On-Campus Living
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte makes reasonable housing for qualified individuals with disabilities. The Office of Disability Services and Housing and Residence Life strive to provide equal access to housing for all residence in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, The Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, and other applicable federal and state regulations.
Accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis with respect to sufficient documentation that addresses how the impact of the disability requires the housing accommodation based on equal access. Requests are subject to availability, and neither the presence of a disability nor approval for housing accommodations guarantees on-campus housing. Disability Services staff will notify the student and Housing and Residence Life of an approved accommodation. Housing and Residence Life determines any specific room assignment within a residence hall. Additionally, roommate selection and assignment are addressed by Housing and Residence Life and their application process, not by Disability Services.
The Process
Students should apply for housing through Housing and Residence Life and request any housing accommodations though the Office of Disability Services as early as possible. Documentation is reviewed. If a determination of eligibility can be made, the student receives email notification to schedule a Housing appointment. In that appointment appropriate housing accommodations are identified through an interactive discussion.
Where Do I Find the Appropriate Forms? All required documentation forms can be found on our Documentation page. Only information about accommodations is shared with Housing and Residence Life; we do not share your documentation.
Disability-Related Housing Accommodations
Students with disability-related housing accommodation needs should submit Housing & Dining Accommodations Request Form completed by the treating healthcare provider. Students need to complete the Student section of the form, which includes important unique identifiers such as your student ID number and date of birth. To submit the completed form, visit our webpage on how to submit documentation.
Emotional Support Animals in On-Campus Housing
These requests follow the “Guidelines and Request Form for Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) in On-Campus Housing.” Submit the Request Form for an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) in On-Campus Housing, both the student section, and the provider section. Provider section should be completed by the current treating health care provider. Visit our website on how to submit documentation to submit your completed form.
Please Note: The ESA must be an animal commonly kept in households and appropriate for living in communal housing. Examples of a common household animal include a dog, cat, small bird, rabbit, hamster, gerbil, other rodent, fish, turtle, or other small, domesticated animal traditionally kept in the home for pleasure. Generally, and per HUD guidance, reptiles (other than turtles) are not considered common household animals.
Generally, documentation acquired from websites or health care professionals who have had no contact with the student except for limited encounters that were specifically intended to produce an ESA letter are not considered to be reliable. If approved, the student must meet with DS staff and sign the ESA Student Agreement. DS Staff will then notify appropriate personnel in Housing and Residence Life (HRL) regarding the approval of the ESA request. Only after the student completes the final step, the HRL animal agreement, may they bring their ESA to campus.
Personal Care Attendant
If you plan to reside on campus and require the use of a Personal Care Attendant (PCA), please visit our Personal Care Attendant page for more information.
Deadlines
Housing and Meal Plan Accommodation Requests: Submit documentation to Disability Services as soon as possible and prior to housing assignments being made. Documentation for housing accommodation requests should be submitted by May 1 for the Fall semester and by November 1 for the Spring semester. Requests for housing accommodations submitted after those deadlines will be reviewed; however, options become more limited and space is subject to availability.
ESA Requests: Submit documentation to Disability Services as soon as possible and prior to housing assignments being made. Documentation for ESA requests should be submitted by May 1 for the Fall semester and by November 1 for the Spring semester. Because ESA requests have an impact on others in the residential unit, timeliness of the request is important. Requests for ESAs received less than eight (8) weeks from the last day of the final exam period for the current semester will not be considered that semester. Those requests can be considered for the following semester, provided documentation remains appropriate.
Documentation received after the deadlines will continued to be reviewed. Once housing assignments are made, requests may be subject to availability.
