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Northeastern University packs about 22,905 students into Boston's Fenway area, with a compact urban campus wedged between the Fenway, Roxbury, and the South End. There's no big quad to speak of: the city is the campus, and the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum sit right at the edge of it. Students fold Boston into daily life, walking the Emerald Necklace park system, cutting through the Back Bay Fens, and riding the Green Line E branch that runs straight through campus. Northeastern is built around co-op, so the student body cycles in and out for six-month work terms, giving the place a busy, real-world rhythm. Husky hockey at Matthews Arena rounds it out. The T and your feet cover everything, so almost nobody bothers with a car.
Starting with students entering in Fall 2026, Northeastern requires first-year and second-year students admitted to Boston to live in university housing, so the move off campus generally comes in junior year. The two-year mandate keeps underclassmen in university housing.
Exemptions run through a residency waiver process and typically cover students who are older, married, have dependents, or live at a family home in the area. When students move off, the search runs on Boston's intense urban market: triple-deckers and apartment buildings in Mission Hill, the Fenway, and Roxbury, mostly leased through brokers and management companies. Expect broker fees, which in Boston a tenant often pays, plus first month, last month, and a security deposit up front.
Read for who pays heat, since old triple-deckers can be drafty. Know the city's calendar quirk: almost every lease starts September 1, which shapes the entire search.
Housing policies change frequently. Always verify current requirements directly with Northeastern University before signing a lease.
Boston leasing is famous for one thing: September 1. The overwhelming majority of leases start that single day, so the whole student market orbits around it. The search for a September 1 lease kicks off shockingly early, often in the winter and ramping hard through spring. If you want a specific block or a short walk to class, plan to be signing in late winter.
The best Mission Hill and Fenway units near campus get claimed months ahead, ramping hard through spring. If you want a short walk to class, you are signing in late winter or early spring. Because Northeastern runs on co-op, the timing gets messier as students leave for six-month work terms. Move quickly on close-in units before the spring rush thins them out.
Subletting is a constant, year-round market thanks to co-op, and it is a great way to cover a co-op semester or test a neighborhood. If you miss the spring wave, keep watching for sublets and the occasional off-cycle lease. Expect slim pickings outside the September 1 rush. Lean on roommate boards and listings to catch late openings.
Just south of campus, Mission Hill is a dense, hilly student neighborhood of triple-deckers and the default for Northeastern thanks to the short walk.
Right next to campus, the Fenway mixes apartment buildings with park access and runs higher near the green space.
Southeast of campus, Roxbury is more residential and usually splits lower per person, a solid value pick for groups.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
A room in a shared Mission Hill or Fenway apartment usually runs about $1,000-$1,500/month per person, since Boston is one of the priciest student markets in the country. Roxbury and Jamaica Plain split lower per head, while units right next to campus push to the top.
Other universities in Boston share a similar off-campus housing market.
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