Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Students with the First Year Residence Guarantee are offered a space for both the Fall and Winter sessions. It is not possible to confirm your space for the Winter session only. Students are not able to pay for their full Fall and Winter contract fees but move in for the Winter session only.

Upper Year students may apply for Fall or Winter only due to a co-op placement or study abroad exchange, however, preference is given to Fall and Winter 8-month applicants.

The Student Housing and Residence Life team strives to accommodate the needs of our Residence community. If you are a student with an accessibility need, please connect with our office for assistance at residence.utsc@utoronto.ca. Students moving into residence requesting a formal accommodation must complete the Accessibility Needs in Residence form.

We strongly encourage students to register with  AccessAbility Services. 

AccessAbility Services is a student service, academic service and University of Toronto equity office on the University of Toronto Scarborough campus. They support students with disabilities to navigate disability-related barriers and to promote accessible and inclusive policies, practices, procedures and programs at UTSC.

After you have paid your deposit in your StarRez Portal application, you can complete the optional page for housemate requests. Your preferred housemates must accept your request, and the housemate group must meet all criteria outlined on our Housemates page. Housemate requests must be completed by the deadline set out for the session you have applied for.

Student Housing & Residence Life takes the information students provide in their applications collectively and matches housemates with reported similar habits and preferences. Students are matched with housemates with the same gender rooming preference (Mixed Gender, Same Gender Men or Same Gender Women).

Keep in mind that sometimes habits change as students transition to university life, so most importantly, be prepared to be open and ready to communicate with your housemates or roommate if you are placed in a double bedroom. Your Residence Advisor is there to help support you through navigating heathy housemate relationships.

Students who want to be placed with a specific friend can submit a housemate request through their StarRez application.

Students can indicate in their application if they prefer to live in Same Gender - Women, Same Gender - Men, or Mixed Gender Housing. Mixed Gender means that students of any gender will share washroom (and where applicable, kitchen) facilities housed in the same unit.

An additional option for students who would prefer to be housed with students who identify similarly within, or as an ally of, the LGBTQ2S+ community, is also available. We strive to meet preferences where possible but it is not guaranteed.

All deposits made through the StarRez Portal application to accept an offer of residence are non-refundable and non-transferable. Deposits will be forfeited upon cancellation.

Contact Student Housing & Residence Life with questions prior to submitting your deposit to accept your offer.

UTSC offers Summer Residence from May - August. Students may stay for the full session or for a shorter-term of at least 4 weeks. 

Students living in summer residence will be placed in single bedrooms in either the Joan Foley Hall apartments or townhouses. Suites are shared with four to six students.

For more information on how to apply for Summer Residence, please visit on our Summer Residence webpage.

Store Your Dorm can help you store your belongings from one semester to the next at an offsite location. They deliver boxes and tape to your room. They pick-up your goods from your room, store them over the session and then deliver them back when requested.

FindStorageFast is a website that can help you find storage locations within the city. Options in Scarborough inclued, Access, Storage Mart, Spaces, XYZ and more. Some companies offer full service pick up and delivery or traditional self storage. 

You are more than welcome to personalize your bedroom with posters and pictures. Nails, screws and tape on the walls are not permitted. Absolutely no scotch tape, masking tape, or other adhesives are permitted. Only painter's tape or sticky tack may be used. Any damages found on walls may result in charges to the students ACORN account.

Posters may also be placed in the common area (upon agreement within the household).

With the exception of registered service animals, pets are not permitted in residence. Should you need assistance regarding information about service animals, contact our office residence.utsc.@utoronto.ca.

Residence Advisors (RAs) are students who live in the residence community and are responsible to assigned apartment and townhouse areas. They are your front line support. They take an active interest in the quality and enrichment of residence life and are willing to talk with you about the adjustments to be made in leaving home, living in residence, and making academic choices. They are responsible for providing information and referrals to educational and social programs, crisis and emergency support, general help with house and community matters, enforcing residence policy, supporting the academic mission and larger mission and goals of the University of Toronto Scarborough. These students provide an essential balance between friendship and guidance and leadership in the community around issues of community standards and behaviour.

Residents have the privilege of inviting guests to their residence units, provided they:

• During the first full week of the academic year, guests will not be permitted, with the exception of parents, friends, and family members who may temporarily enter the Residence to help residents
• Accompany their guest at all times while visiting
• Ensure that their guest is abiding by all residence policies
• Have agreement from their roommates to host a guest
• Notify their roommates of their guest's presence in the unit
• Host overnight guests for no more than a maximum of 4 nights per month
• If a guest is staying in the common areas of a townhouse or apartment, explicit permission must be granted by your roommates

See the "Living In Residence Overview" under "Receiving Mail" to find your address.

The University including Student Housing & Residence Life is closed during the Campus Closure. As stated in your Residence Agreement, the Resident is expected to vacate the room during the closure but may leave their belongings in their assigned units/bedrooms. The Resident is expected to secure alternate accommodation during this period. For those who absolutely require residence during this time period, Student Housing & Residence Life will allow students with particular circumstances (e.g. international students, out-of-province students), to register to stay in residence during the closure on the StarRez Portal. There is a fee for service during this period. Registration to stay for the closure is on the StarRez Portal in October and November.

To complete the Winter Break Closure form:

• Login to the StarRez Portal
• Select "Manage my Housing"
• Select your Fall booking
• Select "Winter Break Closure form"
• Complete the form according to the instructions provided

There are three laundry rooms available in the residence townhouses, one room per floor in Joan Foley Hall, and a central laundry room in Harmony Commons. Washing and drying is pay per load. Payment can only be made using your TCard, and funds can be loaded in the TCard+ website: https://utsc.utoronto.ca/tcardplus/

Students are responsible for the general upkeep and cleanliness of the houses including cleaning and garbage disposal. It is recommended that a cleaning schedule be established (and agreed upon by all of your housemates) at the beginning of the year so that future disagreements may be avoided. Houses are inspected by the Facilities office periodically to ensure that they are kept in good condition.

Note: Mops, vacuums, and brooms will be provided.

Every month a cleaning service enters units to clean all common areas (bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms). Student must prepare in advance for this.  A scheduled notice will be emailed prior to the cleaning. 

Maintenance requests are submitted by students to ensure that our facilities team is aware of your maintenance request and can send someone to assist you in a timely manner.

1. Log into StarRez:  

2. Click on the drop-down menu in the top left corner of the screen and select “Maintenance Requests| My Unit” You will be directed to a “UTSC Maintenance Requests” page  

3. Please click “New Request”  

4. Select the correct room category (“My room” or “Shared Rooms”)  

5. Then complete all the questions under the general section  

6. Once complete please select “Save Request”  

If you would like to check if your request was saved, please select “Maintenance Requests| My Unit” again in the drop-down menu and scroll down to where you will see a list of your jobs and the option to view/ edit the request.  

Please do not submit multiple requests regarding the same issue as it slows down our facilities team response time.  

There are several routes to downtown. There are buses that leave from Scarborough Campus that will take you to the TTC subway stations. From Kennedy station you take the subway until you reach St. George station.

At UTSC, there are provincial, regional and public transit companies to help you reach UTSC and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), accessible from our campus.