If you’re an international student in Canada, you essentially have two options when it comes to housing: on-campus or of campus. For those who wish to live off-campus or now must since they could only do one year in a university residence, you’ll have to rent a place. Although renting may seem stressful, you can simplify it for yourself using this guide to renting your first place in Canada.
Where to find rental listings
Craigslist VancouverIn Canada, the internet is your best source for finding rental listings. First, you could use places4students. This website asks you to enter your university or college’s name, then comes up with all the current rental listings in that area. This makes it incredibly easy for you to then explore all listings close to your school. Another advantage is of this website is that you can look at roommate profiles, in order to find a roommate that you’d get along with.
Besides places4students, you could also check out Kijiji. Kijiji is another website that allows you to search for rental listings amongst other commodities. With Kijiji, it’s easy to filter your searches so you can get a certain amount of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. you can of course also search by location.
A final option is craigslist. Here, you can purchase products or sell them. But you can also search for places to rent. Another bonus of this site is that you can search in a variety of languages.
Picking the right type of housing
– House
One option for students seeking housing is to rent the main floor of a single detached house. This would look likely like the standard house you grew up in and would include bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen and living room. Another perk of this type of housing is it would likely come with a backyard.
– Basement suites
If the main floor of a house is too expensive you could also opt for a basement suite. A basement suite is the lowest level of a house and still will come with all major necessities.
– Apartment
There are also apartments. These are situated in buildings all throughout Canada. They’re generally smaller than a house, but again all major necessities should be there. If you’re lucky, you might even find one with a great view. When you own an apartment, you are generally situated in a building that is owned entirely by a corporation who is leasing out the individual apartments to renters. So, this means that your landlord isn’t necessarily the owners, but is rather the property manager that works for this corporation.
– Condos
You can think of condos as sort of like attached houses. These are small homes that are directly linked to others. Generally, they consist of a couple of levels and will come with a small backyard as well. Condos are managed usually by an individual or the homeowners association, which relies on the assistance of a property management company. This means that in this case, your landlord is the individual who owns the condos.
– Studio
Finally, we have studios. These are apartments that consist of essentially one room. This room combines all major amenities including a kitchen, bed, desk, etc. They lack a private bedroom with a door, but if you’re living on your own they’re great!
Choosing the right roommate
One aspect that is super important when renting your first place, is making sure you choose the right roommate. Having a roommate that you don’t get along with would make your life and theirs difficult. So, your best to pick a roommate who has similar needs when it comes to living with someone else. For example, if you are a quieter person who isn’t a fan of parties, you likely won’t want to live with someone who throws big parties every Friday and Saturday. The big lesson here, choose someone who has a similar personality to yours! This will save you from future arguments with your roommate and possibly having to find a new place.
If you prefer not to live with a roommate, you can, of course, live on your own. However, living on your own will equate to higher costs for you.
Understanding rental agreements
An important part of our guide to renting your first place is the rental agreements. When renting a place, you will need to both sign and understand your rental agreement. These agreements are essentially contracts between you and your landlord and are required each time you rent a new place. While the rental agreement includes many things, some of the most important ones to you should be how much rent is, what day it needs to be paid monthly, the deposit amount and conditions, rent price increases, and rental termination info. There are other details within the contract as well such as contact info, extra charges, and included services.
It is very important that you understand your rental agreement, otherwise, you may end up in an undesirable situation. Likely, getting out of that conflict will require that you pay much more money than you’d like.
- For more information: Rental agreements in Canada
Upfront costs
When getting ready to rent your first place, you need to consider some of the costs you’ll incur immediately. Some of these costs include the first and last months rent, as well as security deposits. Security deposits are paid right away in case you cause damage to the property during your rental term. If you don’t cause any damage, this will be given back to you once your rental term is over.
Also, it’s important to consider the charges when it comes to setting up your place. This could include getting a high-speed internet plan, as well as furniture. There are also cable costs if you plan on having a television and landline phone in your apartment or house. Next up, there also could be upfront expenses when you move. You may need to hire a truck and movers to help you transport all of your stuff to your new place.
Finally, there’s renters insurance, This is something you should definitely consider getting especially if damage is incurred to your possessions or you lose them. It also will help cover possible damages to visitors or accidental damage to your property.
Renting in Canada may seem confusing at first, but if you remain organized and understand the guidelines and rules when it comes to renting, you’ll be okay. Be sure to do some of your own research before renting a new place, as well as ensure you have a thorough budget made so you know how much you can spend on your new place. Finally, follow this guide to renting your first place in Canada!
- For more information: Renting your first apartment
Also read:
