Housing Office Off-Campus Housing

Approximately 120 students are allowed to live off campus each semester. About 75 will reside at the off campus Ocean View apartments--a Westmont residential apartment complex. Approximately 45 others will be allowed to live off campus in housing of their own choosing. Approval to live off campus must come from the Housing Office.

How is off campus living requested?

  • Returning students who will have senior standing (92+ units) at the end of Spring may request to live off campus for the following academic year.
  • Upcoming Mayterm or Summer coursework does not count toward class standing for Fall housing (e.g. Mayterm '25 coursework will not count toward Fall '25 class standing) as we cannot consider potential future units.
  • Some requests are not granted, either due to ineligibility or the limited number of spots allowed.
  • Any incoming student transfers interested in off campus living should contact the Housing Office to verify qualifications. They should also indicate this request by selecting this housing option when filling out their New Student Housing form.

Who is allowed to live off campus?

The number of students who live off campus is limited by Westmont, so some students who wish to live off campus locally (in a non-Westmont property) might not be allowed to do so. During Housing Sign-Ups (the process for returning/continuing students), only seniors may request to live off campus (with a few exceptions). Exceptions may include students over the age of 24, married students, a single parent caring for a dependent child, participation in the Education Teaching Credential program, or accommodations from the Accessibility Resource Office (ARO).

Approval for off campus living is granted by semester (not necessarily the entire academic year). The Housing Office reserves the right to determine all housing assignments (i.e. to approve or not approve requests to live off campus). Any student not approved to live off campus is required to reside in college housing as a condition of enrollment.

Student housing assignments are posted on each student's myProfile page in their student portal. The housing code for off campus living in a non-Westmont property is LCSB (i.e. Local Commuter in Santa Barbara). The housing code for off campus living at the Ocean View apartments is LCOV (i.e. Local Commuter at Ocean View). 

Every student approved for off campus living is required to submit an Off Campus Living Agreement form which is emailed by Housing after official approval is granted.

  • Off campus commuters (from a non-Westmont property) must provide their off campus residence address (not a P.O. box) and phone contact information to Housing prior to the start of the semester.
  • If the local residence information changes at any time while living off campus, the commuter is required to re-submit the Off Campus Living Agreement with the updated information.
  • If the local address is not known at the time the Off Campus Living Agreement is submitted, the student must provide the off campus address to Housing before the start of the semester.
  • Failure to submit the Off Campus Living Agreement with a local address may result in a $50 administrative fee, the forfeiture of approval to reside off campus, or other sanctions.