Loading listings
North Carolina Central University anchors the Hayti neighborhood of Durham, North Carolina, where about 8,100 Eagles attend the first state-supported liberal arts college founded for African American students. The campus sits just off Fayetteville Street, historic main street of a community that built one of the country's most storied Black business districts. Durham, the Bull City, turned its old tobacco warehouses into a downtown of museums, performance spaces, and public plazas, and its pride in this HBCU runs deep. Homecoming brings a parade and a packed tailgate before the Eagles play at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium, and late winter brings the Hayti Heritage Film Festival. The American Tobacco Trail adds greenway miles, and city buses link campus across town.
North Carolina Central University requires every new first-time freshman to live in a university residence hall for their first full year, both fall and spring semesters. You can request an exemption if you'll be 21 or older by the first day of classes, are legally married, have custody of dependent children, or commute from a parent or guardian's home within 15 miles of campus. Submit your request with documentation early.
After the first-year requirement, you're free to live off campus, and many students move into apartments and houses around Durham. NCCU partners with an off-campus marketplace that lists approved local rentals and helps with roommate matching. Durham's rental process runs the usual way, with an application, credit and background check, deposit, and often a guarantor for full-time students.
Watch occupancy caps in older single-family neighborhoods near campus, since the city limits unrelated tenants per house. Read joint house leases closely so you know what you're on the hook for if a roommate leaves. Confirming the term and tenant count up front protects you from inherited costs.
Housing policies change frequently. Always verify current requirements directly with North Carolina Central University before signing a lease.
Durham's rental calendar moves on two clocks. The newer apartment complexes built for students and young professionals start preleasing in winter for the next fall, and the closest, best-priced units go through spring. If you want one of those, tour in January and February and sign early. Booking tours in winter gives you the best selection.
Classes start in mid-August and most leases run a full year. The houses around NCCU and the Hayti area turn over closer to summer, often on a more flexible timeline, since they're regular Durham rentals rather than student-only buildings. Line up roommates before you commit to a house, since those run on joint leases. Signing the newer complexes early keeps you ahead of demand.
If you're searching late over the summer, you'll still find options because Durham is a large, active rental market, but you may end up farther from campus or relying on the bus. Spring move-ins and sublets do come up, especially in by-the-unit complexes and around graduation, when leases turn over. Checking the off-campus marketplace can surface a handoff. Flexibility on location opens up more choices late.
The historic neighborhood wrapped around campus along Fayetteville Street keeps you closest to class and to the area's deep cultural roots. It's the default for staying near campus.
The streets toward downtown put you near the museums, plazas, and nightlife of the renovated warehouse district, usually at a higher price. The Bull City turned its old tobacco warehouses into a lively downtown.
Along the bus lines, South Durham offers newer apartment complexes and more parking, a good pick if you have a car. Areas near the American Tobacco Trail give runners and cyclists direct greenway access, and older single-family blocks near campus draw roommate groups wanting a house.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
A room in a shared apartment or house near campus usually runs about $600-$900/month per person in Durham. Older houses split among roommates around Hayti land at the lower end, while newer complexes toward downtown or South Durham sit higher. Budget another $50-$120/month for utilities, and ask whether water and internet are bundled.