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Welcome to Columbia University Apartment Housing (UAH) and, for many of you, to Columbia and New York City as well. This guide includes basic tenant information and we suggest that you keep it available for easy reference during your stay in University Apartment Housing. If you have questions or encounter problems please feel free to write to the appropriate University staff as indicated. Contact us
SIGNING YOUR LEASE/STUDENT HOUSING CONTRACT New tenants moving in between June 1st and September 15th* must call 212-854-5705 between the hours of 9:15 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to make a lease signing appointment. Appointments can only be made once we have received your acceptance and initial payment for a unit. Once you have signed a lease or student housing contract you will receive a pass authorizing the Superintendent of your building to give you keys to your building and assigned unit. You may pick up your key and move in only after signing your lease/contract in the UAH office, not before. Only the person whose name is on the pass may pick up the keys and an acceptable form of identification, preferably a photo ID, is required. Superintendents, who are employees of the University, are available for key pick up Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to12 noon and 1:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. It is not possible to sign a lease/contract or move in on weekends or University holidays. All UAH tenants are strongly encouraged to obtain renter's insurance to protect against losses of personal property resulting from theft, water, or fire damage. Renter's insurance is available from many insurance companies for reasonable premiums, typically under $200 per year. Most policies, in addition to providing you with coverage for property losses, will also provide you with some personal liability coverage. Renter’s insurance is available from most U.S. insurance companies. Residents are responsible for providing rugs that cover 80 percent of the floor area to comply with the terms of the lease. Floor coverings help in reducing the amount of foot traffic and noise in the apartment or room. If charges for gas and electric are not included in your rent, you are responsible for making arrangements with Con Edison for service. It generally takes a few days to have service turned on and Con Edison will agree to accept applications for most tenants at 800-752-6633 or online at http://www.coned.com Questions concerning your gas and electric bill should be addressed to Con Edison. If you are experiencing problems or delays in getting your gas and electric service turned on please call the Residential and Commercial Operations Accounts Payable Department at 212-854-9439 and a staff member will try to assist you. ROLM Phone Service (University Provided) Adequate TV reception is generally not possible in Morningside Heights without cable. Tenants who wish to have cable TV service, with the exception of tenants in Lenfest, should contact Time-Warner at 212-358-0900. Tenants in Lenfest should contact the Office of Communication Services - OCS to make arrangements for cable TV service. UAH is completing the process of wiring its buildings for high speed internet access which is connected directly to the University’s fiber optic backbone. This service is ten times faster and for students typically costs less than half of what is commercially available from broadband network service providers such as DSL or cable modems. For students who sign leases and are billed monthly there is mandatory charge of $25.00 per month for this service. For non students this service is optional and there is a $175 one time connection fee and a $40.00 monthly fee for the service. This charge is not included in your rent. The charge for Ethernet is typically included in the semester rent paid by students who sign contracts and pay for housing by semester through their University SFS account. A list of those buildings where this work has been completed is available at http://www.columbia.edu/acis/access/oncampus/aptnet.html Tenants in all other units will need to use either dial-up service, DSL, or cable –based service. For DSL, contact Verizon and for cable-based service, contact Time Warner Cable at 212-358-0900. For more information on computing and email at Columbia, please visit the Academic Information Systems Web site. Most residents receive standard New York City leases with additional riders particular to Columbia. All student leases expire on May 31st and are automatically renewed with a standardized increase on June 1st for a one-year term, provided that the tenant remains a full-time eligible student in the current degree program and is otherwise in compliance with the terms and conditions of the lease. An extension of lease form will be mailed to you shortly before your actual lease expires. Residents are responsible for the rent throughout the term of their lease, including the summer months. If you expect to be out of town for the summer you may wish to make arrangements to sublet your apartment for this period. Please visit the Subletting section. Questions regarding your lease or lease extension should be addressed to a representative of the Leasing Department at 212-854-9300. Please indicate whether you are billed monthly (lease) or by term (contract) so that we may direct your call accordingly. University housing contracts are given for all dormitory-style rooms and certain predetermined student apartments. Contracts are billed in full by term to a Student Financial Services (SFS) account. With the exception of International House (I-House) and Union Theological Seminary (UTS), student housing contracts terminate on May 31st. Contracts are renewable (with a standardized rent increase) annually in June for 12 months, provided that full-time student status in the same degree program is maintained and all other terms and conditions of the contract are met. If you expect to be out of town for the summer, you may wish to make arrangements to sublet your room or apartment for this period. Procedures for Subletting are discussed in the section on that topic. BILLING SCHEDULE FOR RENT PAYMENTS Leases - Most tenants receive standard New York City apartment leases, and are billed monthly for their rent. The Office of the Controller bills all monthly rent charges. Rent payments are only accepted from the tenant of record. Questions regarding your monthly rent bill or the balance of your account should be addressed to the Office of the Controller at 212-854-1009. Each tenant who signs a lease is responsible for making the rent payment on the first of each month. Failure to make rent payments in accordance with the terms of your lease may result in legal action as provided for by law, including eviction from University housing. If you intend to vacate your room or apartment, please file a Notice of Vacancy form with the UAH office at least 30 days prior to your planned vacancy date. Vacancy forms can either be picked-up from the UAH office or downloaded from our Web site: Sample Forms.
Students who are graduating at the end of the spring semester must vacate no later than May 31st.
SECURITY DEPOSIT / ROOM DEPOSIT After you vacate, your room or apartment will be inspected for damages beyond normal wear and tear. The cost of repairing any such damages or replacing any missing appliances or furniture will be deducted from your security deposit. Students who sign leases pay security deposits that are held by a bank and as a result refunds take up to 60 days to process. Filing a Notice of Vacancy form will initiate the vacancy process. Security deposits are mailed to your forwarding address listed on the Notice of Vacancy form, after your unit has been confirmed vacant and keys returned to your Superintendent. Students who live in units billed by term (contract buildings) will not receive a refund, as their security deposits have already been applied to their first term’s rent.
Routine operation and maintenance of your building and apartment is the responsibility of your building Superintendent who reports to a Director of Residential Services. The names and telephone numbers of your building Superintendent and Director of Residential Services will be provided to you when you sign your lease or contract and are posted at your building. Any necessary repairs will be performed directly by your Superintendent, building personnel or by a contractor, such as a plumber or an electrician. EMERGENCIES AND URGENT OFF-HOUR PROBLEMS (see
also Department
of Public Safety)
If you have an emergency maintenance problem during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (except weekends and University holidays), please contact your building Superintendent immediately. You can also call your Director of Residential Services at 212-854-9301 and should do so if you cannot reach the building Superintendent. The heating season begins October 1st and ends May 31st. Our goal is to maintain a warm and comfortable temperature in your apartment according to the following New York City guidelines. If an elevator is out of service or is not functioning properly and an out of service notice is not posted on the elevator, please follow the emergency procedures outlined above. When necessary an elevator service contractor will be contacted and will respond within one to two hours depending upon the day and hour and the availability of service mechanics. CHARGES FOR REPAIRS, DAMAGES, AND LOCKOUTS Damages DEPARTMENT of PUBLIC SAFETY and FIRE SAFETY The University takes special measures to provide a secure living environment for all its residents. All UAH-owned buildings have Superintendents residing either in or very near the building. The Columbia University Department of Public Safety instructs and oversees all building personnel on security and safety procedures, making Morningside Heights one of the safest neighborhoods in New York. All residents should receive a child guard notice when they sign their lease and once per year thereafter. NYC landlords are required by law to install child guards in your apartment if you have children less than ten years of age living with you or if you request child guards. If small children visit your apartment, child guards should be installed. If for some reason you did not receive a child guard notice, or if your circumstances with regard to resident or a visiting child change, please contact your Superintendent or Director of Residential Services immediately. Your building is treated by an exterminating company at least once a month. A notice is posted in your building before the scheduled treatment date to allow you to sign up and request extermination in your apartment. If you do not sign this notice, the exterminator will not treat your apartment. We encourage all tenants to have their apartments treated at least every other month. If the exterminator has been treating your apartment and you continue to have problems or if you have a special request, please contact your Superintendent or Director of Residential Services. We encourage all residents to cooperate with Columbia's and New York City's recycling programs. Your assistance in properly cleaning and separating recyclable material will allow building personnel to devote more time to other needed tasks and will help keep your building and neighborhood cleaner. Residents are asked to separate all newspapers, magazines, corrugated cardboard, jars, bottles, and cans and to place them in the designated recycling area of their building.
We are interested in improving service to all tenants in our housing and would like to hear from you concerning any problems you encounter, as well as positive experiences and suggestions for improvements. Please, feel free to send us a message: uah@columbia.edu. Your message will be forwarded to the correct person in our offices, and we will respond in a timely fashion. If you prefer to phone, please use the following: Maintenance 212-854-9301University Apartment Housing 212-854-9300
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