The start of the housing lottery, originally scheduled to begin March 31 and then delayed until April 6, has been postponed again until mid-June at the earliest, Director of Residential and Housing Operations Lisa Rendall announced in an email to students Thursday.

Rendall attributed the postponement to the College waiting for the findings of the new “Return to Campus” working group, which will recommend to Rose the possibility of fall semester on campus in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“[T]he College has decided to delay the start of the housing lottery until after the Committee … makes their decision in mid-June about fall semester,” Rendall wrote.

Rendall also said her office wants to give students planning to study abroad in the fall semester more time to finalize their plans. She added that these students will have until June 12 to change their fall enrollment status in order to participate in the housing lottery.

Additionally, Rendall raised concerns about the availability of the unfinished Harpswell Apartments.

“Although Harpswell Apartments construction is currently on schedule, we are concerned about changes related to the pandemic that may occur in the coming months that could impact our timing,” she wrote. “We do not want rising seniors to select and be placed into a space that may not be ready for them for the fall semester.”

The planned demolition of Pine Street Apartments has also been put on hold, and the residence could potentially be available in the lottery.

“We have not yet made a final decision about Pine Street Apartments for next year,” Rendall wrote in an email to the Orient.