Many students find that they aren’t taken seriously or listened to when reporting hazards in their housing, and as a result most accept the adverse conditions.

We provide step-by-step instructions on how to file maintenance requests, and tips for being assertive in ensuring that they are completed in a timely manner. Additionally, we provide details clarifying common aspects of the dorms that are actually not up to city code, things that many students believe to be just inconveniences, but in reality actually pose serious safety concerns (no hot water, broken radiators, mold in restrooms).

With the knowledge of what to look out for, in addition to a simplified handbook of how to go about amending such issues with Cal Housing, UHRO equips students with the tools needed to advocate for themselves and ensure the living conditions they agreed to in their housing contracts.

Unfortunately, oftentimes many issues in the dorms regarding facilities and safety go unresolved, even for students who demonstrate more self-advocacy than should ever be required for something as basic as safe housing. In these cases, we also provide information and another step-by-step guide for how to go about reporting these unsafe conditions.

The students of the University of California, Berkeley deserve the living conditions that they agreed to when they signed their housing contracts. They deserve to live in a place that is up to CA State Code Standards. Anything less is a great disservice to all students in university housing.