Applications

3 student outside under a tree

Who can live in Campus Housing?

  • Undergraduate first-years (incoming students to university)
  • Undergraduate upper-year students
  • Undergraduate exchange students
  • Graduate and Graduate Exchange students
  • Families 

Contract conditions 

  • Fall undergraduate residents must sign a 2-term contract (fall/winter or fall/spring) 

  • Winter or spring term undergraduate students may sign a 1-term contract 

  • Graduate and optometry students are offered one-term, renewable contracts

  • Students living in Campus Housing must be a registered full-time student in order to be eligible to live in residence (please see your terms and conditions for more information). If you do not meet the eligibility criteria, please review the 'Application Exceptions" column for eligibility requirement exceptions before applying. 

Application Exceptions

  • Co-op students on a local work term - please use the upper-year application process 
  • Pharmacy students - please use the upper-year application process 
  • Optometry students - please use the single graduate application process 
  • Transfer & CEGEP students (from another university or college) - please contact us for guidance 

Application Process

Step 1: Apply for residence through an online form

Apply icon.

Whether you're a first-year student, upper-year, exchange student, grad or family, you can Apply for Residence Here. When do applications open? Check out our important dates page!

Step 2: Check your UWaterloo email account

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An offer of residence will be emailed to your UWaterloo email address. Learn how to access your UWaterloo email here.

Step 3: Login to your Welcome Home page

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The Welcome Home page allows you to view and make a decision on a residence offer or view roommate(s), meal plan and assignment information after an offer is accepted.

Deposits

First-year deposits

A $500 deposit is required as part of your Residence Community Ranking Form submission. 

Upper-year and Graduate deposits

A $500 deposit is paid online through your Offer of Residence (we'll send a link to your UWaterloo email). 

Deposit Payment methods 

Accepted forms of payment 

  • Credit card

  • Visa/Debit hybrid card*

*Please select 'credit card' for Visa/Debit when playing online.

Important Financial Considerations

Financial Responsibility

Our terms and conditions state that students who have accepted their residence contract are held financially responsible for the full length of their contract.  

This means—should you choose to cancel your contract—you will be required to pay your full residence fees.  Learn more about our withdrawal or cancellation policies here.  

Pro-rated contracts

If you accept a residence contract for a term that has already begun, residence fees will be prorated from the contract start date in your offer of residence.  

Calculating the total cost of residence

To calculate the total cost of residence for the year, add together the full year (or term) fee of your assigned residence, plus the full year fee of the meal plan selected (if applicable). 

  • All fees are to be paid at the beginning of each term on quest. Learn how to become fees arranged. 

Income tax information

Residence fees cannot be claimed as rent for income tax purposes. Under the Income Tax Act, universities are exempt from paying municipal property taxes.  

The Ontario Income Tax Act stipulates that all students living in designated university (tax-exempted) student residences are limited to an Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit claim based on an occupancy cost of $25 for the time they resided in the student residence. Therefore, the amount that can be claimed for income tax purposes is $25 and not the full amount of residence fees paid. On Line 6114 (Student Residences) of your income tax return, tick the box to claim $25 as your occupancy cost for the part of the year you lived in residence.  

We do not issue a tax receipt for residence fees or meal plan payments. 

For more information and to view the list of designated student residences, please visit the Ontario Ministry of Finance website and download the list.