If I have not sold you on the idea of living in residence in my previous blog post, and you prefer living off-campus, here is some advice for you. Firstly, keep in mind that although most people are nice and honest, there are some landlords who will take advantage of international students whose knowledge and experience with rental laws in Canada is limited.
My main points of advice are:
Do your homework: Some landlords are in no rush to return your calls, or to respond to your emails, because they already have lots of people wanting to rent from them. Do not panic and make an agreement with the first person who responds to you. If you are not getting responses to your inquiries, you can ask for help from your university or college, or from other students. Ask someone to check the place out if you cannot go yourself, and to communicate with the landlord. Find out what utilities are included in the rent, and make sure heat is one of them! Tenant insurance is an affordable option to make sure your belongings are insured, and, if you accidentally cause damage, such as a fire, you will have insurance to pay for it.
Trust your gut instinct: If you go on Kijiji.com and read of a wonderful student apartment near campus, for a very low price, be suspicious. If there are no pictures of the place, ask for some, and use Google StreetView to make sure it’s the same place. If the landlord wants 6 months of rent payments in advance, let that be a warning to you. You may ask the landlord for references from past tenants.
Don’t let this happen to you.
To find out if what you’re looking at is within a reasonable price range for the city you’re moving to, check here.
Play fair: I have given lots of examples where landlords are unfair to students, but just like everything in life, it is a give and take situation. I have had many landlords complain to me about all the things students have done, ranging from smuggling in pets and extra roommates, smoking indoors, leaving windows open in the winter, to moving out without paying and leaving damage behind.
One landlord actually said to me that he does not like to rent to international students. I asked: “Why? Are they worse than Canadian students?” He replied: “No, they’re not. But if a Canadian student cheats me, I can go after him. If it’s an international student, I have no way to go after him.” It’s best not to give your landlord any reason to “go after” you. It is your personal reputation you want to uphold, so play by the rules and be fair. You will likely need that landlord’s reference someday.