Harvard’s oldest student publication will need to make thousands of dollars worth of changes to its building at 21 South St., the College said this week.

The Advocate building, which has been the literary publication’s home for years, will require a new roof and water boiler, Assistant Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II said.

McLoughlin, Associate Dean of the College Judith H. Kidd and Electric and Compliance Inspector Paul F. Dunphy examined the building on Tuesday morning to determine what renovations would be necessary.

Advocate leaders learned during a fundraising meeting with McLoughlin Monday afternoon that the College was scrutinizing the organization and that an inspection had been planned for the next morning. News of the walk-through surprised the Advocate leadership.

“Dean McLoughlin took advantage of the meeting to come out with all this information,” Advocate Business Manager Scott M. Coulter ’06 said. “It was very unprofessional.”

McLoughlin said yesterday that the College administration plans further discussions with the Advocate to discuss the student group’s use of the buildings.

On Wednesday night, The Advocate building hosted a concert that could be heard blocks away.

McLoughlin said The Advocate will be held to the same rules and restrictions as other student groups, including registering parties and respecting Harvard-owned property.

“The building is not owned by The Advocate but it simply had not been monitored,” McLoughlin said. “They are not supposed to be leasing the space to groups other than The Advocate.”

The building, a small white wood-frame house, is located on land owned by Harvard and leased to The Advocate. The current lease agreement is scheduled to expire in 2011.

Advocate leaders have argued that the concerts and parties are an evolution of the group’s contribution to the artistic community at Harvard.

“The fact that we have a great social scene, it’s not a purpose but a by-product of the atmosphere generated by the people who make up The Advocate,” Coulter said.

He added that the organization will no longer rent out the building due to damages sustained during the concerts and parties.

According to the lease agreement, the members of The Advocate are responsible for maintaining and renovating the building. Last summer, the trustees of the organization funded the repainting of the house’s exterior.

Costly new repairs and renovations may be difficult for the organization, though, which until recently had been constrained by debts to its printers.