Frequently Asked Housing Questions

At this time, students enrolled in part-time courses only are not eligible to live on-campus.

You can only live on-campus if you are enrolled in and attending a full-time, cohort-based day school program. If you move to part-time courses, or withdraw from your program, you will be required to move out and notify the Housing Office.

Students in the International Student Exchange Program assessed at a level 4 or 5 will be eligible to apply to live in Student Housing at the Burnaby campus. When the ISEP program starts, English language skills will be assessed. Depending on the results of that assessment students will be placed at a level on a scale of 1-5. Levels 1-5 are taught at the BCIT campus located in downtown Vancouver (approximately 40 minutes by transit to downtown from the Burnaby on-campus location). Please contact us again once you have received your level 4 or 5 assessment so we can update your housing application.

If you have been accepted to be a part of the Exchange or Study Abroad program, information on how to apply for a room at BCIT Student Housing will be made available through your corresponding program coordinator.

Another exciting option is homestay accommodation – in other words, living with a Canadian family while studying at BCIT. It’s an opportunity to experience Canadian family life and traditions, improve your English skills, and make connections. For more information on homestay opportunities, visit LV Homestay.

At this time BCIT does not offer any family housing. All on-campus housing options are single-occupancy bedrooms in shared suites.

BCIT Student Housing keeps a waitlist of housing applicants. As rooms become available due to cancellations or residents moving out, we offer these rooms to waitlisted applicants. If you are not offered a room on-campus but you would still like to live in the lower mainland, please refer to our Off-Campus Housing page for additional resources.

Each bedroom has: a single bed, dresser, desk, computer chair, bookshelf, and closet. Some of the other items you might want to bring with you when you move in are:

• Bed linens (XL twin): bedsheets, pillows, blankets
• Kitchen supplies: pots, pans, cutlery, dishes, and dish soap
• Bathroom supplies (toilet paper is provided): toiletries, bath towels, shower shoes
• Miscellaneous supplies: clothes hangers, laundry detergent, and other items to make your room feel like home.

Please be aware that all personal items must be stored in bedrooms including bicycles.

If you are interested in ordering bed sheets and other dormitory supplies right to your bedroom, visit the Campus Linens Canada website for more information.

The Housing Office does not offer meal plans. However, each suite is equipped with a kitchen including four refrigerators, two stoves, a microwave, and a toaster. Students are encouraged to bring their own cookware and utensils to prepare their own meals as each suite is equipped with a full-sized kitchen.

While full wired and wireless internet service is provided by BCIT at no extra charge in all Student Housing buildings, residents are not permitted to use personal routers or WiFi-enabled smart devices with BCIT’s internet service.

Residents can purchase additional internet service and activate their bedroom cable outlet by contacting a service provider such as Shaw or Telus.

You may terminate your Housing Contract at any time prior to your Move-Out date by submitting a Notice to Vacate to the Housing Office. You will remain obligated to pay all Student Housing Fees owed for the Contract term unless you are able to provide notice of termination on the first day of the month prior to the new date of termination.

All mail and packages sent to you should be addressed as follows:

Your Full Name
Your House, Suite, and Room Number
4200 Willingdon Avenue
Burnaby, BC
V5G 4J3

It is important that you use this BCIT Housing address and not the BCIT campus address.

Housing Office staff distribute any letters and small packages received from Canada Post into residents’ assigned mailboxes during office hours, Monday through Friday.

Couriered deliveries (such as packages delivered via Amazon, FedEx, UPS) that are too large to fit into a mailbox can picked up from the front desk during office hours.

On occasion, packages are mistakenly delivered by external couriers to the BCIT mailroom on-campus instead of the Housing Office. Residents are not permitted to pick up their packages from the BCIT mailroom. It may take a few extra days to arrive at our office even if you have a notification from the courier specifying that it was delivered.

BCIT Housing is unable to accept any letters, parcels, or packages from mail carriers that require a payment upon receipt or age-verification (e.g. 19+ verification).