Community Living

Sharing a space can be an exciting experience, but it can also come with challenges, even if you and your roommates are best friends. Everyone has different schedules, routines, preferences, and boundaries, and learning how to live together is part of the residential experience. With open communication and a willingness to understand one another, roommates who are very different, can build a great roommate relationship. We encourage you to talk with your roommates and come to an agreement as early as possible about space usage, class and work schedules, guests, shared responsibilities, and general roommate expectations. Getting along with your roommates involves the 3 Cs: courtesy, communication, and compromise.

Your roomie doesn't need to be your bestie and your bestie doesn't need to be your roomie!

Starting Off on the Right Fin

Before you arrive, consider connecting with your roommates and starting a conversation about what living together might look like. You might talk about:

• Sleep and class schedules

• Study habits and when you prefer quiet time

• Guests and how you feel about having friends over

• Sharing food, appliances, or other belongings

• Cleaning and keeping shared spaces comfortable

• Personal boundaries and privacy

• How you prefer to communicate when something comes up

You don't have to figure everything out before move-in. The goal is simply to start the conversation, get to know one another, and begin thinking about how you can create a living environment that works for everyone.

During your first Hall Meeting, your Community Advisor (CA) will provide you with a Roommate Agreement. This is a tool to help you have important conversations early and establish shared expectations for your living space. Use it as an opportunity to honestly chat about your shared living environment and expectations.

When Challenges Come Up

It's normal to have roommates who are different from you, and it's also normal to experience disagreements along the way. If something is bothering you, start with a respectful conversation when possible. Listen to your roommate's perspective, communicate how the situation is affecting you, and be willing to find a compromise.

Courtesy: Be considerate of your roommate's needs, belongings, boundaries, and routines.

Communication: Talk openly and respectfully about expectations and concerns.

Compromise: Recognize that sharing a space means finding solutions that work for everyone.

If you are having difficulty communicating or resolving a concern, your CA is there to help. Reaching out for support is part of taking care of your community, and you do not have to navigate every challenge on your own.

Aloha: Approach your roommates with care, kindness, and an openness to understanding their perspective.

Pono: Work together to create a fair and respectful living environment where everyone can feel at home.

Kuleana: Take responsibility for communicating your needs, respecting boundaries, and addressing concerns in a constructive way.

Living in a residence hall means sharing your home with people who may have different schedules, routines, and needs. Being mindful of the noise you create is one way we can practice Pono and Aloha and help create a community where everyone can live, study, and sleep comfortably.

Your Community Advisors (CAs) will talk with you about community expectations around noise when you move in and during your first Hall Meeting. While you should absolutely enjoy your living experience, we ask that you also consider how your choices affect the people around you.

Quiet Hours

Residents are expected to respect the right of others to live, study, and sleep in a quiet environment.

Quiet hours are:

• Sunday–Thursday: 10:00 p.m. – 8:00 a.m.
• Friday–Saturday: 12:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.

During quiet hours, the residence hall/building environment should be quiet, free from disruptive noise, and conducive to sleep and study. Individual residential communities may choose to extend quiet hours based on the needs of their community.

During final exams, 24-hour quiet hours will be enforced.

Outside of Quiet Hours

Quiet hours may not always be in effect, but being considerate of others is always expected. Residents should maintain reasonably courteous noise levels at all times, including keeping most noise contained to their own room.

This includes being mindful of:

• Music, television, speakers, and other sound equipment
• Conversations and gatherings
• Recreational activities
• Noise in hallways and shared spaces
• How noise may affect roommates and neighboring residents

If another resident or staff member asks you to lower the volume, please respond respectfully and adjust your noise level accordingly. Being willing to listen and make adjustments is an important part of living in a shared community.

Residents are also expected to comply with all university policies and regulations regarding sound equipment and recreational activities within residential facilities and on university grounds.

ALOHA: Consider how your noise affects the people around you.
PONO: Balance enjoying your space with others' need for rest and study.
KULEANA: Take responsibility for the noise you create and be willing to adjust.

Living in a residence hall means sharing your home with people who may have different routines, habits, and expectations about what “clean” looks like. What feels clean and comfortable to one person may feel very different to someone else.

Being mindful of the spaces you share is one way we can practice Kuleana, Pono, and Aloha. Taking responsibility for your own belongings and messes, communicating openly about shared expectations, and finding a balance that works for everyone can help create a space that feels comfortable and welcoming.

Your Housing and Residence Life staff will provide you with a roommate agreement to help you have these conversations early. Use this opportunity to talk openly about what cleanliness means to each of you and how you will share responsibility for maintaining your space.

Shared Spaces INSIDE UNIT

Everyone who lives in a shared space has a role in keeping that space clean, comfortable, and welcoming. This includes being mindful of:

• Cleaning up after yourself

• Keeping personal belongings organized and out of shared spaces

• Taking care of shared kitchens, bathrooms, and common areas

• Disposing of trash appropriately

• Following any community or roommate agreements about cleaning

• Communicating respectfully when something needs to be addressed

You should not be expected to clean up after someone else, and your roommate or suitemate should not be expected to clean up after you. When everyone takes responsibility for their part, maintaining a shared space becomes a community effort.

Different Standards, Shared Expectations

You and your roommate or loftmates may not always agree on what “clean” means, and that's okay. The goal isn't necessarily to have the same habits or standards; it's to communicate, compromise, and establish expectations that everyone can live with.

If something isn't working, talk about it early and approach the conversation with curiosity and respect. Be willing to listen to the other person's perspective and find a solution that works for everyone. Your Community Advisor (CA) is a great resource to utilize when wanting to have these types of conversations with your roommates. 

Aloha: Consider how the condition of a shared space affects the people around you.
Pono: Find a balance between your own habits and the shared expectations of your living community.
Kuleana: Take responsibility for your belongings, your messes, and your part in caring for the spaces you share.

Living in a residence hall means sharing your home with people who may have different schedules, routines, and comfort levels. Having guests can be a meaningful part of your residential experience, but it is important to consider how guests may affect the people and community around you. Communicating with your roommates or suitemates and respecting shared spaces helps create a community where everyone feels comfortable, respected, and at home.

Your Community Advisors (CAs) will talk with you about community expectations around guests when you move in and during your first Hall Meeting. While you are welcome to have friends and family visit, we ask that you communicate with the people you live with and follow the expectations below.

Inviting Guests

Before inviting a guest into your unit, you must get permission from all of your roommates or loftmates. A guest is anyone who does not reside in your assigned HPU-sponsored unit, including HPU students who are not assigned to your space.

As a host, you are responsible for your guests and their actions while they are in the residence halls or anywhere on campus. Guests must be accompanied by their host while on campus and may not be given a resident’s key or ID card.

Visitation Hours

Guests who are not registered as overnight guests must leave the residential community before the end of visitation hours.

Visitation hours are:

• Sunday–Thursday: 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

• Friday–Saturday: 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m.

Overnight Guests

If you plan to have someone stay overnight, all roommates or suitemates must approve the visit, and the guest must be approved by Housing and Residence Life. An Overnight Guest Registration Form must be submitted at least 72 business hours before the guest’s first night.The same guest may stay for up to 3 consecutive nights and no more than 30 days in a semester. Housing and Residence Life reserves the right to limit overnight visitation when necessary. The Overnight Guest Registration Form can be found in our Housing Portal

All residents and guests count toward the occupancy of a unit. At any given time, the number of people in a unit may not exceed twice the unit’s assigned capacity.

Aloha: Welcome others into your community while being mindful of the people you live with.
Pono: Communicate openly with your roommates or suitemates and respect shared expectations.
Kuleana: Take responsibility for your guests and their actions.

Living in a residence hall means having a space that you can make your own while also taking care of the home and resources that are shared with others. Your room or unit is your space to live, study, relax, and make memories, and with that comes the responsibility to care for it. Small choices like reporting a maintenance issue, decorating thoughtfully, or preventing avoidable damage, can help keep our residential communities safe, comfortable, and welcoming.

Your Community Advisors (CAs) and Housing and Residence Life staff will talk with you about caring for your space when you move in. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you make your space feel like home.

Making Your Space Your Own

We want you to feel comfortable and at home in your space. You are welcome to decorate your room or unit, but decorations should not damage the walls, ceilings, windows, furniture, or other surfaces.

Keep these guidelines in mind:

• Painter’s tape may be used to hang decorations where wall moldings do not exist. Other adhesives, including Command strips, hooks, double-sided tape, and similar products, are not permitted.

• Do not drill or place holes in walls or ceilings.

• Do not paint any surface in your room or loft.

• Decorations should be fire-safe and may not cover more than 10% of any wall surface.

• Hammocks, workout rings, or similar items may not be hung from stairs, posts, furniture, or other structures.

• Items placed in your room or loft that are visible from the exterior should be consistent with community standards. This includes decorations, lights, messages, and images placed on or around windows.

Before hanging or installing something, take a moment to make sure it is allowed and won't damage your space. Damage caused by decorations or their removal may result in charges to the responsible resident(s).

Maintenance & Repairs

Things can break or stop working, and that's part of living in any home. If something in your unit needs attention, let us know rather than trying to fix it yourself. Reporting an issue early can help prevent a small problem from becoming a bigger one.

Maintenance requests can be submitted for concerns including:

• Appliances

• Doors and locks

• Electrical and lighting

• Flooring

• Heating and cooling

• Plumbing and bathrooms

• Safety equipment

• Other general maintenance concerns

When submitting a maintenance request, do your best to describe the issue and include a photo when possible. This helps our Facilities team understand what to expect and come prepared to assist. The Maintenance Request Form can be found in your Housing Portal.

For washer or dryer issues, WASH app concerns, or questions about your WASH account balance or refunds, use the Wash Machine Fix It Form, which can also be found in the Housing Portal.

Taking Responsibility for Damage

Normal wear and tear is part of living in a residential community, but residents may be responsible for damage, missing items, or cleaning that goes beyond normal use. This can include damage to your unit or other HPU property, missing keys, pest control beyond scheduled services, or damage resulting from avoidable issues such as clogged toilets, sinks, or shower drains.

If a charge is assessed, Housing and Residence Life and Facilities staff will notify you through your HPU email, and the charge will be posted to your HPU account.

Taking care of your space isn't about keeping everything perfect, it's about noticing when something needs attention, treating your surroundings with care, and doing your part to leave the space ready for the next person.

Aloha: Treat your home and the spaces around you with care and respect.

Pono: Use your space and its resources responsibly and help keep your community safe and comfortable.

Kuleana: Take responsibility for your space, report problems, and care for the property entrusted to you.