Finding Housing
Temporary and Short Stay Options
Short-term temporary accommodations may be needed for your first few days in Kingston. Students who do not have their long-term housing pre-arranged and confirmed, will need time to search housing listings and make appointments to view various places. Depending on the time of the year, it may take anywhere between one day and a week to find long-term housing.
The arrival period often gets very busy in Kingston; it is best to make your reservations in advance. At this time of the year your options include:
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, hotels across Kingston have created accommodation packages to meet the needs of Queen’s graduate and undergraduate students. Each provider offers a different package, so interested students are encouraged to investigate all the options available. Please contact the hotel directly to inquire about the Queen’s student/best available rate. It may be also a good idea to ask about booking cancellation policy in case your plans would change.
Delta Kingston
Four Points by Sheraton Kingston
Residence Inn by Marriott Kingston Water’s Edge
Thrift Lodge Kingston
Living Off-Campus
Your decisions on selecting from the many different off-campus options will depend on your budget, lifestyle, personal preferences, and more. Timing can be also an important factor. Some students decide to pre-arrange housing from overseas to provide peace of mind, while others wait to inspect the unit and meet the landlord in person, to make a safe and better informed decision that minimizes certain risks.
IMPORTANT: Please keep in mind that once you sign a contract for housing, this contract will be a legally binding agreement that cannot be cancelled if for any reason at any time you conclude that the place is not suitable for you/does not meet your expectations.
Other Off-Campus Housing Considerations
Important! Except for first and last month’s rent, it is illegal for a landlord to ask you to pay more than one month’s rent at a time.
- Queen’s Community Housing
- maintains off-campus Community Listings of rental units (rooms in shared accommodations, apartments, houses) for students, faculty, and staff. The information about rental properties is provided by property owners.
- offers apartments owned by the University, such as the An Clachan apartments, John Orr Tower, mainly used by Graduate Students and their families. These are now fully leased and no longer accepting applications.
- also offers University District properties; these are now fully leased.
- Homestay Network Canada – students who are interested in living with a local family please apply directly.
- Queen’s Facebook Housing Group
- Queen’s email address and Facebook account are required for access to these listings from students and other local individuals who rent spaces.
- Kingston Student Housing Co-op Rentals
- Housing Anywhere Search
To reduce the chance of fraud please review How to Avoid Being Scammed. It is always a good practice to be vigilant and verify all information when searching for a rental online, especially if you have been asked to pay any deposits. Prior to wiring funds from overseas or making payments of any kind, please take time to talk to the other party in person and carefully verify who they are and what are they offering. It is essential that you take time to review the information provided by Queen’s University Student Community Relations; if in doubt, please ask for an advice. The QUIC International Student Advisors can be reached by email or by telephone at 001.613.533.2604.
Living On-Campus: Residence Halls
The deadlines to apply to live in Residence Halls has passed. Queen’s Residences (Dormitories/Residence Halls) offer accommodations mostly to First Year Undergraduate Students and to some exchange students. The Residence Admissions office can be reached directly by email.