Fallout 3 player character housing

=Ownable housing=

=Non-ownable housing= Houses below are not technically ownable, but you can live at these sites.

Requirements of Non-ownable housing

 * MUST have a Bed
 * MUST have at least one safe container (ie: items put inside won't be wiped out when the container respawns it's loot)
 * Bonus points for convenience of location (preferably near a fast-travel point).
 * Bonus points for ease of initially clearing the location.
 * Bonus points for distance from enemy respawn points.
 * Bonus points for easy access to a workbench.
 * Bonus points for interesting decor.

Ridgefield
Ridgefield (aka Minefield) consists of:


 * Gibson House
 * Gibson's Model Home
 * 2 Skeletons spooning
 * Gillian House
 * Radroach infestation
 * Benson House
 * Radio
 * Zane House
 * Radio

All of the above houses have fairly similar layouts with 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, a Living Room and a Kitchen. Each house contains a Safe.

Entry to these houses will require various degrees of lockpicking, or the Ridgefield Gate Key (located on Arkansas). The neighborhood is littered with Frag Mines (obviously). The neighborhood is notable for containing all required parts for contstruction of the Shishkebab.

The Raid Shack

 * Non-respawning desk, trunk, 2 cabinets, refrigerator
 * Multiple beds, armchairs, full kitchen, bathrooms
 * Lots of wood (which can be "carried")
 * Fun glitchy lamp
 * Stabhappy: a unique Combat Knife
 * Respawning raiders
 * Very dark and dusty (except kitchen table and upstairs)

Dickerson Tabernacle Chapel

 * The location of the High Plains Drifter and his sniper rifle.
 * The bed is makeshift and sloppy.

Abandoned Tent

 * No immediate enemies or spawn points.
 * Good north-central location.
 * Multiple Storage containers.
 * It is recommended you place some Frag Mines if you need some protection in case of an attack.

Makeshift Shack
Slightly Northeast of Greener Pastures Disposal Site. Made out of an overturned container with a door.


 * Small
 * Has a free naval cot.
 * Lots of RadAway, Rad-x and various other chems
 * Dead body of the Wasteland Recluse
 * Non-respawning footlocker for storage

Super-Duper Mart

 * Beds and storage in Pharmacy
 * Raider Decorations
 * Near Megaton
 * Good Central Location
 * A Protectron to guard your belongings (If you take the ID badge and hack the computer in the Pharmacy)
 * GIANT area inside, fairly open
 * Relatively quiet location
 * Shelving makes good display stands for guns &amp; ammo
 * Many containers (Fridge, about 7 ammo containers, some crates)
 * "Saferoom" in back, great for main HQ
 * Approx. 15 raiders to kill before claiming
 * VERY dirty, approx. 30+ shopping carts

Germantown Medical Camp
almost impossible to get in or out without a fight.
 * Plenty of Beds and Storage
 * Good Central Location
 * Many Super Mutant Brutes and Super Mutants surround the area;

Vault 101

 * Plenty of beds
 * Overseer's Office with working tunnel
 * There is a storage room with many crates
 * Vault door CANNOT ever be closed
 * The vault is a bit trashed with papers and a few bodies
 * Only livable/returnable if you destroy the vault
 * Constant alarm sounding and flashing lights (in places)

Grayditch

 * Choice of three houses
 * Once "Those!" quest completed, no enemies spawn in Grayditch
 * Central location
 * Plenty of beds and storage
 * Dr. Lesko as a neighbour, unless you killed him

Holy Light Monastery

 * Has several beds
 * Glowing one downstairs can be used as a nightlight
 * Aqua Pura Crates for storage
 * Ghoul bodies are very hard to move around and/or hide
 * You gain 1 Rad per sec. when entering
 * Only available after downloading Broken Steel DLC.

West Residence, Arefu

 * Several Beds.
 * Central location very close to fast-travel spot.
 * A dresser for storage.
 * Location within a settlement.
 * It has two corpses inside. (After Blood Ties is completed, these may disappear, presumably cleared out by Arefu Citizens.)

Arlington House

 * Shrine to Abraham Lincoln
 * Robert E. Lee's old house
 * comes with a safe, a workbench, and Bobblehead - Luck
 * Located in the center of a creepy graveyard
 * With the Lawbringer perk a dead Regulator may spawn here as well as Junders Plunkett, who's finger may be sold to Sonora Cruz for 1000 caps. Also the unique weapon Plunkett's Valid Points will be found on his body.

The Surgeon's Lab

 * Science/research layout complete with surgical test subject
 * Glowing One in a cage (Warning: Glowing One can escape apparently)
 * "Posable" female Wastelander corpse
 * 3 safes
 * Workbench in factory
 * Bedside radio
 * Fridge
 * Red Racer Factory is a bit "mazey" with no portal to the CW near the lab
 * Respawning Ghouls in factory

Washington Monument

 * Great view
 * Guarded gate
 * If you have Broken Steel and sided with the Brotherhood, this is a great place/opportunity to get Super Mutant blood samples
 * Although inside it may be safe, outside by the entrance it's dangerous for low level characters since a few super mutants may spawn by the entrance and super mutant brutes will be in the field and may start shooting at you off sight.
 * Small

Citadel

 * Lots of storage rooms
 * Heavily guarded and almost impenetrable
 * Private armory
 * A clinic with a healing robot (Unless you haven't fixed Sawbones yet)
 * Courtyard with target practice (Includes the other BoS Initiates

Concrete Treehouse

 * Extra storage boxes on the military truck near the entrance.
 * Military truck is some-what considered a good "bomb" to detonate (shooting it)to defeat spawning raiders.
 * If you kill the scavenger without the dog noticing, you'll get yourself a free watchdog!
 * Often attacked by raiders

Abandoned House
Found in the Northeast corner of the Fairfax Ruins directly across from a playground.


 * Mines at entrance and in back room
 * Good defensible position with second floor and narrow stairwell
 * Back door for escape or easy movement
 * Multiple storage containers
 * Sometimes passed by small enclave patrols after The Waters of Life is completed.
 * There is a raider armed with a rocket launcher and a defense turret on the second floor of the building.

Bombed Out Church
In the middle of the plain East of Evergreen Mills. Just SOUTHWEST of the Jury Street Metro Station.


 * Easy to Locate on large open plain
 * Three beds
 * Sink and Toilet for regaining health
 * Plenty of good cover
 * Good central location
 * Rigged shotgun at Southeast entrance
 * No Storage!
 * Often Occupied by Raiders

Talon Company Outpost
Directly South of Arlington Library. Almost near map edge.

No word on item disappearance.


 * Bed, storage, a working sink, radio, pool table and workbench
 * Great location near Point Lookout
 * Out in the open
 * Some of the surrounding area is mined
 * 5 respawning Talon Company Mercs and a respawning Sentry Bot.

Farragut West Station
In a room opposite of the locked fence with feral ghouls.


 * Naval Cot
 * Lockable safe (Locks and unlocks with the terminal on the desk. There is a laser pistol and energy cells in safe.)
 * Lots of storage
 * Enemies do not respawn
 * 4 Feral Ghouls trapped behind a locked fence. They cannot attack the player unless the fence is unlocked. (This may be a pro if you have the Ghoul Mask.) If you have the Ghoul Mask you will have your own pet ferals!
 * Downstairs from the Ghoul's side of the fence, is an Average Locked door that contains an armory for your own personal use

Tepid Sewer
In a room accessed through a portion of metro tunnel.


 * Has two free bunk beds
 * LOTS of storage
 * Has a fridge
 * Mines
 * Rocksalt and his/her band of raiders live here. Once killed, they do not re-spawn. Rocksalt's body can be looted to find Rocksalt's key, which opens a safe and a storage room further into the tunnels.
 * Has a ham radio
 * Swarming with molerats. Once killed, they do not re-spawn.
 * Shelves that can be used as displays for weapons and apparel.

Outcast Outpost

 * Lots of storage
 * Has an armory
 * Guarded by outcasts and turrets
 * Anytime you are at the top of the ramp going down, super mutants spawn
 * Followers cannot enter the bunker
 * The floor will be messy with blood (the fight between Sibley and McGraw) unless you were careful
 * The elevator occasionally never activates again
 * Only Available upon downloading the Operation Anchorage DLC.
 * You can strip down Specialist Olin's corpse and drag it up to your room for "company"

Fort Independence
Main article: Fort Independence
 * Several beds
 * Tons of storage
 * Large, lots of room
 * A workbench
 * Must gain Protector Casdin's trust for access (or just shoot your way in)
 * Outcasts are mean, despite the fact that you helped them out
 * Home of the Miss Launcher

The Mechanist's Forge

 * Storage, a "Free Bed" and workbench
 * Via elevator: seems secure with multiple heavy doors
 * Via Coffee Machine: super cool secret entrance is revealed by "activating" the coffee machine (see video on Talk page of the Mechanist)
 * Bed is Queen Sized
 * Lots of custom weapon components
 * Sometimes, if the player moves an object in the room, the dead Protectron in the room may fly all over the place and knock over objects
 * Must have level 75 Lockpick or fight through some Protectrons and Turrets to get to the room

National Guard Bunker

 * Lots of storage, a "Free Bed" and workbench
 * Adjoined armory is already "decorated" with tons of Ammunition Boxes, a Minigun, a Missile Launcher, 10mm SMGs, Assault Rifles, grenades and mines
 * The Glowing One carcass can be used as a night light
 * Armory looks really cool
 * Comes with an Experimental MIRV: a unique Fat Man
 * Seems very secure with multiple heavy doors that can be closed behind you should you choose to sleep
 * Storage items appear safe
 * Robots inside don't appear to respawn
 * A Enclave radio above the workbench
 * Bunker is two load-screens from a fast-travel location, creating a time-consuming commute between residence and wasteland.
 * Robots outside of National Guard Depot respawn
 * Minor radiation in building on the way to the bunker
 * Bunker is dirty with some skeletons sharing your bed, but can be removed by grabbing and putting them on the ground.
 * The player must clear out a good deal of Sentry Bots, Turrets, Mr. Gutsies, and Protectrons before "settling down".
 * Must find numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, of the Keller Family Transcripts for a free bed and storage (or use the switch glitch) The first transcript merely adds depth to the story.

Ranger Compound
Main article: Ranger Compound
 * "Free Bed"
 * Plenty of storage containers, including a lawn mower
 * A pantry with shelves
 * Cool camera outside
 * You must have started the Reilly's Rangers quest to access the compound

Dominic and Machete's House
Main article: Canterbury Commons
 * Bunk Bed
 * Workbench and Highwayman's Friend
 * Fast-travel location
 * Safe storage
 * Lots of room
 * Nuka-Cola Machine (Quantum disappears)

Wasteland Tent

 * Well Hidden in the Mountains
 * If killed without the dog noticing you get yourself a free watchdog
 * Minor Loot
 * Edge of map/Bad traveling location
 * Populated by two wastelanders (can also be thought of as a pro)

Abandoned Car Fort

 * Multiple Storage containers
 * A random enounter point which sends Yao Guai or Enclave Soldiers, therefore not recommended for low level players
 * Non-Central Location

Smith Casey's Garage

 * Bed
 * Nuka-Cola machine (although care is to be taken when inserting contents into it: Nuka-Cola Quantum is liable to dissapear.)
 * Frequent random encounter location outside, as well as another local, pre-determined encounter spawn within sight. (Which can grow to a severely dangerous fight upon arrival, even for high-level characters and companions (especially so in the latter case, as players can flee into the Garage, whereas Companions will be compelled to fight); one such fight involved but was not limited to spawning amongst a Sentry Bot, two Yao Guai, and half a dozen Raiders.)
 * Populated by four Mole-Rats. (Not a problem if player has Animal Friend perk.)
 * Comes with your very own private vault.
 * Plenty of storage space in the vault.
 * The interior of the Garage is mostly customisable, although it's general appearance is strictly staged. Loose items such as the skeleton upon the matress, the Coffee Mugs on the tables and even the barrels in the back-quarters will automatically move back into place if ever moved. Dropped items will not dissapear, however.

Wasteland Gypsy Village

 * Beds
 * Storage
 * Three shacks to choose from
 * Skill books and other loot
 * Hostile Ghoul Wastelanders (do not respawn)

The Pitt Underground
Can only be used if the player chose the Slavers' side


 * Has an easy entrance through Uptown
 * Has a couch
 * Only one Toolbox for storage

Blackhall Manor

 * Has several beds
 * It has a lot of trash lying around to clear out.
 * Has a lot of containers
 * Very large
 * Has big kitchen, library, 3 bedrooms, big bathroom, poolroom, and even a satanic sacrificial table and ritual setup in the basement

Lighthouse/Lab

 * Two entrances
 * Lots of ammo/weapons
 * Lots of beds/containers
 * Tall lighthouse perch
 * Smugglers Respawn in lighthouse
 * Before quest completion, secret entrance is locked
 * After quest completion, door between secret entrance/lab and bed area is permalocked, forcing you to enter through the smuggler infested lighthouse.

The Homestead Motel Room 1D

 * Has a good bed
 * Intact terminal, sink, and toilet
 * Has a trunk
 * Intact Pre-War TV
 * Skeleton is on bed, but can be moved off.

Ark & Dove Cathedral

 * Closable gate out front
 * Filled with Tribals unless you side with Desmond
 * Beds are makeshift and sloppy
 * Fast-travel location
 * Large and fairly open
 * Lots of Refined Punga Fruit grow here

Mothership Zeta (The Bridge, Engineering Core, and Steamworks)
Note: Mothership Zeta can only be used for housing once the main quest "This Galaxy Ain't Big Enough" has been completed


 * Beds in the Engineering core
 * Workbench in both Engineering core &amp; Captains Quarters
 * Tons of storage in engineering core as well as two more containers on the bridge
 * Fast-Travel Location
 * Sally will occasionaly give you alien items
 * Healing Arch on Bridge
 * Fully functional Death Ray (for stress relief)
 * Great View
 * Stylish Decour