Housing Cancellations

Required Notice  

Students are responsible — as agreed to in the Housing contract — for notifying Housing when they intend to leave Cal Poly and/or move-out of housing. 

Cal Poly requires 30-days' notice to cancel Housing contracts. Students who give 30-days' notice are not charged lack of notice fees. Students who don't give the required notice may be assessed lack of notice fees at the rate of $10 for each day. As an example, if the cancelation is submitted 25 days prior to vacating, the student is assessed $50 for 5 days lack of notice. 

Cancelations are submitted in the Housing Portal on MyCalPoly. The date the cancelation is submitted online is used to determine if adequate notice was provided. 

Policy for Canceling Prior to Move-in

New first-year students 

• Those who decide not to attend Cal Poly and cancel before move-in can get a full refund of the initial payment. 
• Those who file and are approved for an exemption from the first-year requirement to live off-campus can get a full refund of the initial payment. They must submit both an exemption request and a cancelation.

Continuing students 

• Those who are part of Cal Poly's required two-year housing program must file and be approved for a housing exemption and submit a cancelation with an approved reason to get a full refund of the initial payment. 
• Those who are not part of Cal Poly's two-year housing program need to have an approved reason for canceling. Canceling housing to live off-campus is not an approved reason. With an approved cancelation, they can get a full refund of the initial payment. 

New Transfer/Graduate Students

• These students need to have an approved reason for canceling. Canceling housing to live off-campus is not an approved reason. With the approved cancelation, they can get a full refund of the initial payment. 

Policy for Students in Room

Students currently living on campus who wish to cancel for a reason other than those noted below need file a Housing Cancel for an Exception Review in their Housing Portal on MyCalPoly.

REAson	initial payment refunded	Subject to lack of noticE Fees*	criteria
Academic dismissal or denial	Yes	No
Medical leave or medical withdrawal	Yes	No
Leave of absence or withdrawal	Yes	Yes
Switching to another school	Yes	Yes
Living in Cal Poly Ag Housing	Yes	Yes
Selected as a Resident Advisor	Yes	Yes
Graduating from Cal Poly	Yes	Yes
Married, domestically partnered and/or have dependent children	Yes	Yes
Moving off-campus or no longer interested	No	Yes	Students currently living on campus who wish to cancel for a reason other than those noted below need to file an Exception Review in their Housing Portal on MyCalPoly.
Those who are required to live on and have an approved exemption request	Yes	Yes	Select Housing Exemption Approved when your exemption request is approved
Leaving for an internship, study abroad or military service	Yes	Yes	Approved for required students Requires students must also request an exemption

*Give 30-days notice to avoid these fees.

Steps to Cancel 

1. Go to your Housing Portal on MyCalPoly and click the Cancel My Housing button. 
2. Locate the academic year you need to cancel, click continue and select the timing in the drop-down.
3. Save, continue, and then select the reason for your cancelation.
4. There is an option to enter additional info in the open comment box. Write ‘Hold’ in this space if you think you may cancel but are not sure of your move-out date. This secures your 30-day notice while you confirm your plans. Follow-up by emailing housing@calpoly.edu within the 30 days to let us know to process your cancel for a specific date or to disregard the cancelation.
5. Enter your EmplID as your Electronic Signature and submit. You will receive an email confirmation with next steps and can go in anytime to edit your request.

Checking Out 

Be sure to properly check out of housing — do not simply depart. Your cancelation request is not processed or refunds initiated until you check out online. 

1. Clear your room of personal belongings and clean. Place your furniture back in its original position. Take photos of the clean, empty room and the surrounding area if you live in a shared space.
2. Complete and submit an Express Check-out — including the photos you took — in your Housing Portal. 
3. Fill out an Express Check-out Key Return envelope at the front desk of your community, insert your key and/or access card, and drop the packet into an to an Express Check-out Box in the lobby.

Refunds 

Occupancy fees are non-refundable. These fees are charged when students are living in a space, storing belongings there, or having their space held for them.

• The move-out date is determined by the date the Express Check-out was submitted in the Housing Portal. If you move out after your cancelation date, you may be charged occupancy fees.
• Once the Express Check-out is submitted, the student’s cancelation request is processed. Any refunds due will be processed by Student Accounts in 4-6 weeks. 
• Students who submit a housing cancelation prior to move-in will not do an Express Check-out. See policy under the section Canceling Before Move-in above.