On this page, you will read about policy changes as well as upcoming construction and renovation projects that affect the application process. 

R&DE Renovation Projects in Graduate Student Residences 

The goal of R&DE’s Maintenance Operations & Capital Projects team is to ensure student comfort and safety in their campus homes. They provide routine maintenance and system upgrades year-round, with minimal disruption to students. However, some projects are so extensive that they can only be completed in unoccupied apartments. In these cases, students are relocated to other apartments while the renovations take place. R&DE will provide more detailed information about upcoming projects to impacted students in advance of the scheduled start date. There is a website that lists major renovation projects through the 2033-2034 academic year. Please note that renovation schedules do change. This chart is updated quarterly to reflect plans at that time.

Renovations in Rains Houses

Phase 2 of renovations will start in Rains in autumn 2026 and will last until the end of summer 2028. Rains will remain open during the project. During each phase, apartments will be off-line for the renovations for six months. Students in the apartments that will undergo renovation will be able to renew if otherwise eligible, but will need to relocate temporarily for six months to premium 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom units in EVGR A while their apartments are being renovated. Students will continue to pay the Rains rate while in temporary housing. 

Student who only want to move once, may request a reassignment during the spring quarter on the myHousing portal to move to a different type of housing or a renovated Rains apartment for next year. Reassignments will be made through April 30, 2026. 

After renovations the apartments will have new kitchens and bathrooms as well as new windows and window coverings, paint, heating units, flooring and life-safety systems.

In autumn 2026, 144 students in the next phase (Buildings 215, 217 and 218) will move into vacant  premium 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom units in EVGR A and will return to their renovated apartments once construction is complete at the end of winter quarter. 

In spring 2027, 138 students in the next phase (Buildings 212, 213, 214 and 216) will move into vacant  premium 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom units in EVGR A and will return to their renovated apartments once construction is complete at the end of the summer quarter. 

In autumn 2027, 120 students in the next phase (Buildings 206, 207, 208, and 209) will move into vacant premium 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom units in EVGR A and will return to their renovated apartments once construction is complete at the end of winter quarter. 

In spring 2028, 60 students in the next phase (Buildings 201 and 202) will move into premium 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom units in EVGR A and will return to their renovated apartments once construction is complete at the end of the summer quarter. The project will be completed at the end of summer 2028. 

Renovations in Lyman Graduate Residences

Renovations started in Lyman in autumn 2024 and will last until the end of summer 2027. Lyman will remain open during the project. During the project, 48 spaces are off-line at a time for the renovations for six months. Students who live in the apartments that will undergo renovation next year will be able to renew if otherwise eligible, but will need to relocate to a different apartment within Lyman. 

In autumn 2026, 48 students in the next phase (Building 3 all floors of apartments ending in 01 to 06) will move into the most recently renovated apartments (Building 1 all floors of apartments ending in 13 to 16). 

In spring 2027, 48 students in the next phase (Building 3 all floors of apartments ending in 07 to 12) will move into the most recently renovated apartments (Building 3 apartments ending in 01 to 06. The project will be completed at the end of summer 2027. 

Renovation in the EV Low-Rise Apartments

We started renovations in the Escondido Village low-rise apartments in autumn 2021. These apartments will be completely renovated, including all new bathrooms and kitchens, as well as upgrading the plumbing and electrical systems, replacing the heating radiators in the second-floor bedrooms, replacing insulation in the attic and walls, and evaluating if the roofs need replacement. The buildings will also be painted. We will take three buildings off-line at a time each quarter for these renovations.

The students in Escondido Village low-rise apartment buildings 20, and 26 will need to relocate by the beginning of summer 2026. They can still renew the same type of housing, but will need to relocate to a different apartment at the end of spring quarter. Students will have priority to renovated apartments in buildings, but may need to relocate to other vacancies in single graduate housing. 

The students in Escondido Village low-rise apartment buildings 16, and 18 will need to relocate by the beginning of autumn 2026. They can still renew the same type of housing, but will need to relocate to a different apartment at the end of summer quarter. Students will have priority to renovated apartments in buildings 20 and 26. 

The students in Escondido Village low-rise apartment buildings 04 and 07 will need to relocate by the beginning of winter 2027. Students in two-bedroom apartments will have priority to renovated apartments in buildings 16 and 18, but students in the three bedrooms may need to relocate to other vacancies in single graduate housing. 

The students in Escondido Village low-rise apartment buildings 19 and 27 will need to relocate by the beginning of spring 2027. Students will have priority to renovated apartments in buildings 04 and 07. 

Off-campus Subsidized Housing

Stanford has been leasing off-campus subsidized apartments in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Redwood City to meet the demand from graduate students. These subsidized off-campus apartments will be offered along with the on-campus options in the Lottery application. 

While off-campus housing choices will be available to rank on the 2026-27 Lottery application, assignment to these spaces will be based on the overall applicant demand. Because we do not know the number of spaces we will assign off-campus, students listing these choices should also rank on-campus housing options. It is important to note that students assigned to these off-campus complexes may have to consolidate within a complex or relocate to campus during the academic year if demand for housing changes. 

Students in off-campus complexes are not able to renew their contracts and must join the Lottery each year.

Students in off-campus housing cannot sublet their apartments.

Current Residents Not Eligible to Renew

During the Lottery, graduate students who are living in Graduate Housing at the time of the lottery will have an opportunity to indicate that they would like to stay in their current apartment. If they commit to stay over the 2026 summer and remain in the same apartment for next year we may be able to assign that student back to their original housing assignment and process them as a renewal before making the Lottery assignments. This is done to reduce the number of student moves within university assigned housing over the summer months. This is not guaranteed and the number of students who will be able to stay in their apartments will depend on the overall demand.

Non-matriculated Students Apply in the Rolling Assignments

Non-matriculated students are not able to renew their contract and are not likely to be assigned for the autumn term, due to the demand from matriculated students starting in the autumn. As a result, non-matriculated students will not be able to apply in the first and second round of the autumn quarter assignments. They will need to wait until July 2, 2026 to submit an autumn application in the Rolling Assignments. Non-matriculated students may still apply in the first round of the winter, spring and summer quarter assignments. Non-matriculated students who are assigned for winter, spring or summer term will very likely have to move out of student housing by the end of their summer contract. We encourage non-matrics to consider assignment to the Oak Creek Apartments through the Faculty and Staff Housing Office as the contracts available though that office allow for longer contracts.