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Before You Rent

Ask the right questions

How long is the lease and what is the penalty for breaking it?

Are utilities included in the rent? How do I transfer them into my name?

How is the apartment heated? How much is the usual heating bill?

Does the unit have existing Internet access? If not, which company is the recommended provider for this area?

Does the kitchen have a stove and refrigerator?

How many bathrooms/bedrooms?

Where are the nearest laundry facilities?

Is the neighborhood noisy? Where is the best place to park?

Does the house contain lead paint (a danger to children under 6)?

Understand the Terms

Community—Search listings from each of the distinct communities in the Cambridge/Boston area. Review community descriptions.

Price—Focus your search on what you can afford.

Number of bedrooms—Find a property with the number of bedrooms you require.

Deleaded—Make sure children under six are safe. Learn more about lead paint.Opens in new window

Disability access—Limit your search to accessible properties only.

Pets allowed—Confirm that you are permitted to keep domestic pets.

Click here for the complete glossary of terms.

MIT Off-Campus Listings

Who can use the resources of the MIT Off-Campus Housing Service

The MIT Off-Campus Housing Service is available to all members of the MIT community, including students, alumni, staff, faculty, and their spouses. You must have a web certificate to access listings on this site. If you don’t, stop by the MIT Off-Campus Housing Service headquarters in W59-200 to review listings and other resources.

Check listings.

MIT Off-Campus Housing Service

The MIT Off-Campus Housing (OCH) Service staff has deep knowledge of the local housing market and can help graduate students and members of the MIT community find a convenient roommate situation or an independent apartment. OCH works with a large and diverse list of rental properties, from MIT off-campus properties to locally owned units offered by real estate agencies that have worked with the Institute for years.

Check listings.

MIT off-campus properties

MIT owns a number of rental properties that it offers to graduate students and other members of the MIT community at current market rates. These units are handled by a professional property management company. Although the majority of vacancies occur in roommate situations, apartments also come available each year. These units are identified in the listings as “MIT Off Campus.”

Check listings. 

Rent MonkeyOpens in new<br /> window

Maintained by MIT students for MIT students, Rent Monkey offers current listings of rentals and sublets and tracks past rents paid for units. Students contact landlords directly, avoiding excessive realtor fees. Rent Monkey is accessible only with Institute web certificates.

Real estate agencies

Renting an apartment through a real estate agency is your most expensive option. Realtors are agents who are licensed by the state, and they usually charge one month’s rent as a finder’s fee. The benefit to working with real estate professionals is that they have the contacts and the knowledge to locate what you’re looking for quickly and efficiently.

Residential Scholars at Simmons HallOpens in new<br /> window

If you are a visiting faculty, researcher or scientist and interested in being a part of an undergraduate community, The Residential Scholars Program at Simmons Hall may be an option for you. Learn more about this program. Please note this program is not available to post docs.

Other online resourcesOpens in new<br /> window

 If you don’t find what you’re looking for in the listings above, try one of these websites.

 

What is a web certificate and why do I need one to access the listings?

To view the online listings, you must have access to the secure regions of MIT’s cyber network. A security clearance called a “web certificate” is necessary to view these listings. Web certificates require an MIT ID number. As soon as you arrange for an MIT ID and an MIT email account from your academic department, you can download web certificates Opens in new window. New employees, post-docs, and visiting faculty/researchers do not receive their MIT ID numbers until their appointments begin, so they will not be able to access the online listings until they arrive in Cambridge.