Student Accommodation In Canada: Cost & How To Find It

Any international student moving to Canada has two housing options; on and off campus. On-campus accommodation costs anywhere between C$3,000-16,000 an academic year while off-campus accommodation costs range from C$400-3,000 a month.

While most university provides you with on-campus housing, however, only a few to no colleges provide you with that option. Moving on, you can have multiple options with off-campus housing such as apartments, homestays, rentals, and so on.

On-Campus Housing (C$3,000-16,000 an academic year)

On-campus housing also holds multiple options of accommodation like residences, townhouses, apartments, and dormitories. Here, you can also choose to live in a single room, double room, studio, or even private room.

Generally, dormitories will cost around C$500-1,500 a month while townhouses will cost around C$400-800 a month. Here, dormitories are quite popular among international students as it has easy access to facilities such as living room, dining hall, internet, meals, etc. Additionally, you can choose to live in a single or shared room with a common hall.

On the other hand, townhouses are also similar to dormitories except for the fact that it is located outside the campus but organized by the university itself. It is mostly provided to students in the third or fourth year of their postgraduate degree.

Rental or Shared Apartments (C$300-1,000 per month)

Rental or shared apartments are mostly furnished spaces where you can choose to live by yourself or with friends. The cost of these spaces depends upon the location and the facilities they are providing. Usually, expenses like food, water, and electricity are separated and not added to the rent.

How To Find These Rental Spaces?

At times, the universities do help students to find them, however, most of the time, you will have to book these spaces in advance. To check out these spaces, you can search web portals such as student.com, amberstudent.com, Roomster, Zillow, and so on.

Similarly, you can also get news from local rental groups on Facebook, with the help of the student housing department, and online listing from Craiglist.

Homestay (C$400-800 per month)

This option provides international students with a private bedroom, 3 meals a day, and a shared space in the house with the members of the renting family. You will practically live in the house as a paying guest.

In most cases, these housing options are located far from the residential areas hence, you will need to commute a long way back and forth to the university/college.