Residence Fees

Benefit from knowing that Renison offers some of the most affordable accommodations on the University of Waterloo campus. Your residence fees include our all-you-can-eat meal plan that ensures you will never go hungry!

Natalie and Rubee at Move-in!

Eight-month contracts are available for the Fall/Winter or Fall/Spring Terms. Four-month contracts are possible for the Winter and Spring Terms only.

2025 - 2026 Room Rates

for University of Waterloo undergraduate degree students

Room type Fall 2025 Term (60%) Winter 2026 or Spring 2026 Term (40%) Total Price (2 terms)
Traditional Double Room  $8,758 $5,847 $14,605
Traditional Single Room  $9,656 $6,446 $16,102
Link Double Room $8,990 $6,002 $14,992

Link Single Room

 $9,774 $6,525 $16,299
Traditional Single-occupancy Double Room
(Very limited)

$10,098

 $6,741 $16,839

Your Residence Room Rate each term includes: 

  • $100 in WatCard Flex Dollars 
  • An all-you-can-eat meal plan 
  • Residence room accommodations
  • Student activities fee
  • Renison Capital Improvement Fee

* Fees are subject to change pending approval from Renison's Board of Governors.

Fall 2026, Winter 2027, and Spring 2028 rates will be available in February 2026.

Students doing a pyramid on Animal floor

The Residence fine print

DEPOSIT

A $500 deposit is required at the time of accepting your contract. This fee is non-refundable and will be applied to your final fees. 

PAYMENT

Residence fees are posted to students’ Quest accounts four or five weeks before classes begin for the term and are due just before the term begins. It is the student’s responsibility to monitor their account for updates that could result from changes to residence accommodations.

Students have multiple options for paying residence fees. More information about paying residence and tuition fees can be found on the University of Waterloo’s Student Accounts Web Page.

INCOME TAX

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 review the “Frequently Asked Questions” section. 

Deferral, Revocation of Admission Offer, Cancellation of Residence Contract During Summer

Deferral or Revocation of Admission Offer

Should you choose to defer your admission offer from the University of Waterloo, the deferral must be declared by August 1, 2025 or a forfeit of the $500 housing deposit will occur. Any deferral prior to August 1, 2025 will credit the $500 deposit to your student account for the next term or year. However, the deposit will only be applied once you have moved into Renison University College residence. Should you decide to defer your offer to the University of Waterloo to a later date, please e-mail us.

Should the University of Waterloo revoke your Offer of Admission prior to your move into residence, please contact us within 72 hours for your $500 housing deposit to be refunded. 

If you defer or cancel your offer to the University of Waterloo, or if the University of Waterloo revokes your admission, please note you must contact Renison University College to cancel your residence space directly. The University will not inform Renison of a change to your student status.

Cancellation of Residence Contract During Summer

Should you cancel your Residence between August 1 to 30, 2025, you will forfeit your $500 deposit and will be responsible for payment of $1,500 to Renison University College. As of Renison Residence’s official move-in day on August 31, 2025, you are responsible for the entirety of your residence fees. Cancellations between June 10 and July 31 will forfeit the $500 deposit. 

Departures at the End of Each Academic Term

You will be asked to leave Renison 24 hours after writing your last exam or assignment. If you are writing on the final day of exams, you are required to leave the following day at noon. Renison will close for the term on this day. If you are an international student, you may petition the Assistant Director, Student Experience & Housing to extend your stay in residence for the duration of time that Renison remains open. Students returning for the following term do not need to move their personal items out of their rooms.

Renison University College, including our residence, will be closed during the winter break from December 19 at 12:00pm noon through January 4 We will re-open on Sunday, January 4 at 12:00pm noon.