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Photo of South Village, with a graphic overlayed that says Claim Your Space

Return to Campus Living

RTCL Starts Jan. 27/29, 2025!

Return to Campus Living (RTCL) gives current residents an opportunity to select space before we begin assigning new incoming students, but does not guarantee on campus housing for the upcoming academic year. 

We have set aside a limited amount of space specifically for those interested in returning to on-campus living for the 2025-26 academic year. RTCL is a lottery-based, appointment process for selecting an available space. A lottery appointment does not guarantee a housing assignment, but provides an opportunity to participate in the process. Our goal is to provide interested returning residents with an opportunity to live on campus if space is available while also meeting the increased need to provide housing for first-year students.

NOTE: If you’re currently living on campus and prefer to live on campus in 2025-2026, you should participate in RTCL beginning in January and continuing in February to have the first and best opportunity to secure a housing assignment for next year. If you do not participate in RTCL, please know you may not be able to live on campus next year, as space is limited and provided on a first come, first served basis. 

RTCL HAS TWO STEPS

It’s easy to participate in RTCL. All you have to do is:

  1. Apply. In order to apply, you must complete Part 1 of the RTCL Housing Application. Part 1 is where you will identify room type preferences, set up a roommate group and sign the housing contract. The application opens Jan. 27 for women and Jan. 29 for men. The application will close when we reach the cap on the number of available spaces.
    • Roommate Group. (optional). If you are interested in living with one other person, you must also create a roommate group at the time you apply or accept a roommate group invitation sent to you by your preferred roommate.
    • Reserved Spaces. If you are eligible to live in a reserved space (ie sorority, athletics, gender affirming, or approved accommodations through Disability Services), you MUST complete Part 1 of the RTCL Housing Application to retain eligibility for reserved spaces that you may be unable to select on your own. Students eligible for Honors housing will receive additional guidance via email.
  2. Claim Your Space (if space is available). In Part 2 of the RTCL Housing Application, you will choose your space during the Open Room Selection period, which will begin on Feb. 11 for women and Feb. 13 for men.

IMPORTANT DATES

  • Dec. 3. RTCL Webinar. If you missed our webinar, you can watch the recording here.
  • Jan. 21-29. RTCL Tabling & Drop-In Events. Visit us at one of our info tables in the Student Union, SOVI, or our halls, details here.
  • Jan. 27. Women’s RTCL App Opens. The RTCL application opens on Jan. 27 for women, including the option to create roommate groups.
  • Jan. 28. Off-Campus Housing and Resource Fair, 12 p.m. - 4 p.m., SAC Food Court
  • Jan. 29. Men’s RTCL App Opens. The RTCL application opens on Jan. 29 for men, including the option to create roommate groups.
  • Feb 7. Lottery Appointment Numbers Sent. Lottery numbers and open room selection appointment times will be sent via email to applicants who applied before the application closed.
  • Feb 11. Women’s Open Room Selection Begins. Open Room Selection will begin on Feb. 11 for women with a lottery number. 
  • Feb 13. Men’s Open Room Selection Begins. Open Room Selection will begin on Feb. 13 for men with a lottery number 
  • April 1. Cancellation Deadline. If you apply for Fall 2025 - Spring 2026 housing during RTCL, you must cancel your housing by 11:59 pm (EST) on April 1, 2025 in order to avoid any cancellation fees.
  • April 2. Final Waitlist Update. Those remaining on the waitlist without assignments will be released. 

Important Information

  • Space is very limited for returning students and housing is not guaranteed. 
  • It’s very important to apply soon after the RTCL application opens on Jan. 27 (for women), and Jan. 29 (for men) but there’s no magic to being the first one to log in.
  • We will close the application when we receive more applications than we can reasonably accommodate. 
  • At minimum, students must (1) apply for housing beginning Jan. 27 (for women) and Jan. 29 (for men) and (2) log-in during their assigned open room selection appointment time beginning Feb. 11 (for women) and Feb. 13 (for men) to select a space. 
  • Roommate Groups: If you are interested in living with one other person, you must create a roommate group at the time you apply or accept a roommate group invitation sent to you by your preferred roommate. Both of you must have RTCL housing applications. (Roommate groups are limited to 2 people.) 
  • Lottery Numbers: Lottery numbers will be randomly generated, and are not directly tied to the order in which students submit their applications. Lottery numbers will help to limit the load on the Online Housing System and provide students with an opportunity to choose a space in a randomly generated order. 
  • Receiving a lottery number does not guarantee the opportunity to select a space or guarantee an assignment. 
  • Open Room Selection: You should plan to log in as close to the start of your open room selection appointment time as possible to try to select a space. 
  • Please note: men and women do not compete for the same space, so women do not have an unfair advantage by being able to access the application or open room selection process first. 
  • Halls Available: Belk, Greek Village, Holshouser, Levine, Martin, Miltimore, Wallis, and Witherspoon. 
  • There is no Same Room Selection phase of RTCL. If you are interested in living in the same space and it’s available for you to select during open room selection, you may select it, but we have eliminated the designated same room selection phase of RTCL. 
  • After you have selected your space during Open Room Selection, ensure you immediately received a confirmation email. If you didn’t, you may not have successfully claimed a space. 

Waitlist Explained

  • Students who apply during RTCL but are unable to select a space will be immediately placed on the waitlist. You will still have an active contract until you cancel or you are released from the waitlist on April 2.  
  • Housing and Residence Life will assign students from the waitlist as space becomes available (through cancellations, etc.). 
  • Students placed on the waitlist are encouraged to check their UNC Charlotte email regularly, and verify their on-campus assignment status BEFORE signing an off-campus lease. 
  • Students placed on the waitlist and not assigned will be released from their housing contracts by April 2. 

RTCL Contract Cancellation Deadlines

  • April 1, 2025: Last date returning students assigned during the Return to Campus Living (RTCL) period may cancel with all charges removed from the student’s account.
  • April 2, 2025 through June 1, 2025: Returning students who applied during the Return to Campus Living period are responsible for payment of a $750.00 liquidated damages fee. 
  • June 2, 2025 - August 12, 2025: Returning students who applied during the Return to Campus Living period are responsible for paying 50% of the annual housing charges as liquidated damages, not as a penalty. 
  • Beginning August 13, 2025: Returning students who applied during the Return to Campus Living period are responsible for paying the prorated amount of the room rate for each day the room was occupied, plus 50% of the remaining contracted annual housing charges as liquidated damages, not as a penalty. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please call us at 704-687-7501 or email us at hrlmailbox@charlotte.edu.

RTCL Webinar