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Guide · Guelph

Student rentals in Guelph

Renting around the University of Guelph runs on its own calendar and its own risks. This is what to sort out before you sign, and what Ontario law gives you regardless of what a lease says.

the University of Guelph

The market clears early

Off-campus houses and apartments near the university are typically committed months ahead of a September start, and much of the desirable stock never reaches a public listing at all — it turns over inside student networks. If you are searching in August for September, you are searching what is left.

Start early, and be sceptical of anything that appears late in the season at a suspiciously good price without a viewing.

Group leases, in writing

A large share of the off-campus stock is a whole house rented to four or five people at once. Settle the arrangement between yourselves first: who signs, how the rent and the utility bills get divided, whether anyone is leaving over the summer, and what the rest of you do if they are.

On a joint lease every named tenant is responsible for the entire rent. That is the single most expensive thing students discover late, and it is entirely avoidable by reading the lease together first.

Living out of the core without a car

Not every student rental in Guelph is walking distance from campus, and the ones that are not depend entirely on the bus. Because Guelph Transit is built around a downtown hub, a route that looks direct on a map can involve a transfer through the centre — which matters a great deal for an 8:30 lecture in February.

Check the specific route at the specific hour before you commit. A ten-minute difference in walking distance is worth much less than a route that runs frequently when you actually need it.

Know what a landlord cannot ask for

A landlord in Ontario cannot require a damage deposit, cannot demand post-dated cheques, and cannot collect more than one rent period as a deposit. Requests for these are common in tight student markets and they are not enforceable.

If something feels wrong, the Landlord and Tenant Board publishes what the rules actually are — check before you pay, not after.

Before anyone signs

  • Joint or separate leases. On a joint lease every tenant is responsible for the whole rent. If one housemate leaves, the rest owe their share.
  • What is actually included. Get utilities, internet, laundry and parking in writing, with who pays what.
  • Illegal charges. A landlord cannot demand a damage deposit or more than one rent period as a deposit, and cannot require post-dated cheques.
  • Guarantors. If a guarantor is required, they are signing a real obligation — make sure they have read the same lease you did.

The Ontario rules that apply wherever you rent

The standard lease

Almost every private residential tenancy signed in Ontario since 2018 must use the government’s standard lease form. If a landlord gives you something else, you can ask for the standard form in writing. Guide to Ontario’s standard lease (opens ontario.ca in a new tab)

Deposits

A landlord may collect a rent deposit of at most one rent period, applied to your last month. Damage deposits and key deposits beyond the replacement cost are not allowed. Landlord and Tenant Board (opens Tribunals Ontario in a new tab)

Rent increases

For most units, rent can rise once every 12 months, with 90 days’ written notice, by no more than the province’s annual guideline. Units first occupied after 15 November 2018 are exempt from the guideline. Rent increase guideline (opens ontario.ca in a new tab)

General information only, not legal advice. The Landlord and Tenant Board and Ontario’s own guides are the authority; check them before acting.

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