About the Accommodation Listing Service
Visit the ALS
The Queen’s Accommodation Listing Service acts as a vehicle for advertising rental accommodations available in the Kingston area for students and landlords. Listings are available online only.
It is a tool to help students in need of rental accommodation to connect with landlords who have rental properties available. We strongly encourage students to become informed consumers by reading available materials, asking questions, etc. The Queen’s Off Campus Living Advisor’s office is available to provide confidential guidance on evaluating off-campus housing, avoiding fraud, tenant rights and responsibilities, and resources for moving in/out.
It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that prospective accommodation is appropriate, suitable and safe. Properties have not been viewed, verified, or vetted in any capacity.
QUEEN’S DOES NOT ENDORSE OR WARRANT THE QUALITY OF THE RENTAL UNITS PROVIDED THROUGH THE ACCOMMODATION LISTING SERVICE.
HISTORY
The Community Housing Office provides this service to students seeking houses or apartments to rent, both University-owned properties and apartments and houses owned by local landlords.
The university first started providing this service in 1945, after a booming war industry and a swelling military establishment in Kingston had created an acute shortage of housing for students.
In those early years, the service provided students with lists of boardinghouses, then the preferred form of student accommodation. In 1945, Queen’s had only one residence, Ban Righ Hall, which housed a few hundred women, as few students of either sex shared whole houses or apartments as they do today.
In the late 1960’s, students faced a difficult housing market as many landlords were unwilling to rent to students. Princess Towers was built by the AMS, (then ‘Elrond College‘), to try and create an off-campus student rental building for Queen’s students.
In today’s market, many landlords, property managers, and developers, are creating purpose-built multi-residential buildings marketed to the student population. The ALS, which in pre-Internet days was once paper-based in the front lobby of the Housing Office, has moved online to better serve the needs of local landlords and students. The site has undergone further upgrades as of 2022.
New Features
| Minimum of 2 Photos All ads now require a minimum of two photos, up to a maximum of 12 photos. Map Feature A more prominent map feature is visible for each listing. Rich Text Capability The description box now has rich text capability. This means you can make your property descriptions snazzy with headings, bullet points, bold and underlined words, active links, …etc. User Friendly Improved search functions and better-formatted content allow for users to easily navigate the site. The site is less visually busy, allowing for users to quickly search and find the information they need. Reporting A reporting tool has been added to each listing, allowing fraudulent ads to be flagged quicker for further review and removal. Pricing The cost to post an ad is $35/30 days. The cost for LCP landlords remains at $5/30 days.We have removed the tiered payments related to the number of photos. We encourage landlords to post as many photos as possible, which helps students make a better-informed decision about the property. |
Writing A Fair Rental Ad
Landlords and tenants want to comply with housing-related laws, but they don’t always know all the rules. Both landlord and tenant groups want to increase awareness about human rights in housing and to end discrimination.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission created this guide to help landlords who are advertising their rental units and organizations that provide housing listings to prevent human rights violations and avoid complaints.
For more information and tips on how to write a Fair Rental Housing ad, please visit: http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/resources/factsheets/fairads