1. Professional Residential Life staff members living in College residence halls are provided with apartments by Ithaca College. The primary purpose of this living arrangement is to make these professional staff conveniently available to students and staff members.
2. Professional Residential Life staff members, their spouses or partners and their dependent children may reside in staff apartments. A live-in staff member may also request to house a family member or a friend in their staff apartment. This additional request will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
3. Staff are responsible for ensuring that others residing in the apartment do not violate the policies, rules and regulations of Ithaca College applicable to the live-in staff or the orderly functioning of the College. Should those residing in the apartment violate such policies, rules and regulations or disrupt the orderly functioning of the College, the staff member is responsible for resolving the problem. If the staff member is unwilling or unable to resolve the problem, eviction, and hence, termination of their employment may result. In keeping with the expectation that all College employees conduct themselves appropriately in the workplace, and because of the locations of these apartments, propriety and professionalism on the part of the staff member and anyone who resides with them is of the utmost importance. The spouse, partner, and/or family member of the staff member will sign a copy of the live-in policy, which indicates that they agree to abide by the College's policies, rules and regulations while living in the apartment provided by the College.
4. According to Federal tax law (Section 873 Food and Lodging Provided by Employer), "the value of meals and lodging furnished by an employer to an employee, his spouse, or dependents for the employer's convenience is not includable in the employee's gross income if, in the case of meals, they are furnished on the employer's business premises and if, in the case of lodging, the employee is required to accept the lodging as a condition of employment." (IRC Code Section 119; Reg. Section 1. 119-1.) The general definition of a dependent (IRC Code Section 152) includes an individual who, for the taxable year of the taxpayer, has as their principal place of abode the home of the taxpayer and is a member of the taxpayer's household, and over half of whose support for the calendar year was received from the taxpayer. Therefore, if a domestic partner living with a staff member meets the definition of a dependent, the full value of the apartment would qualify for the exclusion from the employee's gross income under IRC Section 119.
If it is determined that an individual living with a staff member in the College provided apartment does not qualify as a spouse or a dependent according to the IRC, a determination must be made as to the value of the non-excludable item (the apartment) being provided. In determining the fair market value of this particular item, Ithaca College has used the "incremental employer cost method" according to the IRC Regulation Section 1.62-21. Because the additional cost to the College of allowing a domestic partner to live with the staff member is negligible, the College has determined that the value of the apartment benefit to the domestic partner is zero.
5. No privilege (e.g., medical and dental insurance coverage) will accrue by virtue of this policy to the partner as a partner from Ithaca College beyond permission to reside in the staff member's apartment.
6. In the event of an emergency and in keeping with its obligations relative to safety and security, the College must be informed of who resides in a staff member's apartment. Therefore, the Director of the Offices of Residential Life and Student Conduct and Community Standards will maintain an updated list of all individuals residing in staff apartments, including dependent children. The list shall include names, ages of dependent children, and business and emergency telephone numbers.
7. Staff apartments are provided by the College for the primary purpose of making trained professionals conveniently available for students and staff members. The size of an apartment dictates the number of the individuals who can reside in them while simultaneously meeting the purpose for which they are provided. As a guideline, the total occupancy of a two bedroom apartment may house a total of up to two adults and two children. Special circumstances will be considered by the Director of the Offices of Residential Life and Student Conduct and Community Standards who will make the final decision as to the number of people who can reside in staff apartments.
Revised April 26, 2019