Residence FAQs

The Housing Portal can be found by logging into myTrent and navigating to the Support tab at the top right-hand side of the screen. Once there, the student will see the button for the Housing Portal under the Student Housing heading.

Any student who is new to Trent university is eligible for the residence guarantee. Just finished high school and applying to university for the first time? Transferring from another institution? Interested in applying to Trent for the first time as a mature student? All of these situations make you eligible for our residence guarantee. You are automatically eligible for the guarantee as long as you have: 

• Applied to our Academic Year Residence Application Trent University (winter and summer start students are ineligible for our residence guarantee) 
• Started a residence application. and paid the $50 application fee. 
• Completed all steps visible to you in the application and paid the $500 deposit by June 5, 2024 at 11:59 pm EST. 

The guarantee does not apply to: returning students who have already completed credits at Trent University, graduate students at the Peterborough Campus, as well as winter and summer start students (Durham Campus graduate students are included in our residence guarantee, as long as it is their first year at Trent University). 

To apply for a room in residence, you must complete the following application requirements: 

• Submit a fully completed residence application on the Housing Services Portal along with the $50 non-refundable residence application fee (your way of guaranteeing your spot in the first-come, first-served residence room queue) 
• Submit a $500 residence deposit by June 5, 2024 at 11:59 pm EST 

If you have completed the steps above, your residence application is complete. As the term progresses, additional steps of the application will come available to you (ex. Roommate selection, room selection, etc.). Stay tuned to your email and to our Student Housing Portal to ensure your application remains up to date. 

When your thirst for knowledge has left you hungry, turn to one of the many foodservice locations at Trent University to rest and refuel. Foodservice at Trent is offered by a group of seven foodservice operators who offer a wide range of products and services all of our campuses, each location providing a unique atmosphere and menu. For information regarding dining plans, please visit the Trent Food Services website.

We recommend you do. There are many benefits to living in residence – from convenient access to classrooms and resources, to the opportunity to meet other students and develop life-long friendships. 

Trent University’s residence room allocation operates on a first-come first-served model based on when the $50 application fee is paid. Our $500 deposit is required to guarantee your place in residence (if eligible), but this is not due until our Guaranteed Residence Deadline (see “Who is eligible for the Residence Guarantee”).As such, if your plans are still tentative, you have until then to make a final decision. Applying after our Guaranteed Residence Deadline places you on our waitlist for residence. 

Students on our waitlist, as well as students who apply for our Winter and Summer terms will be assigned rooms based on when the $500 residence deposit was received as these terms do not have residence guarantees. 

We do not ask students to indicate their room type/location preferences as we operate using Residence Self-Selection! Guaranteed students will self-select in a first-come first-served queue based on when their $50 application fee was paid. During this timeslot, students will be able to log into the Housing Portal and select the room they would like based on what is still available! It’s just like picking concert tickets! 

Waitlisted students may self-select or be assigned a room based on when they apply during our process and when their $500 deposit was paid. 

Students applying for the Winter or Summer residence terms will be assigned a room based on when their $500 deposit was paid. 

Student Housing will be offering both single and double rooms at both our Peterborough Residences and Durham Residence. Student Housing will continue to provide updates with any changes.

One of the many benefits of living in residence is the enhanced and individualized supports available to students. Each residence community has an upper-year Residence Life Don who assists with providing resources, acting a first-line support, and connecting students to experts on campus as needed. Students can connect in-person or online with their Don regarding any personal or academic issues. Residence Life Dons build meaningful one on one connections with students, while bringing everyone together in the community. A Don on Duty is also available each night to ensure safety and to respond to emergencies. There are many more resources available to students when living in residence and many are listed within our Living In Residence Page.

Living in residence offers students the opportunity to enhance your studies, meet new people and make life-long friends, and feel more closely connected to your community at Trent. Our Residence Learning Model guides the programs and events offered to residents are designed to assist with a smooth transition to university, provide academic support, and enhance community building.

Yes! We are able to defer students' residence applications to the Winter 2025 term if students are unable to arrive for Fall 2024. Students will be expected to re-pay the $50 application fee but will have their $500 deposit waived (some limitations may apply). Weare not, however, able to accommodate deferrals to the 2025-26 academic year. Students wishing to apply to 2025-26 will be required to cancel their application and re-apply when our 2025-26 application opens early in 2025. 

Parking passes can be purchased from Parking Services (trentu.ca/parking). Information on the various pass types available can be found on the Parking Permits & Fees webpage.

Parking is free at Trent University Durham, but spots are limited.

Returning students are welcome and encouraged to apply to residence. Returning students are not guaranteed residence, but may be offered a room based on availability after our new first-year student guarantee has been fulfilled.

If you are a returning student with an accessibility need that requires you to live in residence, please indicate this in the application form. Returning students with accessibility needs that cannot be accommodated elsewhere may be guaranteed residence.

Returning students are encouraged to review our Off-Campus Housing Website for resources that will aid them in their search for off-campus housing.

Yes! Our residence buildings at Trent are not program-specific. If you are a new student, your college affiliation will match the building you end up living in. If you are a returning student, your college affiliation will be modified to match the building you are living in. We encourage you to take a look at our residence web pages (Peterborough and Durham) and pick the building you think best fits your wants and needs! Pay a visit to the colleges website if you wish to learn more and remember, you can always change your college affiliation in future years if you wish.

Moving to residence is a big step in a students’ academic journey! It is also a big change for their parent and or guardians and supporters. More information regarding orientation, resources, and ways to support can be found on our Parents & Supporters Webpage.

2024 Peterborough and Durham GTA Move-In Day is Sunday, September 1st.

2024 Upper Year and Graduate Move-In Day is Monday, September 2nd.

Yes we do! We know that planning what to pack for residence can be nerve-wracking, so we have created a printable checklist for you to consider when packing items.

In myTrent, navigate to the Student Housing Portal under the “Support” tab. Once there, select the drop-down menu from the top left-hand side of the screen. From this menu select “Application Cancellation” and then select which application you would like to cancel. Fill out the cancellation form and hit submit to finalize your cancellation. Once done, any refunds you are eligible for will be processed automatically. Please review your Application Deposit confirmation email and our residence agreement for our refund policies. 

If you cancel your application by mistake or change your mind, please email residence@trentu.ca to have your application re-activated. 

Gender Inclusive Housing means that students are able to choose if they would like to live in same gender housing or any gender housing.

Same Gender Housing

Students in multi-occupancy spaces (double rooms, suites, adjoining rooms in Gzowski College) will share their multi-occupancy space only with other students with the same gender identity. This does not affect the gender distribution of other rooms/suites in the community, or the building as a whole.

This option is available to students to select within their Residence Application in the Student Housing Portal.

Any Gender Housing

Students in multi-occupancy spaces (double rooms, suites, adjoining rooms in Gzowski College) will share their multi-occupancy space with students of any gender. This does not affect the gender distribution of other rooms/suites in the community, or the building as a whole.

If you choose to opt into any gender housing, you will only be able to live with other students who have chosen this same option. You should expect to live with students of different genders than your own if you select this option (ex. if you are a female-identifying student you may end up living with students who identify as female, male, and/or other gender identities in your same room or suite).

This option is available to students to select within their Residence Application in the Student Housing Portal.