College Dorm Misplacement

I was recently sent a letter by the university I'm attending in NY state that since the room I applied for was full (a double occupancy) and the dorms are near capacity they're placing me in a quintuple occupancy temporary room. The room, however, houses five and is just a converted lobby of one of the dorm buildings. I called the school an they refuse to move me and refuse to drop the price (double occupancy is what they're charging me) even though it's not really an official room. Is there anything I can do about it?

If they breached their agreement with you then based on what you say here, you could file suit against them (or at least threaten to do so) in small claims court or in regular court; filing in small claims court is easier and requires no attorney...you could try to collect all of the costs and damages that you suffered due to their behavior... You may also report them to your state attorney general's office.

The above poster's advice might be correct if this was residential housing. But college dorms do not fall under most state's LL-Tenant laws. I suggest you appeal to student housing at the college and then to your omnsbudsman to see if you can get a lower rate. Campus housing does not fall under state LL-tenant law, but usually is under it's own section, just as hotels and mobile homes have their own laws.