Housing

Searching tips

We strongly encourage students to look for apartments only after they have arrived in Montréal, being sure to book temporary accommodation for their first week.

In Montréal, apartments are traditionally leased for a one-year period, with the lease starting July 1 and ending June 30 the following year. As such, ads for apartments available July 1 are most abundant in April and May. However, many apartments are available starting in September; these are advertised in July and August. Rental ads for January vacancies generally start appearing in November.

In any case, given Québec’s somewhat unique rental situation (one-year leases starting July 1), you might want to consider shared accommodation, which is readily available all year long. 

Student residences

Though École Polytechnique does not have student dormitories, students can apply for a place in the Université de Montréal residences. Keep in mind that space is extremely limited and that you must reserve as soon as possible (as of early March). For more information, contact Résidences de l'Université de Montréal.

 

Apartment hunting by Internet

There are a number of websites that let you start your search from your home country and are equally useful once you reach Montréal.

The first is Polytechnique’s housing site, accessible with your student ID number and date of birth at www.logement.polymtl.ca. Available only to Polytechnique students, the site lets you refine your search parameters: district, price range, number of rooms, and so on.

Another good place to start is Rentoa (http://www.rentoa.com.) Created by a Polytechnique student, Rentoa is a search engine that trawls all the major accommodation websites in Montréal, including those listed below.

You may find the following sites useful:

Appartalouer.com: apartment rentals in Québec.

Appart-zone.com: apartments for rent.

Concordia University’s off-campus housing bank: apartments to rent, share or sublet.

http://www.chambreenville.ca: furnished rooms to share with other international students; all-inclusive; short-term rentals preferred.

Classifiedextra: apartment listings from Le Journal de Montréal (French-language daily) and Montréal Mirror (English-language weekly).

Craigslist: online classifieds.

Global Rent: housing search site.

Home4students: Canada’s official registry for student housing listings.

Kijjji.ca: online classifieds; numerous apartment rentals, shares or sublets.

Les pac: online classifieds.

Louer.com: Québec-wide listings.

MyStudioMontréal: furnished corporate studio apartments to let.

McGill University classifieds.

Phatflat.com: apartments to rent, share, sublet or sell, posted by other students.

Renting.ca: classifieds from The Gazette (English-language daily).

Studios Quartier Latin: furnished apartments (weekly/monthly).

toutMontréal: apartments and condos for rent.

VisiteNet: apartments for rent and for sale.

 

Newspaper classifieds

Most newspaper classified ads include a section on housing rentals. Voir and Hour, two free weeklies published every Thursday, have good listings and can be found in just about any Montréal café.

 

Searching on foot

While it may seem surprising, many apartments advertise only by posting an À louer (for rent) sign on the premises. In fact, one of the best ways of finding accommodation is to simply walk around the area you’d like to live in and visit apartments that interest you. A great way to improve your chances of finding the perfect abode!

Other options

There are other options available, too.

Résidence Maria-Goretti offers 220 affordably priced double rooms near campus (young women only).

Agencies like Ideal Canada offer a turnkey housing service for a small fee.

Some students might prefer homestay accommodation. If so, try Montréal's Number One Homestay and Minerva Homestay.