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UW Housing Agreements

Apartment Sublicensing and Agreement Takeover

Options and eligibility

For both a sublicense or agreement takeover, the apartment and room referred to below is a specific space within an on-campus apartment owned by HFS. Sublicensees and prospective residents will only be permitted to move into the room that the current agreement holder is vacating from. The current agreement holder must still live in their apartment at the time they register their sublicense or agreement takeover, and cannot have an agreement termination notice on file. Rooms are accepted in as-is condition and will not be cleaned or inspected by HFS staff prior to the move-in date.

Nordheim Court Residents: After April 25, you will need to contact Greystar about sublicensing and agreement takeovers by emailing nordheimcourtmgr@greystar.com.

Sublicense

When a student (sublicensee), with approval by authorized HFS staff, temporarily occupies a room within an apartment during the absence of the current agreement holder.

In this case:

  • The current agreement holder maintains their agreement with HFS even though they are not occupying their room and will return as an HFS resident at the end of the sublicense period, unless graduating at the end of spring quarter.
  • The current agreement holder continues to be responsible for all charges associated with the room, including monthly charges, charges for damages and charges for services such as lockout assistance.
  • The sublicensee does not sign a housing agreement with HFS for their sublicense period, but is responsible for maintaining all the community standards outlined in Appendix A of the 12-month apartment agreement.
  • The sublicensee makes their housing payment directly to the current agreement holder or to HFS on behalf of the agreement holder. Specific financial arrangements between the agreement holder and sublicensee are made independent of HFS.

Eligibility for sublicensing

  • The current agreement holder is graduating at the end of spring quarter, or

  • The current agreement holder is returning to HFS housing the quarter after the sublicense is completed. For summer sublicenses this requires the agreement holder to have renewed for the following year.

  • The sublicense period is for at least four weeks, no longer than one quarter plus adjoining break periods, and closely matches instruction periods at the UW.
  • The sublicensee is a registered UW student. If the sublicense takes place over autumn, winter or spring quarters, the sublicensee must be registered for that quarter. If the sublicense takes place over summer quarter, the sublicensee must have been registered for spring quarter, be registered for summer or provide documentation that they will be registered for autumn quarter, and
  • The sublicensee meets the requirements for the community they are requesting to sublicense in:

Agreement takeover

When a prospective resident is referred to HFS by a current agreement holder and applies for 12-month apartments as a new resident with the intention of taking over the agreement and room assignment for the agreement holder who is vacating their HFS apartment for the rest of the current agreement with HFS.

In this case:

  • The current agreement holder is vacating permanently and will not be returning to HFS housing.
  • For takeovers requested to begin over summer, the current agreement holder cannot be graduating.
  • The current agreement holder will be responsible for agreement-replacement processing charges and remains responsible for their housing charges until the prospective resident moves in.
  • The prospective resident will apply for 12-month housing with HFS, submit a deposit payment, and will sign their own 12-month housing agreement to be maintained for the duration of the current agreement period. The incoming student can apply for future agreements, but is not guaranteed assignment to the same room.
  • The prospective resident then assumes all responsibilities for the apartment and becomes a current agreement holder with HFS.

Eligibility for agreement takeover

  • The current agreement holder has not yet submitted an Agreement Termination Notice.

  • Agreement holders who are eligible to sublicense their rooms are not eligible for Agreement Takeover.
  • The prospective resident has not already applied or been assigned to a 12-month apartment for the current term by HFS prior to applying for agreement takeover.
  • The prospective resident must be registered at UW's Seattle campus for the current term if the takeover begins during autumn, winter or spring quarters. For takeovers requested to begin over summer, they must have been registered for spring quarter classes, will be registered for summer quarter classes or will be registered for autumn quarter classes.
  • For autumn and winter quarters, if HFS already has an established assignment list for a given quarter, agreement takeover requests will not be considered until all applicants have been assigned.
  • The prospective resident meets the requirements for the community they are requesting to sign an agreement for:

What's my role?

Current agreement holder: The student currently assigned to a room within a 12-month apartment.

Sublicensee: An eligible student who is seeking permission from the current agreement holder and HFS to temporarily occupy a room within an apartment as part of the sublicense process.

Prospective resident: A student recruited by a current agreement holder attempting to break their agreement with HFS who agrees to move in and take responsibility for the room for the duration of the current agreement.

Finding a sublicense/agreement replacement partner

A finder message board is available for students to post available apartments and sublicense/agreement takeover interest. Agreement holders and sublicensees/prospective residents are responsible for finding each other and agreeing to apply together independent of HFS.

Registration and review process

  • Sublicenses and agreement replacement will not be permitted without advance written approval from HFS.
  • We will begin reviewing sublicense and agreement takeover requests for summer quarter in early May.
  • For summer quarter, both the agreement holder and sublicensee/prospective resident submit their sublicense/agreement replacement request through their MyHFS Homepage. For all other quarters, contact the HFS Student Services Office at hfsinfo@uw.edu for instructions on how to register.
  • Once both parties submit the request form, it will be reviewed by HFS staff to verify eligibility.
  • Requests must be made at least 14 days in advance. A late filing charge will be assessed, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to complete processing of the request by the requested start date.
  • HFS will notify both parties of the outcome of the request. If the request is approved, HFS will email all parties a confirmation and instructions about how to proceed with their process.
  • Students participating in sublicensing will need to view our online sublicensing presentation and pass a test on sublicensing.
  • The agreement holder will be assessed a sublicense/agreement replacement charge.
  • If the sublicense/agreement takeover requests are received less than 14 days before the requested start date, a per day late filing charge will also be added.

  • Once their request is approved, students participating in agreement takeover will need to take additional steps to complete the process. The current agreement holder will file their Agreement Termination Notice, and the prospective resident will need to pay their housing deposit and accept the housing agreement.

Charges associated with sublicensing can be viewed on the Incidental Charges page.