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Move-In Information | September 1 2022

The start of a new school year is just around the corner, as is the start of your stay in John Orr Tower or An Clachan. Please read carefully through the information below before you arrive for your move-in day.

Table of Contents:

  1. Key Pick Up: Date & Time
  2. Transfers
  3. Rent Payments
  4. Your Lease & Tenant Handbook
  5. Parking
    1. How to get a Community Housing Parking Permit
  6. Your Unit
  7. Maintenance Requests
  8. Monthly E-News
  9. Non-Smoking Reminder

September 1st Key Pick-up:

Date & Time:

  • Leases commence at 3:00PM on Thursday September 1st.
  • Keys are available for pickup between 3:00PM and 5:00PM on September 1st 
  • Keys will not be issued early. We will not make any exceptions.

Location: 

  • Community Housing office: 169 University Ave.
  • In past years the line-up has extended down University Ave. Please be prepared to wait outside, rain or shine!

Arriving after 5:00PM?

  • Keys will be available during regular office hours – 9AM-4PM on Friday September 2nd, and 9AM-4PM Monday to Friday thereafter. 
  • The Office is closed on weekends.
  • Please email community.housing@queensu.ca if you know you will be arriving on September 2nd or later. 

Please note:

  • All the key sets for the unit will be issued to the first tenant who comes into the office. Only one tenant from the unit is required to be present.
  • Photo ID will be required to receive the keys.

Consider Moving In Late:

September 1st is a busy move-in period for most downtown areas of Kingston.

There are a number of apartments with new tenants moving in this September. To avoid long waits and line-ups, where possible you might consider postponing your move-in by a day or two to avoid the move-in day rush. If you will be arriving AFTER September 1, please email us at community.housing@queensu.ca with the subject line “Late Arrival – Unit Number” where Unit Number is your apartment address (eg Late Arrival – 03-106). In the body of your email please be sure to include your full name and planned arrival date.

Directions
For directions to John Orr Tower from our Community Housing Office and the John Orr Tower building layout.

For directions to An Clachan Building 5 from our Community Housing Office and the An Clachan Building Layout

Transfers

A small number of transfers are completed each year, most due to unit occupancy limits.

EARLY TRANSFERS: Please refer to your email instructions if you are transferring early in July or August.

Information for those transferring for September 1st are below:

Date & Time:

  • NEW UNIT: Keys are available for pickup between 3:00PM and 4:00PM on Wednesday August 31st
  • OLD UNIT: Keys for your old unit are due back at the office by 9:00AM on Thursday September 1st

Location: 

Rent Payments

Rent for September is due September 1st.

We recommend signing up for Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD) no later than August 15th (automatically deducts rent on the first of each month). 

If you are not registering for PAD, please send a series of post-dated rent cheques in advance (for the full term of your tenancy) by courier, or come in to our office no later than 4PM on Friday September 2nd to make the payment in person.

Payments received after this time will be considered late. You may be issued an “N4 – Notice to End a Tenancy Early for Nonpayment of Rent” as permitted by the Residential Tenancies Act in regards to late rent.  Most importantly, poor rent payment history will prevent tenants from being able to rent a Queen’s owned property in the future. 

Our office only accepts debit or cash payments. We do not accept credit cards or e-transfers.

Your Lease & Tenant Handbook

Have you read through your Lease and Tenant Handbook yet?  These important documents make up your contract with Community Housing (Landlord). You are obligated to know your responsibilities. You can find your signed copy of your Lease in your email. 

Parking

Queen’s Parking monitors all Community Housing parking lots and tickets are issued by their dept.

John Orr Tower:
There is limited parking available for Tenants.  Tenants must register their vehicle with Community Housing to receive a parking hang tag which permits the tenant to park in any of the John Orr Tower parking spaces except those designated as Service Vehicle Parking.

There is no Visitors Parking.

At this time, Community Housing is not charging an additional parking fee for these spaces, however, parking fees may be subject to change at a later date. Unregistered vehicles parked in tenant parking areas are subject to municipal tickets and towing at the owner’s risk and expense.

An Clachan:
There is limited active parking available for Tenants. Tenants must register their vehicle with Community Housing to receive a parking hang tag which permits the tenant to park in any of the An Clachan parking spaces except those designated as Visitor Parking, Reserved Parking or Service Vehicle Parking.

At this time, Community Housing is not charging an additional parking fee for these spaces, however, parking fees may be subject to change at a later date. Unregistered vehicles parked in tenant parking areas are subject to municipal tickets and towing at the owner’s risk and expense.

We have a limited number of reserved parking spaces with electrical receptacles.  These spaces are reserved 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is a non-refundable annual fee for the use of these reserved parking spaces.  If you are interested in a reserved parking space please complete and submit a Request for Reserved Parking Form. Unauthorized use of the reserved parking spaces will result in the unauthorized vehicle being towed at the owner’s risk and expense.

Note 1: The parking lot near building 5 is reserved for Maintenance Service Vehicles ONLY.

Visitor Parking: Limited visitor parking is available at An Clachan: 6 spaces at the south end across from 17 Van Order Drive – Building #6-12 entrance – corner of Sir John A. and Norman Rogers; and 4 spaces across from 47 Van order Drive – Building #1 and 2 – north of the entrance off MacPherson Avenue.  Any vehicles without permits parking in areas not signed for visitors will be ticketed and/or towed.

How to get a Parking Permit from Community Housing: 

  • Parking Permits will be available at the Main Office beginning Tuesday September 6th during regular business hours (9am-4pm).
  • Failure to obtain a Parking Permit after Monday September 12th will result in Parking Services issuing your vehicle a ticket.
  • Tenants will need to provide Community Housing with proof of original vehicle registration in their own name or a parent with the same last name and license plate number.
  • Parking privileges apply only to the person issued the tenant parking permit hang tag and in the appropriate tenant designated parking areas for this property group (John Orr Tower, An Clachan, or University District).
  • All vehicles registered with Community Housing and must display a valid parking permit hang tag in the vehicle window at all times.
  • Parking privileges apply only to the person issued the parking permit hang tag. Where this privilege is granted, it is not transferable to another vehicle, person and/or property group eg., An Clachan, John Orr Tower.
  • Tenant designated parking lots and driveways are monitored weekdays, Monday to Friday from 7 am to 5 pm.

Your Unit

Unit Preparation:
Please keep in mind that staff and contractors work hard to ensure your unit is ready and meets our standards. Although every effort is made to provide a clean unit for your move-in, occasionally there may be a problem. If you have concerns, please email community.housing@queensu.ca.

Unit Condition Report (UCR):
Please be reminded that we require return of the unit condition report within seven days of your tenancy start date (eg., for leases with a September 1st start date your deadline to return the UCR would be September 8). Instructions for completing the UCR are on the reverse side of the form. Please read carefully and be sure to document the condition of the unit in detail. Work orders for maintenance can be submitted on-line. Please note, with the high volume of work orders in September staff will prioritize the requests and attend to them as soon as possible.

Please be reminded that alterations (including bedroom door locks, painting, affixing shelves to walls, etc.) are prohibited and will be considered damage. Only free standing shelving units are permitted.

Pets
Pets are permitted. We ask that you be respectful of others by using muzzles, leashes, etc as appropriate and of course, cleaning up after your pet!

Parcels and Packages
Community Housing does not have access to the mailboxes at the complex, as they are operated by Canada Post.  Please do not have any packages/mail sent to your new address until you are in possession of the unit as it is likely to be returned to sender by the current tenant.

We highly recommend having your packages delivered directly to a local Canada Post Office for pick-up, to avoid parcels being left unattended in the lobby.

An Clachan Move-In Map

Maintenance Requests

You can submit an online Maintenance Request by visiting our website.

Community Housing has a full maintenance department dedicated to the upkeep of all of our properties. The volume of work order requests in September/May is very high. Maintenance staff will review received requests and address them as required on a priority basis. Generally items related to safety, heat, etc. are addresses first.

We thank you for your patience.

For after-hours EMERGENCY requests ONLY, please call 613.533.6080. CALL-IN/REPAIR CHARGES MAY APPLY.

Monthly E-News

In an effort to keep tenants informed we send an email newsletter the last Thursday of each month, with important news, links, and events. Please be sure to keep an eye open for this beginning in September. This will help ensure that you meet the responsibilities of your lease and keep informed of maintenance projects, etc.

Non-Smoking Buildings

As a reminder, Queen’s University has a Smoke Free Policy on campus grounds – and this includes John Orr Tower and An Clachan. Smoking is prohibited everywhere inside (including within individual apartments and on balconies).

If you choose to smoke you must do so outside and off of Queen’s University property.

John Orr Tower – 16th Floor

On behalf of the Community Housing Team, welcome to Community Housing!

We wish you all the best in your academic year ahead. Safe travels to Kingston, and we hope the weather will cooperate on your move-in day!

Community Housing

Housing and Ancillary Services, Queen’s University
Email Address: community.housing@queensu.ca
Mail Address: 169 University Ave., Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6
Phone: 613-533-2501