SDSU houses for rent in San Diego: whole-house options and prices

Houses give you things an apartment complex often can't: more room to spread out, fewer shared walls, and a living setup that feels less like a dorm. If that sounds like what you want, SDSU houses for rent in San Diego come in a few different forms, from a single room in a shared house to an entire place for a group. You'll find the full set on the San Diego listings page, and here are five current listings to compare.

Every listing below is marked as a house. What changes is how each one is rented, how long the lease runs and when it starts.

Begin your search at Off-Campus Universe, where you can browse current listings near San Diego.

ROOMS FOR RENT is a private room in a four-bedroom, two-bath house, listed at $1,200/month. The listing is set up to rent by the room, so you'd be sharing the house with other tenants. It's unfurnished, listed as 5 to 10 minutes by car from campus, and its lease timing reads Available now on a month-to-month basis. That's about as flexible as it gets if you need somewhere quickly.

54th rooms is a one-bedroom, one-bath house listing at $990/month, the lowest price in this group. It's unfurnished and listed as under 5 minutes by car from campus, with lease timing of 8/1/2026 on a 12-month lease. It's also marked as open now, so ask the lister whether a new term would begin when you move in.

Mohawk House 2 Bedrooms is a two-bedroom, one-bath house at $3,000/month. It's unfurnished, listed as under 5 minutes by car from campus, and runs on a 12-month lease with timing of 6/1/2026. It's open now. For two people sharing, one bathroom is something to talk through before you commit.

ROOM AVAILABLE FOR SUBLEASE is a sublease, or lease takeover, in a house, listed at $970/month. It's furnished, listed as under 5 minutes by car from campus, and the lease timing reads January - May, which fits a spring-semester stay. The listing shows 0 baths, so ask the lister how the bathroom setup works. As with any sublease, check the landlord's approval process before you agree to anything.

4 Bed/ 2 Bath with Balcony! is a four-bedroom, two-bath house at $5,800/month, unfurnished and listed as under 5 minutes by car from campus. The lease timing is 8/7/2027 - 8/5/2028 on a 12-month lease, so this one is for groups planning well ahead for the 2027-28 school year.

Room, sublease or whole house: which setup fits

The price spread here, from $970 to $5,800 a month, mostly reflects how much of the house you're getting. A room in a shared house or a sublease covers one person's space. A whole two- or four-bedroom house covers everything, and the rent is usually split among the people who live there.

If you're searching on your own, a rent-by-room listing or a sublease is usually the simplest route. You don't need to assemble a group, and the move-in process tends to be quicker. If you already have friends to live with, a whole house can give you more control over who you share with and how the place is run.

Four of these five are unfurnished. That's typical for houses, but it adds up. Plan for beds, desks, a couch and kitchen basics, and decide early who's buying what if you're signing as a group.

SDSU houses for rent in San Diego: lease timing this fall

Timing is the biggest variable with SDSU houses for rent in San Diego right now. It's late October, so you've got two very different searches happening at once. Students who need a spring place are looking at listings that are open now or that start in January, like the month-to-month room and the January - May sublease. Groups planning further out are already looking at houses for next school year and beyond.

If you're in the second group, start by agreeing on budget and group size before you message anyone. A four-bedroom house only works if you have four people who are committed, and everyone should be comfortable with the total rent and the lease length. A 12-month lease normally covers summer, so talk about who plans to stay in San Diego and who might want to sublease.

If you're looking for spring, focus on flexibility. Ask how month-to-month notice works, whether furnished options are available, and what the move-out process looks like at the end of the semester.

Distance is fairly consistent across this set. Four of the five are listed as under 5 minutes by car from campus, and the month-to-month room is listed as 5 to 10 minutes by car. Even so, ask each lister about parking, since houses can vary a lot in how many cars fit and whether street parking is the only option. If you won't have a car, ask how other tenants usually get to campus.

Houses also come with responsibilities that apartments often handle for you. Before you sign, ask who takes care of the yard, who to call when something breaks, how quickly repairs are usually made, and whether tenants are expected to handle small fixes. Get those answers in writing if you can. They're easy to forget about until the first leak or broken appliance, and clear expectations up front save a lot of back-and-forth later.

Either way, ask each lister the same set of questions so you can compare fairly: what's included in the rent, how the deposit works, who handles maintenance, and how shared utilities get billed.

Tips for renting a house near SDSU

• Ask whether the listed price is for one room or the whole house before you compare options.

• For a sublease, get the landlord's approval process in writing and confirm the exact end date.

• Ask who handles yard care, trash and repairs, since houses often split these differently than apartments.

• If signing as a group, agree in writing on how rent, utilities and the deposit will be divided.

Ready to find your place? Browse all listings at Off-Campus Universe.

This article is provided by an independent housing resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by San Diego State University.