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University District Tenants

Queen’s Community Housing – Main Office | 169 University Ave

JDUC Construction | Corner of University Ave & Union St

Please be advised of the on-going construction work on the JDUC (John Deutsch University Centre) when considering to renew your lease with Community Housing for May 1, 2023. The JDUC renovations may or may not impact your stay with us, as noise, construction machinery, and traffic impacts continue throughout 2022, 2023, and 2024.  You can sign up for project updates by visiting the Facilities website. If you have questions, please email: construction@queensu.ca.

All University District properties are within a 5-10 minute walk to campus, and each property is unique depending on age, size, number of bedrooms, and number of bathrooms. Students apply together for a property, and are “jointly and severally liable” for all provisions of the lease for the unit; that is to say students rent the entire unit or house as a ‘household’; and not by the bedroom. We do not pair roommates together, as we want to ensure you select a household that you know, trust, and respect.

We highly recommend doing your own Housemate Agreement in advance, to decide cleaning schedules, grocery shopping, house rules, how to pay your utilities as a group …etc.

You can find an online 3D map of campus and Community Housing properties here.

Available properties vary year to year and will be listed as they become available. Applications are not accepted in advance of the property listing and are property-specific. Submitting an application for a unit is your agreement to sign a lease on that unit if your application is approved by the University; applications are processed on a first come, first serve basis. If you have any questions about this process, please email us.

Our University District rental properties are classified as a student residence. Therefore, for income tax purposes, a maximum of $25 per year may be claimed for rent.

Please note, leases for University District units are 12 month fixed-term leases running from 3:00 p.m. May 1 to 12:00 pm (NOON) April 30.

Lease Term for University District Properties

3:00PM May 1 to 12:00 Noon April 30

For Rent

All University District Properties are fully leased for May 1, 2023.

Move In Information

Move Out Information

Queen’s Owned Rental Properties in the University District:

You can find an online 3D map of campus and Community Housing properties here.

  • Aberdeen Street: 5, 7,
  • Albert Street: 120, 130, 138
  • Alfred Street: 135, 137, 139, 151, 153, 159, 161, 163
  • Barrie Street: 170, 172, 174, 178, 180, 182, 188, 190
  • Clergy Street W: 11, 15 1/2, 17, 25, 27, 29, 31, 35, 37, 39, 41, 45, 105
  • Division: 39, 47
  • Earl Street: 226, 228, 308, 310, 314, 316, 318, 320
  • Queen’s Crescent: 119, 123, 127
  • University Avenue: 174, 176, 178, 181, 182, 184, 185, 186, 187, 189, 191, 192, 193, 194

University District Rental Properties Unit – User Guide

How to Apply/Eligibility

Application Process

  1. The rental units available in the University District vary from year-to-year depending on renewals by current tenants and/or needs of the University.
    • Typically, units only become available as students graduate.
    • This means we are unable to guarantee which units, and how many units, are going to be available year-to-year.
  2. Beginning early January, available University District rental units will be advertised on the Accommodation Listing Service (ALS).
  3. Interested students may contact our office per the requirements in the listing ad to book an appointment to view a unit.
  4. Applications will be processed on a first come, first serve basis.
  5. IMPORTANT: By submitting an application for a unit, the applicants are agreeing to sign a lease for the unit on the University’s normal terms and conditions IF the application is approved. The application is the applicants’ Offer to Lease the unit from the Landlord. Do not submit an Application if you are not prepared to rent the unit.

Eligibility:

You must be a current registered Queen’s students in good standing with the University. 

Please be sure to include your Queen’s student number and a current email address (preferably your @queensu.ca account) on your application. We will send you an email to let you know that your application has been received. Successful applicants will be notified by email of rental offers as they are available; please be sure to check your email regularly as there is a limited timeframe in which to respond. If you have email filtering activated, please be sure to add community.housing@queensu.ca to your safe list.

University District Sample Lease

Students requiring Special Consideration

Queen’s Community Housing strives to provide the best possible environment for students to achieve their academic goals. The residential rental properties owned by Queen’s University and managed by Community Housing are not handicapped accessible housing. Tenants/occupants have the opportunity to view the unit personally or have an agent view the unit prior to signing a lease and should be able to make an informed decision if the unit meets their individual needs as the unit is presented. However, there may be unique circumstances where a tenant/occupant may request special consideration. Community Housing cannot guarantee to accommodate all requests for special consideration.

Not all disabilities or medical conditions require special assignment or considerations. The documentation completed by the medical professional must verify the tenant has a disability or medical condition but not the specific diagnosis, and identify the functional limitation (if any) related to the disability or medical condition.

Should you have questions regarding this or would like to make a request for consideration, please contact Community Housing by emailing community.housing@queensu.ca.

Rent Information and Rates

Payments

  • Rent is due on the 1st day of each month.
  • Rent rates vary depending on the property.
  • Inclusion of utilities also differs from property-to-property.

Community Housing accepts one payment only per unit.  “Split rent” payments are permitted only when Pre Authorized Debit Agreement Forms (for the balance of the lease term) are submitted by all members of the rental unit; all required documentation for the unit must be received as a package by the 15th day of the month preceding the month to start split rent payments (i.e.  April 15 for May leases, August 15 for September leases).  Where tenants choose to split rent payments for their unit in this way, the total of the amounts to be debited each month must equal the monthly rent.  

Pre-Authorized Debit Agreements

Units choosing to pay rent in one monthly installment may also use the Pre Authorized Debit Agreement Forms, pay by cash, debit, money order to the Community Housing office so that it is received by the first day of each month.  If your unit chooses to leave post-dated cheques, your unit will need to provide a series of post-dated cheques for the full lease term, for the total monthly rent, dated for the first day of each month.

Late Rent, Overdue Accounts, and Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) 

If rent is not paid by the first day each month or a cheque is returned for any reason or we are unsuccessful in debiting funds through automatic debit due to non-sufficient funds (NSF), Funds held, Funds not cleared, cannot trace etc, the full rent charge will be added along with an additional administration fee (this is separate from the fee charged by your bank). Only cash, interac, money order, or certified cheque will be accepted for payment of rent and the NSF fee in these situations (these cannot be added to your next pre-authorized debit payment). 

On a first time failure to pay full rent (including NSFs), the unit will be sent a letter requesting payment. Failure to respond to that notice or a second rent related problem will end the privilege of split rent payments for the unit for the duration of the lease and result in the filing of a L9 Application to Collect Rent The Tenant Owes with the Landlord and Tenant Board. This carries an additional charge and involves a hearing in front of the Board (unless the rent due, NSF fees and the filing fee are paid in advance of the hearing). Subsequent rent related problems will result in additional L9 Applications and/or lead to eviction proceedings. While this is the usual process, the University reserves the right to move directly to the “N4 – Notice to End a Tenancy Early for Nonpayment of Rent” and/or “L9 – Application to Collect Rent the Tenant Owes”, 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.  Where there are outstanding debts, any payments received from tenants will be applied first to the outstanding debt with any remaining balance applied against current charges. It is the responsibility of the tenant(s) to ensure the unit account remains in good standing. 

We do not track individual payments – outstanding amounts are charged to the unit/household. Household members are responsible for tracking their payments. There is an administrative fee to have our records searched. 

Outstanding accounts owed to Community Housing is considered debts to the University. They are reported to the University on a monthly basis. All sanctions apply to these outstanding accounts, including withholding of marks, transcripts and blocking of registration. Please remember, all tenants of a unit are “jointly and severally” responsible for any debts of that unit. Even if you have an agreement with your roommates to split the rent payments, if one does not pay everyone is held responsible for the debt. 

Note 1: accepted methods of payment – pre-authorized debit, cash, cheque, money order, interac, in CANADIAN funds only. 

Note 2: we cannot accept future rent payments other than via post dated cheques/pre-authorized debits 

Note 3: we understand circumstances sometime crop up where special consideration may be warranted for late payment of rent. When this happens, tenants should send in a request for consideration to Community Housing by emailing community.housing@queensu.ca outlining a) what the exceptional circumstance is and b) the timeframe that we should expect rent payment. If such a request is received, reviewed and found that an exception to pay late should be granted, it would be understood that this is a one-time exception not an on-going arrangement. 

Other Fees

There are other fees applicable from time to time. The list below illustrates some of the more common ones but is not an all inclusive list: 

  • Extra Appliances: Advance permission must be received from the Manager, Community Housing and/or designate before any additional appliances may be brought into/installed in/used in (e.g. air conditioner, extra fridge, deep freeze,space heater, washer, dryer, dishwasher) the rental unit. Additional charges may apply
  • Garbage: Warnings will be issued for garbage not disposed of properly. Repeat offenders will be fined each time the landlord has to pick-up and dispose of garbage mishandled.
  • Paint: please refer to Tenant Handbook, Alterations section – not to make alterations including paint and wallpaper – costs for restoring colour/condition immediately will be attributed to the tenant
  • Satellite Dishes: Satellite dishes may not be installed in Community Housing Properties
  • Cleaning: Tenants must leave their unit thoroughly cleaned and in a ready to rent condition upon vacating. Charges will be assessed for cleaning, damages, etc. as applicable.

University District Tenant Handbook 2023-2024

Services, Amenities and Resources

Parking

PARKING for Tenants

  • There is limited active parking spaces available for Tenants.
  • 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: University District.
  • Tenants will need to provide Community Housing with proof of vehicle registration in their own name or a parent with the same last name and license plate number.
  • All vehicles registered with Community Housing must display a valid parking permit hang tag in the vehicle window at all times.
  • Where this privilege is granted, it is not transferable to another vehicle, person and/or property group eg., An Clachan, John Orr Tower.
  • We do not issue temporary parking permits, short-term parking permits, or permits for family members, rental vehicles, recreational vehicles, …etc.
  • Tenant designated parking lots and driveways are monitored weekdays, Monday to Friday from 7 am to 5 pm.
  • At this time, Community Housing is not charging an additional parking fee to tenants. Parking fees may be subject to change at a later date.

PARKING for Visitors – We do not have visitor parking in our tenant designated lots. The options are on-street parking (as indicated on signage), or there is underground parking at the Athletics and Recreation Centre.

Laundry

Two laundry rooms are provided for the exclusive use of students living in Queen’s owned University District rentals. These facilities are located at:

  • 153 Alfred, and
  • 170 Barrie.
  • Please visit Coinamatic for Service Requests or for Refund Requests.
  • All tenants are required to download the Coinamatic CP mobile app from Apple Store or Google Play to pay for their washing and drying.
  • For those without a smartphone, you will be able to purchase a new laundry card directly from a Card Reload Kiosk.

Card Reload Kiosk Locations:

  1. An Clachan – 47 Van Order Drive, in the lobby of Building 5
  2. Victoria Hall on campus

Consideration should be given to the time of day laundry facilities are being used to be considerate of tenants as noises do carry. Tenants are asked to use the laundry rooms between the hours of 8:00 am and 10:00 pm only (last load should be in a machine no later than 9:30 pm).

Laundry left in machines: Please ensure prompt removal of your clothing from the machines so other tenants may use them. Items left in the laundry room are left at the tenant’s own risk.

Garbage and Recycling

  • Garbage and recyclable materials must be placed out as approved by the City of Kingston.
  • Download the Kingston Waste App to get your garbage/recycling schedules and reminders sent right to your phone. Enter your address to get custom notifications for your location.
  • Furniture and other large items will can be donated or dropped off at a local waste transfer station (dump) for a fee (typically by weight).

Transportation

Students living in the University District are within a 5-10 minute walk of campus buildings and services, but for those wishing to access other areas of the city there are many routes accessible to tenants. Visit the Kingston Transit website for more information on routes and schedules.

Fire Safety

  • Fire safety is always important.
  • The best way to learn how to protect yourself and those around you is by reading our fire safety document. In it you will find information about what to do in case of a fire or fire alarm.
  • Each of our units and our buildings are equipped with fire detection devices. To learn more about the fire detection models present in your unit and building follow the links below.
  • Fire Safety Devices in the University District

Thinking about Hosting An Event at Your Place?

As tenants, you and your guests are part of the Kingston community and should promote positive relations with the City and your neighbours.

Tips for Responsible Hosting

When hosting a gathering at your place, there are few things you can do to support a respectful and safe environment:

  • Follow the current restrictions on gatherings and ensure you and your guests follow Public Health guidelines.
  • Read Kingston’s bylaws around Noise (PDF | 978KB)  and Nuisance Parties (PDF | 157KB)
  • Keep music and guests at an appropriate and manageable level
  • Decide on a guest list ahead of time and stick to it
  • Have food and water for your guests

If you are concerned about uninvited guests near your residence or should you witness unsafe and/or negative behavior we encourage you to report it to Kingston Police and/or Queen’s Campus Security.

Learn more about your responsibilities as a host from Queen’s Legal Aid

  1. University District Safety Initiative
  2. Nuisance Party Bylaw 
  3. Non-Academic Misconduct

For a Life-Threatening Emergency
Call 911 and/or Queen’s 24-hour Campus Security and Emergency Services at 613-533-6111

Assignment and Sublet Process

Lease Assignments will no longer be permitted in all Community Housing properties. Students that wish to end their lease early will be permitted to do so. If you are seeking assignment of your lease, please contact Community Housing.

All leases for Queen’s owned rental units are rented on fixed terms with defined end dates. Occasionally, there may be situations where a student who is in a current lease needs or wants to leave Kingston or the rental unit (e.g. for work study, research assignment, graduation, etc.).
 
Under the RTA, the University is exempt from the clause(s) that require a landlord to permit a sub-tenancy or assignment. Permission to assign or sublet must be granted by Community Housing BEFORE anyone other than the named tenants and occupants live in the unit. Tenants should not advertise or guarantee any option to renew the lease for the unit. No requests to assign or sublet a unit will be granted for only the last month of the lease term.
 

Assignment

  • The tenant wishes to leave the unit and not return before the end of the lease term will be allowed to do so at no cost to the tenant
  • Community Housing is not currently allowing for assignment of lease agreements

Sublet

  • All tenants and occupants are going to vacate the unit for a period of time and return to the unit before the end of the lease term
  • The subtenant must be a registered Queen’s student in good standing with the University
  • The full amount of rent will continue to be paid to Community Housing by the tenant. The subtenant will pay rent to the tenant
  • Subtenants do not have any reapplication rights for the unit

Process

This process can take 6-10 business days provided all requirements are met.

  1. The tenant must complete and submit a Tenant Request to Sublease form to the Community Housing office. An application from the potential subtenant may be submitted at this time.
  2. Upon receipt of the application an inspection of the unit may be scheduled. This is usually within 5 to 10 business days of the submission of the application however will be no more than 60 days prior to the start date of the sublet. The inspection will review the unit for any damages and cleanliness of the unit. The unit must meet the inspection requirements to pass. If the unit does not meet inspection requirements the tenant will receive instructions of what must be done in order to pass the inspection. Once the issues have been addressed the tenant can request another inspection. There is a fee of $25 for any follow-up inspections. This amount must be paid before the inspection will be scheduled.
  3. Once an application from a potential subtenant has been received it will be reviewed for eligibility.
  4. The agreement for sublet will be produced by the Community Housing office. Signature from all parties are required.
  5. The transfer of keys is the responsibility of the tenant.

Please note: Community Housing does not clean the unit before a subtenant moves in. Tenants/sub-tenants currently residing in a Community Housing unit will not be approved as applicants for sub-tenancy for the same lease period in another Community Housing unit.

Request to Sublet form – This form is to be completed by the tenant(s) who what to sublet a Community Housing unit they currently live in.
 
Sublease Application: University District Rental Properties – This form is to be completed by students who want to sublet a unit from a current Community Housing tenant in the University District.
 

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