Residence FAQs

The Fall 2025 residence application will open February 1, 2025. 

Once a student successfully completes the residence application (which includes the $750 application deposit), they are assigned a computer-generated random priority number. Based on the availability of spaces in residence, Student Housing will then make residence offers in order of lottery priority.

The residence waiting list is established using on a computer-generated, random lottery number for applicants who meet the residence application deadline. If you apply the June application deadline, you will be added to the waiting list based on the date and time of submission of the completed residence application and $750 application deposit. 

Beginning on May 1 and continuing up until the June residence application deadline, you will be informed by email if you have a spot in residence, or will be added to the waiting list, within 48 hours of submitting your completed residence application and deposit.

Yes. As long as you have an active offer of admission to any program, the residence guarantee will honoured, as long as the residence application and application deposit are completed by April 15, 2025. 

Additional questions related to residence priority may be directed to the Residence Admissions team by emailing housing@uoguelph.ca.

Ontario Secondary School applicants who submit a completed residence application, with $750 application deposit by April 15, 2025, and who subsequently cancels their residence application prior to June 2, 2025, will receive a full refund of their deposit. All other residence application deposits are non-refundable. (Some exceptions may apply, such as approved deferrals and revoked or rescinded offers.) 

All terminations of the Residence Contract must be received in writing. Send an email through your @uoguelph.ca email account to housing@uoguelph.ca.

We are sorry to see you go, but we understand that there are many reasons why students chose to leave residence.  After you have cleared out your room, simply return your keys to your Residence Desk.    If you have withdrawn from courses and are no longer a registered student, you are no longer eligible to live in residence and must check-out of residence within 48 hours of withdrawal.

Once you have returned your keys, a pro-rated refund of your residence fees will be applied to your student account, based on the date of your check-out, MINUS the forfeiture of your residence deposit.

All refunds are processed through Student Financial Services to your student account.  If you have a credit balance, you will receive a direct deposit to your bank account if you have completed the Direct Deposit (EFT) Information form.

The residence deposit is non-refundable.  Under the terms of the Residence Contract, the penalty for cancelling your contract with us is the forfeiture of your $750 residence deposit.  Some exceptions may apply.  Please see the Residence Contract regarding terminations, deadlines, forfeitures and refunds.

Yes, students who wish to appeal the forfeiture of their deposit must do so within 30 days of terminating the contract. 

What are valid grounds for a deposit refund appeal? 

If there are extenuating circumstances (such as a medical emergency) that prevent you from living in residence, you may appeal for a refund of your deposit and/or residence fees in full or in part.

Generally speaking, if you are not able to live in residence or attend the University of Guelph for reasons beyond your control, you may appeal and your case will be reviewed. Circumstances may include a medical, mental health or family emergency, and must be supported with documentation.  If you decide residence isn't for you, or you decide to live off-campus or commute for financial reasons, these are not considered valid reasons for a deposit refund.

Send your request for an appeal in writing from your @uoguelph.ca email account to appeals@uoguelph.ca with the following information:

• a written summary of the reasons for withdrawal
• supporting documentation (such as a letter from your physician, counsellor, etc.) to validate the circumstances of your appeal

If you have been levied a charge for damage to your residence, improper check-out, lock change or other facilities or desk charges, you may submit an appeal in writing (from your @uoguelph.ca email) for a review.

Appeals should be accompanied by supporting documentation to validate your circumstances. Appeals should be submitted to:

Lock change or improper check-out, contact Joanne Mead, Manager, Desk Services, at jmead@uoguelph.ca

Damage Charge appeals should be send to Residence Facilities at shsfacil@uoguelph.ca

No, University of Guelph residences are designated residences for property tax and rent purposes, meaning that residence fees cannot be claimed as rent payments on income tax returns. The only claim that is allowed is $25 for the year (with no receipt necessary). For this reason, the University does not issue tax receipts for residence fees.

It is challenging for us to answer the question accurately, as there are many variables, such as your wait list position and cancellations.  Historically we will see natural attrition of 150-200 spaces throughout the summer resulting from cancellations, deferrals, etc. The wait list will also change periodically as students cancel their application after finding alternate housing. 

The total number of applicants on the waiting list is fluid. The number of students on the residence wait list is updated regularly on the Housing Portal, under My Details.

We have expanded our residence capacity in our North, South, East and West residences. We have also added Gordon Hall to our residence options for the next few years to house more students.

Your wait list number can be found on the Housing Portal in real time under "My Details".  As cancellations are processed, and new residence offers are made, your wait list number will change.

In the event that we are not able to offer all applicants a space before classes begin in September, we encourage you think about alternate accommodation off-campus or temporary arrangements for the fall semester.  

Our team at Student Experience has a wide variety of supports and connections for off-campus AND commuting students.  We encourage you to check out their resources at your convenience.

Check out rental resource and local listings as well.  Please note that listings continue to come available throughout the summer as the rental market is very dynamic.

Student housing rental housing listings and roommate requests are also available at The Cannon.   

Once residence offers are confirmed, we start the annual room assignment process.  We use a randomly generated lottery number to assign rooms based on application preferences.  

New first-year undergraduate students have first priority for residence (if the application and deposit deadline is met).  If space is available after we have accommodated incoming secondary school students, additional offers will be made to first-year transfer students, graduate students and upper-year returning students. Learn more about residence priority here.

Please note:  We reserve the right to modify the occupancy capacity of residence rooms/buildings if there is high applicant demand, including combining multiple residents into rooms and/or the use of temporary non-resident spaces (ie. lounge, study rooms).  Assignment to expanded spaces will be based on lottery priority.

The application you fill out includes information about:

• The type of room you prefer
• The building or living-learning community you prefer
• How you like to live and study
• Whether you value the room type or building choice more

These are the factors that are used to determine your room assignment.

After the application deadline, you will be randomly assigned a random, computer-generated lottery number. This lottery number will determine the odds of you receiving one of your top choices.

Do you have a friend(s) coming to Guelph and want to live together? 

If you met the Residence Application and Deposit deadline, you will be invited to add a roommate or suitemate(s) preference to your application in the Housing Portal. Applicants with an offer of residence will be invited to complete this process after the residence priority deadline.

How to Add a Roommate/Suitemate Preference

The instructions below can be used to add a roommate/suitemate for:

• A multi-occupancy room (double, triple, quad in any residence)
• A suite-style residence (East Residences and Lambton Hall)
• An East Village townhouse
  Although we do our very best to match all requests, we are not able to guarantee in advance that you will be placed together. Your chances of being assigned together will depend on your room location and your lottery priority.

The most important first step is to ask for each other on your application, so let's get started.

1. Log in to the Housing Portal
2. Select Residence Application in the top menu bar
3. You will see a new process called “Add Roommate/Suitemate” in the Application pathway
4. Enter the @uoguelph.ca email address and search for the last name of your preferred roommate/suitemate (or follow directions if you don’t have their email).
   1. Note:  Only applicants with an on-time application and deposit will be available for you to add as a preference. If your preferred roommate did not submit the application/deposit by the deadline, you cannot add them to your application.
5. After you have added their name, they will receive a request to accept your invitation.
   1. Note: only one roommate/suitemate needs to add the other person.  Once the invitation is accepted, the match is complete.
6. Please ensure that your preferred residence locations and room type are aligned with your roommate/suitemate(s).

During the roommate request period, you will also be able to modify your residence preferences on your application.  After the window closes, you will not be able to modify your roommate OR assignment preferences as we will begin the room assignment process.  

No. Everyone who applies before the deadline is assigned a random number at that point and has an equal chance.

It will depend on how many people apply to each of these. Make sure you complete the secondary application for the LLCs when you apply.

The student who draws #1 on the lottery will get his or her first choice (if there is an opening in the requested building). Student # 2 should also get his or her first choice, and so on until at some point, a student’s first choice is full. The assignment algorithm then looks at the student’s second choice and assigns it accordingly. As the residences begin to fill up, students’ second choices may also be filled, so the third choice and then the fourth choice will be assigned. For students with a low lottery number, it’s possible that none of their choices may be available.

It is impossible to accurately predict.  It depends on the number you are randomly assigned in the lottery, and the popularity of the residence options you’ve chosen.

No. If you look at the description above about how the lottery works, you’ll see that we only assign your second choice if your first choice is full. If your second choice is the same as your first choice – well, it's still already full.

Try instead to look for a variety of options that will still give you the residence experience you want. That will make it more likely that you’ll get one of your choices.

As you might have guessed, this takes time! We expect to release room assignments in mid-July. You will get an email from Residence Admissions to let you know that your room assignment is posted on the Housing portal with instructions on how to view it.

Didn’t get any of your choices? From our experience, most students find that once they are here and getting to know their residence community, they decide they are happy with their new home on campus and don’t want to transfer. If you have a specific reason(s) for needing a transfer, you may be asked to provide documentation. After room assignments are released in late July, we will only be able to make room transfers for medical reasons, and only if we have spaces available. If you did not receive any of your preferences, we ask that you move into your assigned space and be patient with us while we wait for the dust to settle. Every year, we have "no-shows" that result in vacancies that allow us the flexibility to accommodate transfers starting in the middle of September. We will send you an email and announce on social media when the Room Transfer process is open.

Please review the Accommodation Request form for information about how the process works if you have special medical, academic, cultural or other needs.

If you are experiencing challenges, please contact your Resident Assistant or your Residence Life Manager.

Once you have moved in to your residence community, we pause and wait for our residence communities to engage and settle in. In many cases, we find that the overwhelming experience of moving to campus, Orientation Week, establishing networks and starting into the routine of attending your classes has settled down by the end of the second week and the urgency for a room or building transfer is no longer an issue. However, you may still feel that your current location is not working for you.

Transfer Requests can only be granted when and where vacancies exist within our residences. In emergency situations, transfer requests will be considered - please contact your Residence Assistant or Residence Manager in situations that require direct intervention.

Note:  

• The Room Transfer Form for non-medical requests opens on September 20.
• If you are transferred to a different room type, your residence fees will be adjusted accordingly on a prorated basis.
• Once a transfer has been granted, you cannot opt to move back to your original assignment.

Submit a Room Transfer Request by logging to your Housing Portal and complete the Room Transfer Request Form.

Room transfer requests prior to move-in are not possible. We suggest moving into your assigned location and meeting your new community and roommates/suitemates. If things don't work out as hoped, you can request an in-semester room transfer.

If you have medical requirements that you feel should be exempt and require a room transfer, please submit appropriate documentation through our Accommodation Form process.

Note: Medical accommodation requests are due June 2. Once room assignments are complete, it is not always possible to accommodate a room transfer unless vacancies are available.

We do our very best to assign as many students to their application preferences as possible, but it is not possible to accommodate all preferences. Room assignments are performed methodically based on your random lottery number and the available vacancies in your preferred location or room type.