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The initial accessions of material from the Housing Office covered the years 1920-1978. They were received in many discreet accessions. In a major reprocessing of the records in 1986, the numerous accessions were arbitrarily arranged into a single alphabetical Central Topical Files series. Not surprisingly the topic most thoroughly documented in the Central Topical Files is student life within the university dormitory system. There is also much information about dormitory construction and governance. The latter topic covers a wide variety of social customs, but is particularly complete regarding the gradual lifting of special regulations affecting women and the gradual disappearance of gender specified dormitories. Four other topics are covered at some depth. Scattered throughout the records is information regarding race relations within the dormitories and the community. Second, there is a quantity of information regarding fraternities and sororities. Information includes consideration of the organizations' decline in the 1960s (and the subsequent impact on student housing that a loss of fraternity and sorority rooms would entail) and the proposed construction of fraternity and sorority houses on North Campus. Third, there is a large amount of information regarding the construction of Inter-Cooperative Council Sponsored housing on North Campus. Fourth, and more surprisingly, is a large body of personnel records relating to Japanese-Americans employed by the University during World War II. Many came to the university from Relocation Centers, and there is a small body of correspondence with individuals at these Centers.

The Central Topical Files, 1940-1993 subseries (1.25 linear feet) is arranged alphabetically. The records appear to be from the Off-Campus Housing Office of the Housing Division. Off-Campus housing refers to housing in the university community that is not owned and operated by the University of Michigan. Included in this category are apartments, rental houses, and small group housing. Small group housing refers to fraternities, sororities, and student owned and operated cooperatives, of which the university has more interaction. The researcher interested individual small group housing units should look at the Small Group Housing series, immediately following.

The bulk of the files deal with off-campus housing, however, there are some files relating to residence halls. Within the "Off-Campus Housing" files, the researcher will find information on the Off-Campus Housing Registration Program, inspection reports of off-campus rental units, leases for fraternities and sororities and Inter-Cooperative materials. The Off-Campus Housing Registration program was designed by the Housing Information Office to identify those rental property owners or managers who wished to rent to students in a program of cooperation with the university. To become registered, rental units had to be certified by the city, agree to use the rental lease agreement or an approved private lease, comply with non-discriminating standards and agree to use the University of Michigan Mediation Service to resolve tenant-landlord disputes. The "Registered Buildings" folder contains a list from 1989 of registered landlords and the number of units they rented.

The "Inter-Cooperative Council" files contain historical materials, housing inspection reports, and membership contracts. Of particular interest in the "Residence Hall-Rates" file is a list of residence hall rates spanning the years 1940/41 through 1992/93.