Student housing information for landlords

Benefits of renting to students

Considering providing off-campus accommodations to Georgian students? Here are some of the benefits:

• There is high demand for off-campus student housing in Georgian’s seven campus communities
  • Barrie, Midland, Muskoka (Bracebridge), Orangeville, Orillia, Owen Sound and South Georgian Bay (Collingwood)
• You can earn extra income
• You’re helping support a student’s future while they pursue postsecondary studies
• By providing housing to an international student, you are:
  • enriching our community through multi-culturalism
  • helping a newcomer settle into a new life in Canada

Landlords share their stories: Renting to students a positive experience

Meet two Georgian College students and the local residents who became their landlords.

Read their stories and learn about how they started their journeys together, what motivated them to offer or look for off-campus housing and what the experience has been like.

They share how renting to students can offer many mutually beneficial opportunities for everyone.

Read their stories

Considerations when renting to students

If you’re planning to offer off-campus housing to Georgian students, here are some items to consider:

• Distance to campus: Many students seek off-campus rentals that are close to Georgian’s campuses, especially since most do not have cars. How quickly they can get to campus is often front of mind. Is your unit within walking or cycling distance to campus, or on a bus route?
• Close to amenities: Likewise, nearby amenities are important to students. What shopping, dining and entertainment options will students have access to?
• Affordable rent: Students are often on tight budgets and may rely on student loans, support from parents or income from part-time job(s). Affordable rent is extremely important for students putting themselves through postsecondary education.
• Access to wifi and laundry: Students need high-speed internet to complete their college courses. As well, onsite laundry facilities are favourable.
• Clean, safe accommodations: Students need clean, safe and secure living environments while they complete their studies.

Renting to international students

Georgian is home to 6,300 international students from more than 85 countries!

With a growing number of international students being welcomed into your local community, the demand for affordable housing is increasing.

Georgian needs your help in supporting our international students who relocate to Georgian’s campus communities from their home countries by providing safe and welcoming housing environments.

Here are some items to keep in mind when renting to international students:

• Furnished accommodations: Furnished rooms or apartment rentals can help first-time international students in Canada settle into their new environment. Consider providing accommodations with basic and essential furnishings such as a bed, dresser, desk and computer chair.
• Foster healthy community living: Help international students understand healthy community living through education and awareness of rental rules, garbage and recycling, cleanliness, lawn maintenance and snow removal.
• Host family and Homestay opportunities: International students starting a new life in Canada can benefit greatly from living with a host family. By becoming a Homestay host, you can help introduce a newcomer to Canadian culture and customs as they navigate life in our communities.

Getting started

Become a SpacesShared host

SpacesShared has built an easy-to-use platform that provides a place for older adults and students interested in home sharing to meet.

SpacesShared is a safe one-stop-shop for hosts and guests to view profiles, available rooms, have virtual meetings, create and sign a homes haring agreement and make rental payments.

Dedicated support is available from the SpacesShared team every step of the way!

Sign up to become a SpacesShared Host

Advertise your rental on Places4Students.com

Georgian College has partnered with Places4Students.com, a company that specializes in providing off-campus housing options to postsecondary students.

Register as a P4S landlord

Through Places4Students, landlords will have access to:

• an off-campus housing search platform that Georgian supports
• easily create and control listings as well as track the visits to ads
• information about the current competitive rental climate
• reasonably priced rentals advertisements

• live customer service and convenient help links
• a platform that makes rental listings easy for our students to search
• market rentals to prospective students planning to come to Georgian
• an up-to-date database and Google Mapping feature

To place an ad, register for an account on Places4Students.com and follow the steps outlined on the website or tutorial video.

If you have any questions, please call 1.866.766.0767 or email admin@places4students.com.

Become a homestay host

Georgian’s students are paired with host families living in the areas. Homestay living also offers lots of opportunity for international students to practise English and improve language and social skills.

As a homestay host, you’ll provide a student with a private bedroom, internet access, and there’s an option to provide food for three meals per day.

Georgian currently works with third-party partners who provide homestay services.

Apply to become a homestay host

Resources

We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the Residential Tenancies Act, city by-laws regarding boarding, lodging and rooming houses, and other important resources linked below.

Rental scam alert

Please be aware that a number of institutions in other cities have reported that individuals have been contacting landlords with listings on their off-campus housing registries and offering to pay the entire year’s rent with a cheque or money order.

Typically, the potential tenant will sends several months’ worth of rent and then almost immediately asks for all but one or two months’ rent (deposit) to be returned. They do this in the hope that your bank will not recognize the forgery until the normal clearing process has happened. If you send them the money, you’re then out that money when the bank discovers that the cheque or money order is a forgery.

Remember, if it seems too good to be true (e.g. potential tenant wants to pay the entire year’s rent up front or they’re willing to pay more than your asking price, etc.), it probably is.

If you find yourself in this situation, immediately report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) or your local police station.

Disclaimer

Georgian College does not make representations or warranties concerning the quality or suitability of accommodations listed on the www.Places4Students.com website or any other posting. Georgian College cannot and does not provide any personal information of the students to any third party and will not accept responsibility or any liability for housing arrangements by people using the registry. We recommend that you obtain independent legal advice before signing a lease with a landlord. Students, it is in your interest to ask questions regarding the legality and suitability of the rental unit.

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