You may browse the below information to get a feel for the type of on-campus housing that is available to Columbia Law School students. For additional information including rental rates—which are below market value for the Morningside Heights area of Manhattan—visit the Columbia Residential website.
All Columbia Residential housing is subject to a 12-month lease/contract period of June 1–May 31. For the first year that a student lives in university housing, he/she/they enters the lease year mid-cycle. Students are billed from the date of move-in through May 31. Leases are renewable for up to two additional years, assuming student maintains full enrollment with the Law School. If you find that mid-semester your housing status has changed (you want to move with roommates or you want to live alone) you will have the ability to transfer into another unit as long as you follow transfer guidelines.
Columbia Residential rental rates are set annually at the end of Spring by the Trustees of Columbia University. Unit rates are calculated based on the square footage of your exact room/apartment and amenities in your building. Please see Columbia Residential's Accommodations page to view the various price ranges for different apartment types.
Columbia Residential accommodations for families and couples are available. Due to high demand and limited availability, all students applying for housing as a family or couple, regardless of preference for law-only or general graduate housing, must have their photo ID verified to ensure partner/children information matches. Please visit the Columbia Residential website for a list of accepted documentation.
425 West 121st Street
Between Amsterdam Avenue and Morningside Drive
An example of alumni commitment to enhancing the quality of student life is Lenfest Hall, the gift of H. F. (Gerry) Lenfest ’58 and his wife, Marguerite. Lenfest Hall is a high-rise building located between Amsterdam Avenue and Morningside Drive. Each year, Lenfest is home to more than 200 Law School students, with singles, couples, and families living in 25 one-bedroom and 184 efficiency luxury apartments. Lenfest’s 209 student residences are comprised of private studio/efficiency apartments ranging in size from 320 to 412 square feet and one-bedroom apartments ranging from 380 to 648 square feet. Many units offer spectacular views of Morningside Park and historic Riverside Church, and others look onto Lenfest’s private bamboo garden or West 121st Street. All afford a sense of privacy and quietude difficult to obtain in Manhattan.
Lenfest apartments are fully furnished with carefully designed, space-saving furniture, to accommodate a variety of arrangements and functions. Each apartment has its own kitchen and bathroom. The building’s amenities include 24-hour door attendants; public spaces such as a lounge, game room, and study areas; Ethernet and campus phone service in each apartment; and wireless Internet in the garden and public areas. Utilities are included in the rent, electricity is billed monthly to your student account. Please note, vacancies at Lenfest Hall are limited due to high demand. For more details, including rates, please visit the Columbia Residential website.
520 West 112th Street
Between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway
Lionsgate is a high-rise building located in the heart of Morningside Heights. The University owns a limited number of furnished and unfurnished efficiencies, plus one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartment shares. Many units have terraces and beautiful views of the surrounding neighborhood. Each apartment has its own kitchen and bathroom.
Studio/efficiency units range from 380 to 471 square feet. One-bedroom units range from 530 to 620 square feet. Shared units begin at approximately 530 square feet, with individual rooms starting at approximately 101 square feet.
Lionsgate has a 24-hour door attendant, as well as other building amenities. Single students, couples, and students with children may apply for Lionsgate. Vacancies at Lionsgate are very limited. Utilities are included in the rent. For more details, including rates, please visit the Columbia Residential website.
West 115th and 116th streets between Amsterdam Avenue and Morningside Drive feature Law-preferred apartment buildings. The majority of the units are apartment shares, in which three students share the common areas (living room, kitchen, and bathroom) of an apartment, with each having an adjacent private bedroom. The majority of these apartments are furnished, with Ethernet, and utilities included in the rent.
420 West 116th Street is a nine-story, early 20th-century building directly across the street from Greene Hall, the main Law School classroom building. This block is also home to several Law School faculty families, senior administrators, and the President of Columbia University.
420 West 116th Street has both furnished and unfurnished studio/efficiency and one-bedroom apartments, with Ethernet. Utilities are included in the rent. Residents in the building have immediate access to the Law School, while still enjoying privacy in their own apartments (available to either single students or couples).
The number of rooms in these buildings will be limited, depending upon how many Law School students living there graduate in a given year. Please note that buildings on 115th and 116th streets have unique floor plans unit to unit, individual square footage, and layouts that vary widely. For more details, including rates, please visit the Columbia Residential website.
Various Addresses
between 110th and 125th Streets in Manhattan
and in Riverdale in the Bronx
Amenities and apartment style in these buildings vary. For more details, including rates, please visit the Columbia Residential website.