The UCSB Community Housing Office will release the 2002 Rental Housing Survival Guide today as a tool for students and UCSB staff who are looking for housing in the Santa Barbara area.

CHO representatives will present the guide at an informational meeting, the first of which will be held in San Rafael today. Representatives will also give a list of available rentals from all the landlords in the Santa Barbara area.

“I think freshmen should utilize it more than anything because coming out of the dorms you don’t really have any clue what it’s like to live on your own,” CHO public relations coordinator Zachery Field said.

The CHO created the Survival Guide to offer students, faculty and staff condensed rental information. Each guide also contains several practice leases.

Field said the biggest problems associated with housing are finding housing for the right prices and settling disputes with the landlord and other roommates. The CHO offers third-party mediation for students having problems with roommates.