Off-Campus Housing Resources

Roommate Matching 

Facebook and ProArts
For students hoping to find another Boston Conservatory student to room with, we encourage you to post on the Admissions Office's facebook page for incoming students.  You can also create an account on proartsconnect.org and use the housing forum to connect with arts students from all six schools of the ProArts Consortium that might be looking for roommates or offering housing in the area.

Matching Services
Roommate matching services match people who are searching for an apartment with people who already have an apartment. They charge a fee to list you in their books or computer and allow you access to other listings they have. Of course, they don't guarantee you'll find exactly what you need.

The Roommate Connection 
Phone & Fax: (617) 262-5712
Toll free: 1-800-278-7427

Matching Roommates
Phone: (617) 232-2600
Toll free: 866-859-7666
www.matchingroomates.com

We encourage students to use services like these and craigslist with caution, but many students find extremely successful roommate situations with the help of these sites

Apartment Listings

The Boston Globe
The Sunday Real Estate Section of The Boston Globe has the largest available section of housing in the Boston area.

The Boston Herald
The classified section in The Boston Herald is not as large as The Boston Globe. The paper's largest real estate section for the week is in Friday's edition. 

The Boston Phoenix
This paper has some listings of shared living arrangements in Boston and the near suburbs. Landlords with few properties tend to advertise directly through these classified ads. 

The Cambridge Chronicle
Has listings for Cambridge, Somerville, and Medford (cities just outside of Boston).

CollegeRentals.com

The Patriot Ledger
Listings for the South Shore area. 

boston.craigslist.org
Some no-fee apartments listed by brokers and by owner. It also has a section on sublets and people looking for roommates. It is updated daily.  Be aware that sometimes the "no-fee" listings still may have many fees attached.

www.bostonapartments.com
This site lists apartment rentals of all types, as well as people seeking roommates. It also has a listing of numerous agencies in the Boston area with links to their web pages.

www.BigCityApartments.com
Listings in the region.

www.myapartmentmap.com
MyApartmentMap combines apartment listings with Google Maps to form a completely new way to find apartments. 

www.onmarketboston.com
Listings for Boston, Brighton, Allston and Brookline.

www.bayridgeresidence.org
A student residence and cultural center for young women going to university in Boston. Bayridge is located in the Back Bay and housed in the Ayer Mansion, a national historical landmark.

Real Estate Agents

If you decide to work with a real estate agent, you might want to keep the following precautions in mind:

• You should not have to pay a fee just to look at the listings.
• Before looking at any apartments with an agent, find out if he/she intends to charge a fee just for looking at an apartment.
• Never rent an apartment without seeing it first. Take time to thoroughly inspect the apartment.
• Don't let an agent pressure you into a hasty decision, but be aware that it is not uncommon to "lose" an apartment to another interested renter who pays a deposit a few hours earlier.
• Realtors often charge up to one month's rent as a "finder's fee", but only if you actually sign a lease.
• Check the rental application to be sure it has the exact information of the apartment you are interested in - the address, apartment number, and price.

Real estate agencies in The Boston Conservatory area*

* The Boston Conservatory does not endorse any of the listed real estate agencies or roommate matching services. This information is presented only to assist you. Those agencies listed were selected based on proximity to The Boston Conservatory (thus, they may have more listings for the area around The Conservatory). The Boston Conservatory cannot guarantee the quality of service or accommodations and cannot be responsible for the action of any realtor or landlord.

The Housing Office may be able to connect you with a Boston Conservatory student that is a licensed realtor.  Please call the office at 617-912-9165 for more information.

Other Resources for Miscellaneous Housing Concerns

Boston Bar Association
(617) 742-0625

Boston Housing Court
(617) 788-8485

City of Boston Inspection Services
(617) 635-5300

Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
(617) 727-3990

Mayor's Office of Fair Housing
(617) 635-4408

Rental Housing Resource Center
(617) 635-4200

Small Claims Advisory Service
(617) 497-5690
(offers free advice regarding housing complaints)