Off-Campus Housing

Seneca’s partnership with Places4Students Inc. provides an online collection of affordable off-campus housing opportunities. Through our partnership with Places4Students, we provide a large real-time database of student housing vacancies near Seneca with photos, contact information and property features.

Students

Students can post free roommate profiles and sublet ads at Place4Students.

To search available listings nearby:
King Campus, Markham, Newnham Campus, or Seneca@York Campus

Landlords

Landlords register here to post a listing or contact Places4Students toll-free at 1-866-766-0767

Beginning Your Search

Important to read and understand the Disclaimer below.

The following suggestions might be helpful:

We advise our students that accommodation obtained in a private home is different from that in a self-contained apartment and that householders may therefore set special conditions (smoking, visitors, etc.) that they enforce within their own family situations.
The student and householder should have a written mutual agreement about telephone privileges, especially with regard to long-distance calls.
If the tenancy or boarding arrangements involve the use of kitchen appliances or other privileges, the conditions for such use (cleanliness, clean-up, etc.) should be discussed and understood.
If the student will likely go home for holidays or reading week; these periods should be discussed in regard to rent reduction etc.

Health and Safety

Ontario, like other provinces and territories, has seen an increase in bed bug infestations. Anyone anywhere can pick up these hitchhikers during travel, in public places and from second-hand items. The Government of Canada provides important information that will assist you to identify, prevent and control bed bugs.

The Government of Ontario provides information about fire safety for parents who have a child/children attending college or university. The fire safety information helps parents make conscious decisions to find suitable accommodation for a daughter and/or son attending postsecondary education.

Another resource for fire safety is available at knowfire.ca. This website provides fire safety awareness programs for students.

Be Alert!

You should be cautioned that there have been reports of scam artists who might attempt to defraud you by using various ruses on the internet. Seneca College can assume no responsibility for any scams and urges you to deal with any prospective tenant on a face-to-face basis.

SOME SUGGESTIONS

Do not lease a property sight unseen. The applicant or someone he/she works with needs to see the property.
Do not ever respond to inquiries from anyone wanting to send you money without them seeing the property first.
Be cautious if the person making the inquiry says they are from out of the country.
Never refund any money given to you with your own cheque or money order.
Never refund any money until the payment you have received has been cleared by the bank.
Always have an applicant fill out a Landlord Rental Agreement
Always run a credit check.
Ask plenty of qualifying questions.
Scammers LIKE TO TYPE IN CAPS.
Use common sense.

IMPORTANT: Rental Scam Alert

The Off-Campus Housing Office would like you to be aware of a scam that may affect landlords and students posting listings on the Internet.

How Does It Work?
You are contacted by telephone or email by "international students or parents", asking to rent your accommodation. You then receive payment in the form of a money order, cashier’s cheque, or third party cheque from a business or bank usually in an amount that is much higher than what you requested. Shortly thereafter you are contacted by the student or parent and asked to wire back a portion of the money. This is usually explained as airfare costs or perhaps an accident has taken place and the student will no longer be able to attend. Some landlords and students have sent large amounts through wire transfers back to the suspects.

The landlord/student is subsequently informed by their bank that the money order or cheque is fraudulent. Unfortunately, it can take time for the bank or post office to discover that the money order or cheque is counterfeit. The victim (landlord/student) is usually held financially responsible as they have passed a fraudulent money order or cheque. Since the transactions are carried out by email or cell phone, out of province or country, it is extremely difficult to positively identify the individual posing as the tenant.