LOCAL REALTOR
Mavis Delacroix
REALTOR/Broker Associate, Compass
UC Berkeley-area real estate guidance
The short answer
Connect your workplace, start date and household needs to the school’s stated support and your housing decision. This guide organizes 25 sourced questions for University of California, Berkeley.
Prepare your next decision
- Confirm whether a school housing or relocation resource covers your employment category.
- Compare the actual workplace route, household needs and move-in timeline.
- Keep employer benefits, university housing eligibility and private-market financing as separate questions.
What is the official rule for staff campus housing?
Campus housing is not available for staff.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for staff housing search?
Free UC Berkeley Off-Campus Rental Services guidance is available to faculty and staff.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for faculty housing search?
Prospective faculty finalists and new tenured/tenure-track faculty are directed to the Office for Faculty Equity & Welfare for housing searches.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for rental assistance?
OFEW offers rental-housing assistance, including local-community orientation and help identifying suitable listings.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for rental counselor?
Faculty may contact the Faculty Relocation and Home Loan Counselor to arrange a Zoom or phone consultation.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for property-manager network?
The relocation counselor reports knowledge of local property managers and can guide the rental process.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for faculty apartments eligibility?
University-operated faculty apartments are offered only to Senate faculty at initial hire.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for temporary faculty apartment term?
Eligible faculty may remain in a University-operated faculty apartment for up to two years.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for Clark Kerr location?
Most University-operated faculty apartments are at Clark Kerr, approximately one-quarter mile southeast of main campus.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for Clark Kerr lease?
Clark Kerr faculty apartments are unfurnished and leased month-to-month.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for Clark Kerr pets?
Pets are not permitted in Clark Kerr housing.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for realtor tours?
OFEW can arrange realtor tours of local neighborhoods and homes currently for sale.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for University Terrace?
University Terrace is a 75-condo complex intended to provide affordable faculty homes close to campus.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for University Terrace eligibility?
Resales are restricted to qualified buyers, currently defined as active Senate faculty; some units are purchased by the University for newly hired Senate-faculty rentals.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for MOP purpose?
MOP provides competitive first-deed-of-trust mortgages to offset California housing prices for eligible Berkeley faculty and senior management.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for MOP eligible roles?
Eligible full-time appointees include Senior Management, Academic Senate members, equivalent academic titles, and Acting Assistant Professors.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for MOP prior ownership test?
Eligible applicants must not own, and must not have owned during the preceding 12 months, a principal residence within a reasonable distance of campus.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for MOP terms?
MOP loans are fully amortized, up to 30 years, variable-rate, first-deed-of-trust loans; payments are made through payroll deduction and there is no prepayment penalty.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for MOP property rules?
The property must be owner-occupied, the participant's principal residence, primarily residential/non-income-producing, and at least 50% participant-owned; eligible property includes single-family homes, condos, and planned-unit-development units.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for current MOP rate?
UCOP listed the Standard MOP rate as 4.85% effective August 1 through October 31, 2026; the rate is based on the four-quarter STIP average plus a 0.25% administrative fee.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Explicitly stated source periods: 2026. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for moving eligibility?
Moving/relocation payment requires UC-policy coverage and advance approval by the hiring department; employees should consult that department.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for moving distance test?
The former residence-to-new job distance must be at least 50 miles, or greater than the distance from the former work location to the former residence.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for temporary family housing?
When provided in the offer letter, UC reimburses up to 30 days of furnished temporary lodging and up to 30 days of groceries or meals when lodging lacks cooking facilities; meal costs are capped at $92 per person per day.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for relocation timing?
Moving expenses must be incurred within one year of the start date, and reimbursement requests must be submitted within 60 days of the move with supporting documentation.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
What is the official rule for temporary commute?
Intersection Apartments are about three miles from campus, described as approximately a 15-minute drive or 30-minute AC Transit Transbay F bus ride; the option is for single postdocs and UC graduate students, not general staff family housing.
Source guidance recorded on 2026-10-15. Confirm the applicable policy year, cohort and property jurisdiction before relying on time-sensitive facts.
Sources & editorial context
University housing information is organized from the linked sources, with its original review date shown. Rates, deadlines and availability can change; use the applicable academic year and check the source before committing. CollegeHousing.ai is independent of University of California, Berkeley.
Get help with your next decision
Mavis Delacroix, REALTOR/Broker Associate at Compass, is the local real estate contact. Ted Maniatis, MPR Mortgage, NMLS #327842, is the financing contact.