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What are the Charges for Damage to GVSU On-Campus Housing?
Charges are used by the Office of Housing and Residence Life to reduce damage, protect residents, and stabilize housing costs. These charges are billed directly to student's account by the department of Housing and Residence Life. Fees/charges may be paid online or at the Registrar's windows (located in the Student Services Building in Allendale, or DeVos Building C in Grand Rapids).
Individual room/apartment damages will be assessed by full-time professional staff after departure/check-out, or throughout the course of the year. It is the responsibility of the occupant(s) to pay for the replacement or repair of damaged property within a resident's room or in areas adjacent to it (i.e., windows, doors, and suite study areas). If you have any questions about this policy, see your Living Center Director.
Fees may also be assessed within the community for actions including, but not limited to, leaving bags of trash in the hallway or propping open exterior building doors. Public area damage remaining after final check out (or not assessed during the semester ) will be divided and charged to each resident's account. The fees/charges listed are not an exhaustive list, and other charges may be added at the discretion of the Housing staff.
NOTE: Due to FERPA laws, we cannot give out specific damage information and rationale to family members/guardians, so make sure students are calling our office personally with questions or concerns in regard to charges on their accounts. Even if students have given family members/guardians consent via the Student Accounts Office Release on Banner, this does NOT cover Housing specifics of the details of these charges.
To learn how to file a Damage Appeal, please refer to the drop box below titled "Damage Appeals".
Damage Appeals
Housing & Residence Life will consider appeals for damages and/or fees associated at the end of each semester. Appeals may be received during a specific timeline of the charge (varies by semester).
The following circumstances are not considered valid reasons for an appeal:
- Time constraints during move out. For example, not allowing enough time to defrost a refrigerator, take out trash/recycling, clean thoroughly, remove all personal items, etc.
- Lack of knowledge regarding move-out and closing procedures. All move-out and closing information was outlined by Housing & Residence Life through your Living Center Director, Resident Assistant staff, email correspondence, community or floor meetings, and/or community bulletin boards.
- Damage not listed on a Room Condition Report (RCR) by Housing staff or resident at move In. Failure to complete an RCR will result in the resident being responsible for all damage.
- Public area or community damages. If we are unable to ascertain who caused the damage, these damages will be prorated and divided among all the residents of the wing, floor, or building collectively.
- Failure to return all items at checkout (brass keys, loaner access cards, etc.).
End-of-semester fees can be reviewed via myHousing under the Personal Information tab as follows:
- The "Billing Summary" will outline the fees associated with your on-campus residency. When viewing the "Billing Summary" select the current Winter semester.
- Charges will be listed Posted/Paid "No" during the appeal window, which means they have not posted to student account. Once the appeal window closes, these charges will post and Posted/Paid status will change to "Yes".
- Damage item specifics can be reviewed via myHousing under the RCR/Damages tab. Open the check out inspection for the related term and review individual conditions and comments noted.
Appeals are submitted through myHousing portal under the Apply | Cancel | Forms menu. Winter Semester appeals are accepted during the second full week of May. Review of appeals begins on the third full week May with final decisions no later than the end of the month.
Further questions can be directed to the Living Center Director of your community.