The university maintains several houses and a five-unit apartment complex (see photos below) for lease by faculty and staff. Lease terms may vary based on the needs of the faculty/staff member. Lease terms cannot exceed three years.
Rent and utilities are automatically deducted from pay monthly. Rent and utility charges are adjusted annually based on the policy outlined below. A security deposit of 50 percent of one months rent is required prior to occupancy.
Inquiries for faculty housing should be directed to Helen Payne, assistant to the provost and dean of faculty (hpayne@mail.colgate.edu 315-228-7217).
Rent Level and Utility Charge Policy
Rent levels are established to recover Colgate’s costs of maintaining properties. Colgate does not make a profit on its rental properties by adding a profit margin to rents, nor does it attempt to recover the opportunity costs of maintaining rental properties rather than investing the property value elsewhere. In fact, at present Colgate is minimally subsidizing most renters by not fully recovering its costs.
Rent levels and utility charges are set annually by the vice president for finance & administration. They are determined using the projected costs of utilities, maintenance and property taxes according to the following method.
1. Utility charges are established by averaging actual costs for the past three years and adjusting subsequent charges according to the fuel/electric prices and winter weather in those years. These costs are recovered through a direct charge to the renter. Any over- or underpayment compared with actual costs is reflected in the subsequent year utility charge. In the event the renter decides to no longer rent, the renter may pay Colgate any utility payments owed and Colgate is obligated to return any utility payments that exceed costs.
2. Maintenance costs are calculated as a three-year running average of the cost of the ongoing maintenance contract for each property and maintenance supplies, inflated by the previous year’s consumer price index. Property amortization equivalent to 3.5 percent of the fair market value of the property is added to recover capital maintenance costs (this method protects the renter against unanticipated costs of major repairs like roof replacements). Fair market values are updated approximately every five years based on figures obtained from local realtors.
3. Property taxes are projected by inflating the previous year’s taxes by the consumer price index.
Items (2) and (3) are added and divided by 12 to calculate the monthly rent. Periodically, this rent is compared with local market rents to ensure reasonableness.
Housing List
30 College Street:
Three bedroom, unfurnished house with one-car attached garage. Living room, eat-in kitchen, large family room, two baths, and finished basement with laundry facilities. Heat is village electric. Walking distance to campus. Current rent $740 per month plus $230 utilities deduction.
32 College Street:
Five bedroom, unfurnished house with one-car attached garage. Large living room, kitchen, dining room, two baths, fireplace, laundry facilites, and mud room. Heat is village electric. Walking distance to campus. Current rent $985 per month plus $190 utilities deduction.
36 College Street:
Two bedroom, furnished house with two-car attached garage. Living Room, family room with fireplace, den, eat-in kitchen, two baths, and laundry facilities. Heat is village electric. Current rent $829 plus $200 utilities deduction.
55 Hamilton Street:
Three bedroom unfurnished house with two-car attached garage. Living room with fireplace, kitchen, den, two baths and laundry facilities. Heat is village electric. Current rent $1,400 plus $350 utilities deduction.
59 Hamilton Street:
Four bedroom unfurnished house with two-car detached garage. Living room with fireplace, dining room, large eat-in kitchen, office, den, and two baths. Laundry facilities are located in the basement. Heating system is fuel oil. Current rent $1,565 plus $300 utilities deduction.
69 Hamilton Street:
Four bedroom unfurnished house with small one-car garage. Living room, dining room, large modern kitchen, den or family room, and two baths. Washer/dryer hook-up available but appliances are not included. Heat system is fuel oil. Current rent $985 plus $300 utilities deduction.
79 Hamilton Street
Four bedroom, partially furnished house with one-car detached garage. Living room, dining room, den, large eat-in kitchen, and two baths. Laundry facilities are located in the basement. Current rent $1,103 plus $300 utilities deduction.
Preston Hill Apartments:
Single one bedroom apartment, four two bedroom apartments with galley kitchen and small dining area, living room, and bathroom. Laundy and storage facilities located in basement. All apartments are completely furnished. Rent for one bedroom is $710 and two bedrooms are $800 per month which includes heat and electric.
Important Information for Tenants
• Preston Hill tenant information (PDF form)
• Faculty house tenant information (PDF form
• Madison County recycling (PDF form)
Important Notice About Lead Paint
Housing built before 1978 may contain lead-based paint. Housing law requires landlords to provide a federally approved pamphlet (PDF form) regarding lead poisoning. The landlord must also disclose the presence of known lead-based paint and/or paint hazards in the dwelling.
The university has conducted lead paint surveys on all its housing units and each unit is inspected annually for the presence of peeling or chipping paint.