Housing Office Off-Campus Living

Approximately 140 students are allowed to live off-campus each semester. About 70 will reside at the off-campus Ocean View apartments--a Westmont residential property. Up to 70 others will be allowed to live off-campus in a non-Westmont property. Approval to live off-campus must come from the Housing Office.

NOTE: The number for off-campus commuters is likely to be modified for a brief period of time, due to COVID-19. Otherwise, it remains the standard.

How is off-campus living requested?

  • Returning students may request to live off-campus for the following academic year during our annual Housing Sign-Ups process. See Housing Sign Up Sheet: TBD. Some requests are not granted, either due to ineligibility or to the limited number of spots allowed.
  • New, incoming students need to contact the Housing Office (housing@westmont.edu) to inquire about living off-campus, and to submit an appeal to request approval to live off-campus.

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 some exceptions. To see the special circumstances which might warrant an exception, see Housing Sign Up Sheet: TBD.  Such circumstances may include the education teaching credential program, seniors in the Westmont Downtown program, married students, or a single parent caring for a dependent child, or by accommodation from the Office of Disability Services.

Approval for off-campus living is granted by the 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 who is not allowed to live off-campus in a non-Westmont property is thereby required to reside in college housing as a condition of enrollment.

The housing codes recorded for students are posted on the student profile. 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). 

The limitation about off-campus living is communicated to all students upon entry through the admission process (i.e. Housing Application), and on this Housing website.

Students who are approved for off-campus living are required to submit the Off-Campus Living Agreement. 

  • 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 before 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 OC Living Agreement with the updated information.
  • Failure to submit the OC Living Agreement with a local address may result in the forfeiture of the approval to reside off-campus, or other sanctions. 
  • If the local address is not known at the time the OC Living Agreement is submitted, the student must provide the off-campus address to Housing before the start of the semester.