housing site.   This site is a key resource for your housing search.

You should first review the Off Campus Living Guide which explains the renting process and the implications of signing a lease or rental agreement.

Next you will want to search the listings database .  This service is available to all Yale affiliates.  On this page you will find definitions of terms and an explanation of rental types and you can sort by neighborhoods and location, price range, number of bedrooms and other variables.  If you have school-aged children this will also be a factor in your housing selection.

In your search you may want to look beyond the listings on the Yale Off-Campus Housing site.  A list of local apartments and listing services can be found here.   This list is provided for informational purposes only and does not serve as an endorsement by the University.

Beware of Rental Scams

When using online websites to find an apartment, be alert to the possibility that the ad may be a scam. While it does not happen often it helps to pay attention to the advice below which will help you spot a possible scam. The Better Business Bureau and the FBI both advise renters to look out for the following red flags:

• The deal sounds too good to be true. Scammers will often list a rental for a very low price to lure in victims. Find out how comparable listings are priced, and if the rental comes in suspiciously low, walk away.
• The landlord is located elsewhere and prefers to communicate via e-mail. Scammers might say they have just been relocated out of the country for a job or missionary work - don t believe it.
• The landlord requires a substantial deposit before handing over the keys or even showing the home. Don t pay any money before inspecting the home, inside and out.
• The landlord asks the renter to wire money through wire transfer services such as Western Union or MoneyGram. Money sent via wire transfer service is extremely difficult to retrieve and once the scammers have picked it up; there is little recourse—if any—for getting your money back.
• Don t give out personal information like bank account or credit card numbers .