Community Living

Health and Safety Inspections

Health and safety inspections will take place from Tuesday, October 15- Friday, November 1, 2024.

This semester, inspections will be conducted as follows:

• Two staff members (a professional staff member and a community advisor) will stop by each space on campus.
• Community Living staff members will view all bedrooms from the door. They will not enter any bedrooms unless an inspection cannot be done from the doorway or items must be confiscated and the resident is not home.
• For apartments and suites, staff will need to enter common spaces (common rooms and kitchens) to view bedrooms within the space.
• Staff will not open any drawers, closets, cabinets, etc. They will lock the doors after checking a room, including the bedroom doors within a suite.
• The results of your inspection will be emailed to you when your room inspection has been completed.

Community Living staff will inspect residence halls to evaluate the health, safety and security of our buildings as outlined in Section 16.3 Health and Safety Inspections and Section 9.5 Right of Entry in Rights and Responsibilities. Inspections take place once per semester. They are a time for staff to touch base with residents who are home, confirm the space is free of any fire safety or conduct violations and help the resident address any concerns within the space.

Important Reminders for Health and Safety Inspections

• Residents will be notified via email if a follow-up inspection is needed.
• If anything is confiscated from your space, it will be noted in your inspection results. Brandeis Police will be contacted by Community Living staff to confiscate and dispose of any drugs or drug paraphernalia.
• Most first-time violations, such as non-LED string lights or unapproved lofted beds, will be documented by Community Living and result in the resident being asked to correct the violation before the follow-up inspection.
• More serious violations will be documented with the Office of Student Rights and Community Standards and will go through the student conduct process. These violations commonly pose a serious fire safety hazard or involve illegal items. If you are unsure what items are or are not allowed in the residence halls, please view our Permitted and Prohibited List.

Common Violations

Some of the more common violations we encounter are listed below. Please note these are not the only potential violations, just the most common.

• Fire safety equipment obstructed or damaged (including covered smoke detectors and anything hanging from or touching pipes)
• Candles which have not been registered through Community Living for religious observance
• Evidence of alcohol, including empty containers (in shared spaces with residents under 21); excessive alcohol, including handles/any bottle over 750 mL (all areas)
• Evidence of smoking, drugs or drug paraphernalia
• Water heaters/kettles in residential areas (only permitted to be plugged in or used in kitchen areas and suite common rooms)
• Extension Cords or unapproved Power Strips (only UL-listed surge protectors are allowed in our residence halls)

Spring 2024 Health and Safety Inspection Statistics