Housing

Finding housing in the communities surrounding MIT can take some time and attention, but there are several resources to help you as an incoming postdoc at MIT.

MIT Off-Campus Housing

After you make a profile, you can check out listings and the Resources page, including information about:

rental scams to watch out for
tips on working with realtors
your rights
leases
security, neighborhoods, and more

You will need an MIT web certificate, which you can obtain once you have an MIT identification number. (See "Information for New Postdocs”)

See the MIT Postdoctoral Association’s Postdoc Housing Resource
See the list of key administrative contacts for postdocs. Your department, lab, or center may be able to help you get an ID number as soon as possible, and may have additional housing advice.
See additional information from the International Scholars Office (helpful to all newcomers)
Many postdocs recommend finding housing near public transportation.

MIT On-campus Housing

MIT on-campus Housing is intended for MIT undergraduate and graduate students. However, MIT Postdocs sometimes succeed in getting MIT Graduate Housing. Postdocs may only apply for on-campus housing via the fall and spring waiting lists. Housing is assigned on a space-available basis, and availability is extremely limited. See details at these pages:

Information for visitors and postdocs: http://studentlife.mit.edu/housing/graduate-family-housing/get-housing/housing-visitors
Waiting List details: http://studentlife.mit.edu/housing/graduate-family-housing/get-housing/waiting-list
To contact the Graduate Housing Office, email graduatehousing@mit.edu, or call 617-253-5148.

Subletting

It may be possible to sublet an apartment during the summer or MIT’s Independent Activities Period (IAP) in January.

Beware of Housing Scams

Please be alert to the possibility of common housing scams, particularly on Craigslist. Victims have reported two main types of housing scams. In one, a victim sends someone a deposit for a property. In fact, the person receiving the money has no authority to rent, or the property does not exist. The person committing the fraud keeps the deposit check and disappears, and the victim does not find out until they try to move in. In the second type of scam, someone pretends to be offering a sublet apartment or a roommate situation. The perpetrator will send a check to the victim for more money than is requested, and then ask that the balance be sent back. The original check bounces and the victim loses the money they thought they were returning to a potential roommate/sublet.