Roommates & housing near California State University, Fullerton for international students

OCTA bus routes 26, 57 and 123 serve the CSUF campus directly. The Fullerton Transportation Center downtown has Metrolink and Amtrak trains toward Los Angeles and San Diego, with OCTA buses connecting to campus.

Student fares

CSUF students can buy a five-month OCTA bus U-Pass for $100 through Parking and Transportation Services; it is non-transferable and non-refundable.

Car

Most students drive, and campus parking permits are a real cost. Freeways around Fullerton are congested at peak times, so living within biking distance saves time and money.

Room in a shared place

About $1,460/mo for a room in a shared three-bedroom, derived from HUD's FY2026 Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine three-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $4,393 divided by three; shared rooms with two per bedroom cost less

Studio or 1-bedroom

HUD FY2026 Fair Market Rent: $2,682/mo for an efficiency, $2,746/mo for a one-bedroom

Also budget for

California caps most deposits at one month's rent, so expect first month plus one month's deposit at signing.

Lease

Twelve-month leases dominate, with many near-campus units turning over in summer before the fall semester; room sublets for a single semester are common in shared houses.

Deposit

California Civil Code 1950.5, as amended by AB 12 from July 1, 2024, limits most security deposits to one month's rent, furnished or not. Small landlords who are individuals owning no more than two properties with four units in total may ask for two months. The landlord must return the deposit, with an itemized statement of deductions, within 21 days after you move out.

Good to know

California counts almost every extra move-in charge as part of the deposit, whatever the landlord calls it, so a separate cleaning or key fee cannot push the total above the legal cap.

CSUF Housing offers residence halls with shared double and triple rooms for first-year students, four-bedroom suites for upper-division students, and apartments for continuing, transfer and graduate students. No housing guarantee is published. For everyone else, the university runs an off-campus housing listing service with rentals and roommate posts.