ELI students are not eligible for residence hall accommodations on campus (dormitories), and homestays are not common in Gainesville. The ELI does not arrange housing for ELI students directly.
Finding somewhere to live is your responsibility, but the information and guides below can help you.
Download the ELI Housing Information Guide Now!
**An important note for the Summer semester: The ELI semester ends on August 9th. It might be easiest for students who will only study in the summer to find a sublease for May-July and plan to stay in a hotel or AirBNB during the last week of the semester in August.**
How to search for an Apartment
The university’s Office for Off-Campus Life (OCL) helps new students search for appropriate housing. Watch this YouTube video to see how to use the search on UF’s Off Campus Life (OCL) website. You can also use the links and advice below to search.
- Go to the OCL search website
- Register as a “Guest”
- Search for “short term” apartments if you will not stay in the US for a full year
- Look at photos and descriptions, read reviews, and take a virtual tour of the apartments you like
- Contact the apartments by phone or email to see if they are available for your dates of study.
If you want specialized help, you can request a one-on-one meeting with OCL staff so they can better assist you
- Go to the OCL appointment request form
- Enter your contact information
- In the box “Please describe your question/concern”, you should type a short message about what you need. For example: “I am an ELI student. I need help finding a place to live in Gainesville for the spring/summer/fall semester.”
- Someone will email you to schedule a meeting
Websites to search for Housing:
Search for Apartments:
Search for Subleases:
- UF International Center Sublease Listing
- UF Housing & Roommate Search (Facebook page)
- UF Off Campus Housing, Subleases, Roommates, Apartments (Facebook page)
Short-term rental options:
Helpful Information
Short-Term Housing
If you will only be in Gainesville for one term, you might have difficulty getting an apartment lease for that short time. It will be helpful to search for a sublease (you take over someone else’s lease), a room on AirBNB or VRBO, or other short-term rental options.
Leases
The most important thing to know about finding an apartment in the U.S. is that once you sign a contract with an apartment complex, you cannot change anything. Your lease is a legally binding document. Therefore, you must be sure that your lease does not include any rules that you cannot follow.
Many places in the United States want you to sign a lease for one year. This is very normal in the US. However, unless you know that you will definitely be here for a year, do not sign a one-year lease! If you sign a one-year lease, you are agreeing to pay rent for the entire year. Even if you leave early, you will be responsible for paying for the entire year. It is impossible for anyone at the ELI to get you out of a lease early.
Move-in Fees
When you sign a lease, you will probably have to pay some application fees and a security deposit. You should expect to pay between $1000 and $1500 when you move to a new apartment.
Apartment Types
Most student apartment complexes have “individual leases.” This means that students pay for their own bedrooms (and sometimes bathrooms) individually and share a living room and kitchen with 1-3 roommates. Furniture and utilities are sometimes included. Students with families may want “joint lease” apartments, which means that they pay for the entire apartment, not just one bedroom.
Moving in
Sometimes you will not be able to move into a new apartment immediately after you sign a lease. If you arrive in Gainesville without a place to live, you should plan to stay in a hotel or other short-term accommodation for the first week or two.
Please contact our Student Life Coordinator, Christine Voigt, if you have housing questions. You can email her at christinevoigt@ufl.edu or talk with her when you arrive in Gainesville.
You can also check out the Gator Guide to Off-Campus Life which includes information on leases, finding the right place to live, city codes, transportation, tenant rights and responsibilities, and much more.