FAQs

New students can open a residence application when applying to UBC. All applicants are also welcome to apply directly to Student Housing and Hospitality Services.

See eligibility.

We offer a guaranteed room in residence for new prospective students and those who qualify for priority access.

We send residence offers by email in June. Applicants who don’t get an offer will get a waitlist number.

Please contact Student Housing and Hospitality Services immediately.

The deposit is required for all applicants. However, if you will be receiving a financial needs based award or scholarship from UBC, you may qualify for a deadline extension (very rare). If you do not qualify for the extension, and cannot pay your deposit before your offer expires, that space will be offered to the next person on the waitlist. Contact Student Housing and Hospitality Services to discuss your situation.

Fees vary by residence and room type.

There are a few ways. See fees and payments

Log into your housing account. When a payment is received, a credit will appear.

We will only release this information if you provide consent.

Students who have completed their degree or who are participating in an eligible co-op program can stay for Term 1 without a cancellation penalty. Documentation is required.

Students who live at Cassiar, Kalamalka, Nicola, Purcell, Valhalla, Skeena, Nechako, and Similkameen Place must purchase a meal plan. There is no opt out.

There is limited parking available and parking fees are extra.

You can apply but it’s not guaranteed. Roommate group requests are part of the application process.

Yes. Go online and consent to release your information to each other. Roommates usually contact each other in mid-August.

You will get these details (date/time) by email a few weeks before moving in. It’s important you arrive at the time indicated to ensure a smooth experience for everyone.

Some students will be eligible to move in early.

Each room has a modem for high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access.

Submit an application by February 1.

We put all applications into a computer system that randomly selects enough applicants to fill available inventory. Some applicants will get a residence offer and others will be put on a waitlist.

Growing enrolments, increasing demand, and expansion our housing guarantee for first year students combine to create a situation where demand exceeds supply. Everyone has a compelling reason to live on campus; a random process does not make judgments as to who is more worthy.

Go online to monitor your waitlist number. It will change as applications are cancelled.

After receiving a residence offer, go online to request roommate groupings by May 1.

Before moving in, see cancellations and refunds. After moving in, read your Residence Contract.

A single connected room is where two single rooms form a unit, and are connected by a shared bathroom. There are locks on the inside of the bathroom so no one can enter while you’re in there. While not truly roommates (in the sense of you sharing your sleeping space with your roommate), it is similar in the relationship and trust you’re able to develop. It is important that each roommate locks their exterior room door when they aren’t home or sleeping to ensure the security of both roommates’ rooms.

While it’s rare to receive a report about roommates intentionally taking each other’s belongings, each single connected room has a lockable safe in case you have valuable items (i.e. passport, wallet, credit cards) you’d like secured. The safe is 1.5 cu ft (fits up to a 17” laptop) and has a code that you get to choose.

We encourage everyone moving into residence to have an open and optimistic outlook about meeting new people, as residence is a vibrant and diverse community. If you would like to meet before you move in, you can go on your SSC and allow your roommate to contact you. Once you’ve both done that, you’ll be able to see each other’s contact information around mid-August.

Once you’ve gotten a chance to meet your roommate and get to know them and their living habits, the Residence Advisors in your community will be holding a Roommate Bootcamp that you and your roommate will attend. Here, you and your roommate will go through some different activities, learn how to communicate with each other, set expectations on your shared living environment, and even draw up a Roommate Contract to help you work together throughout the academic year. If you have concerns about your roommate or accommodation at any time throughout the year, you should speak with your Residence Advisor; they’ll be happy to help.

UBCO offers an All Access Meal Plan (all-you-care-to-eat meal plan), which is just what it sounds like! Students will have unlimited access to the Residence Dining Hall in Nechako, with no restrictions on how often you enter, or what you eat. Students in Lower/Upper Cascades and Monashee Place, as well as commuter students, are able to purchase a voluntary plan for added convenience and savings.

To learn more about Nechako, meal plans, where you can dine on campus, how to pay, and more, visit our Food Services page here.

There are two options, which are the same for both Mandatory and Optional Meal Plans:

1. You do nothing and any leftover funds are automatically converted to a Carryover Plan. The Carryover Plan has no expiration date, and the funds can be used the same as Flex; at any dining location on campus, and at our off-campus partners.
2. Request a refund. You will receive a refund for all of your remaining Flex, less a $25 administration fee. The refund is done once you have completed the refund form and checkout procedures. The form can be found here.

Report it immediately to Student Services & Financial Support. There is a replacement fee. You can also freeze and unfreeze your plan through your housing account.

Meal Plan Credit Card Refund Form

We have a wide variety of options available and can accommodate a variety of health conditions and nutritional needs. You can find more information and connect with our dietitian here. here.

Carryover Plan funds are from unused meal plan funds from previous years. These are not refundable. However, the funds can be used at any dining location on campus and at our campus partners. There is no expiry date.

Your Convenience Plan has no expiration date and can be carried forward to future years. If you wish to refund your Convenience dollars you may do so minus a $25 administration fee.

Student Housing provides internet access in all student residence rooms and common areas through UBC’s wireless internet service, ubcsecure. A Campus-Wide Login account is required to access the ubcsecure network.  

To easily connect to ubcsecure wireless network use the UBCIT Autoconnect Utility.

Campus visitors, who are not sponsored guests of UBC faculty or staff, can use our ‘ubcvisitor’ network for light web browsing at no charge. No login is required, however users are required to accept a Terms of Service when first connecting.  

UBC students, faculty, and staff should use the ubcsecure, eduroam, or ubcprivate wireless networks. 

Visitors from other educational institutions which support eduroam, should use the eduroam service. 

Devices connecting to ubcsecure need to be able to sign on with a name and password.  If you have devices that can’t do this, you may be able to register them in our system so it will sign on to ubcvisitor, bypassing the login page.  This will allow most devices to connect directly to the ubcsecure wireless network. 

For more details, and to determine if you are able to connect your devices, you will need to submit a request using use the Wireless Device Registration System.

If you are having difficulty connecting to, or having performance issues with UBC Wi-Fi, please contact the IT Service Centre by either: 

1. Submitting a request via the UBC Self-Service Portal (CWL required). Make sure to include “ResNet” in the description. 
2. Calling the UBCO IT Helpdesk at 250-807-9000 and select option 1 for ResNet support. 

There are no wired network ports in UBCO student residences, so devices which require an ethernet connection to access the internet and are not Wi-Fi compatible will not work in residence buildings.  

Some smart devices designed for use in residential homes (e.g. multimedia devices such as Google Home or Alexa, gaming consoles, smart TVs) may not work with UBC’s wireless networks.  

The following devices are not recommended for use in UBCO Residences as they may not be compatible with our enterprise Wi-Fi service: 

• Devices which require an ethernet connection to access the internet (wired network ports are no longer provided in residences) 
• More than 3 residential devices and/or device to device connectivity devices (e.g. multimedia devices such as Google Home or Alex, gaming consoles, set-top TV boxes, smart TVs, Internet of Things devices) 

• These will need to be registered with the Wireless Device Registration System to connect to ubcvisitor wifi.

To comply with privacy law, we don’t release information about any residents unless consent is provided.

Visit the Front Desk immediately to file a report.

Talk to your Residence Advisor or Residence Life Manager.

Log into your housing account to send a maintenance request. Do not attempt to fix residence property on your own (broken microwave, dishwasher, etc.). We try to address these requests within two business days.

No. UBC’s insurance coverage is for the physical structure of buildings (walls, roof, flooring) and components (fridges, stoves) only. The university is not responsible for lost, stolen or damaged personal property, regardless of the cause. We recommend that all personal belongings be covered by private insurance. Your family plan may cover you. BCAA is also an option.

It’s possible. Please refer to your Residence Contract for details regarding this procedure.

All residents must adhere to Residence Standards. Conflicts or breaches of Residence Standards are investigated by Residence Life staff.

Students are required to vacate residence. Students with exceptional circumstances may apply for a winter break extension.

Students are required to move out 24 hours after their last exam or on the Residence Contract move out date, whichever comes first.

Students face assessments if there’s any damage to residence property or required cleaning was not completed to our satisfaction.

Yes, there is limited space available for residents to store bicycles/sports equipment.  Please fill out the online Residence Bicycle & Sporting Equipment Storage Request form.

After moving in: These policies are clearly defined in your Residence Contract. Cancellation must be initiated online, all personal items removed from your room, and your keys returned to the front desk of the housing office.

Before moving in: See cancellations and refunds.

• Your mailing address is listed here under Residence Mailing Addresses. Use this address as the return address on all of your outgoing mail.
• Mail is processed weekdays by 7 pm and notification is via email.
• Pick up at Nechako Front Desk. Any items not picked up within 30 days will be returned to sender. Items that are not correctly addressed will be returned to sender.
  Please advise UBC Student Services (Enrolment Services) of your new address online at students.ubc.ca/ssc. This will ensure that mail from UBC will reach you as quickly as possible.
• There are 2 ways you will receive your mail.
  1. Electronic Mailboxes. These self-serve boxes are located around the Nechako Front Desk, and are programmed to your Salto card for a one time retrieval of your item. You will have 72 hours from when the email is sent to retrieve your items.
  2. Parcel / Letter Numbers. Picture ID and the parcel/letter number are required to claim parcels that are processed with a parcel or letter number.

https://okanagan.housing.ubc.ca/contact-us 

All parcels are sorted by our mail staff, and once the parcel is assigned a parcel number, you will receive an email – just bring your picture ID and the parcel number to the Nechako Housing Office once you have received it.

No problem. As long as you have the correct postal code (V1V 1V8), your parcel will be delivered to our office. If you used the general university postal code (V1V 1V7), this may add an additional delay, or be returned to sender.

Please let us know and we will look it up for you.

Due to the overwhelming amount of mail our office receives in a day – we cannot hold any mail for students who no longer live on campus. You will need to contact the sender and have it redirected to your current address.

It is necessary that we have a mainstreamed process to avoid errors. Therefore, we cannot issue your parcel until it has been sorted, recorded, and a parcel number assigned.

Yes! All parcels that arrive at our office will be assigned a parcel number and emailed on the same day. Our office is open for pick up. For our office hours, head here.

All couriers will hold the parcels on the dates that the University is closed. Once we re-open in the New Year, all parcels will be delivered to our office and sorted and assigned. You are able to pick up your parcels when you return to campus after the break.

We cannot receive grocery orders to our office. If you plan to order groceries for delivery, please make arrangements for the driver to meet you at your residence building to retrieve your order.

Once you have moved out we ask that you redirect your mail with your new address. If you believe you will be receiving a parcel following moving out you can authorize another person to pick it up for you. Please send an email to: information@housing.okanagan.ubc.ca with their name, your name and your student number.  Any unclaimed mail will be returned to sender.  

Yes, we will always look up students to ensure the mail is being delivered correctly.