Saint John housing
Getting to and from campus
UNB’s Saint John campus is only a 15-minute bus ride from Uptown Saint John - the city’s popular commercial/business district. It's where much of the city's entertainment (movies, restaurants, shopping, aquatic centre, YMCA) can be found.
Saint John Transit offers discounted bus passes for full-time UNB students. The services runs seven days per week and offers 29 different routes - covering every area of the city.
Learn about preferred rates on tenant insurance for UNB students through the UNB Associated Alumni’s affinity partner TD Insurance. Tenant insurance covers your personal belongings (electronics, jewelry, clothes etc) in case of an incident (fire or break-in).
Off-campus housing resources
Many UNB Saint John students – both domestic and international students - live off-campus and form a vital component of the Saint John community. The below information will help you find housing in the community.
Useful terms to learn about off-campus housing:
- Landlord: a person who rents land, a building, or an apartment to a tenant.
- Tenant: a person (like a student), who rents a room or apartment from a landlord
- Lease: a contract outlining the responsibilities and obligations of the landlord and the tenant.
- Security deposit: a security deposit is an amount of money that the landlord may ask the tenant to pay at the beginning of the tenancy. At the end of the tenancy, the tenant has to apply to get the security deposit back, but the landlord may keep some or all of the security deposit for any unpaid rent or late payment, cleaning or repairs.
- Residential Tenancies Tribunal: This provincial office provides tenants and landlords with information about rental law and useful resources for first-time tenants. They also provide fair and expedient resolutions to residential tenancy conflicts.
Common questions
How can UNB help me find off-campus housing?
To find available housing in the community, there are three main resources:
Kijiji is a community connector space for sellers and buyers of everything including leasing of rooms and apartments.
Landlords are using Kijiji to post their available rooms and apartments. You can use the search function to research available rooms and apartments. You can also post a “Housing Wanted ad”, or a “Room mate Wanted” ad.
Important: UNB Saint John does not keep listings of available housing options in the community, and we don’t directly work with landlords or housing companies. We have not personally inspected any rooms and can’t endorse any landlords, housing rental companies and property management companies. Any claims of a “UNBSJ homestay” are false and are not run or monitored by anyone at UNB.
SpaceShared is a platform that pairs students looking for a place to live with adults who have spare bedrooms in their home and would like to earn extra income by renting them out.
I want to find housing before I arrive in Saint John. How should I go about this?
It may not be advisable to sign a lease or pay a security deposit to a landlord to hold a room/apartment without you having seen the room/apartment yourself.
Instead of renting a place that you have not seen or sending money to an unknown person to hold a room or an apartment, you may want to arrive to the city a few days before your classes start, stay in a hotel/Air BNB or other temporary housing, and spend a bit of time visiting a few places before deciding what is best for you.
If you are a new student, you can consider staying in residence for the first term to get the know the city before moving off-campus.
How do I get around Saint John? I won’t have a personal vehicle.
Saint John has a public transit system called Saint John Transit. Routes 3, 9 and 25 come to campus.
Google maps can also help you understand the routes. Explore the directions tab as well as the traffic layer.
Video: Learn about the bus system
I don’t know how to cook very well. What would I do for food if I live off-campus?
If you wish to have your meals cooked for you, UNB Saint John’s food provider Chartwells can help you. There are also meal kit services in Saint John that you can access ($). To locate these, do a google search to research the latest options.
I have looked everywhere and I can’t find anything that I like or in my price range. What should I do now?
Saint John in a growing city and there is high competition for rooms and apartments, especially in the summer and fall. You may find it difficult to find the perfect room quickly (cheap and close to campus) when you arrive, so be prepared to live farther away from campus or in more expensive housing than you had hoped. Once you have lived here for a little while, you likely will be able to move closer to campus or into a less expensive room.
I wanted to stay in residence, but I’m currently on a waiting list. What can I do now?
If you are hoping to live in campus residences, but you are on the waiting list, keep checking back in with residence (res@unb.ca or 1 506 648 5755). The waiting list may change daily, particular in the beginning of the term (September and January). Students who have booked a room early may not show up due to visa delays or change in plans, and this may give you a room.
How do I find temporary housing?
You can use google to research temporary housing. UNB Saint John does not have special rates for students in any of Saint John’s temporary housing options, so it’s up to you to decide which option is best for you.
You can google:
- Saint John NB hotels
- Saint John NB hostels
- Saint John, NB self-catering apartments
- Saint John NB AirBnB
How do I write a “Housing Wanted” or Roommate Wanted" ad? What kind of information should I include?
Your “Housing Wanted” or "Roommate Wanted" ad should include the following information:
- Preferred location (near UNB Saint John campus, Uptown, etc.)
- Features of the room/apartment that you are looking for:
- Type of housing (room or apartment)
- With or without furniture
- Number of bedrooms
- The number of roommates
- Own bathroom
- Access to kitchen
- On campus bus route
- (Add your own wishes - these are just examples!)
- Your price range
- The date you can move in
- Something about yourself that makes you sound responsible and approachable
Once you have made contact with a landlord or room mate, you can share more detailed information about yourself.
Where in Saint John should I choose to live?
Here are some general areas of the city. Use the What's close to campus app to become more familiar with the area.
- North End: 5 - 15 minutes by bus to the campus. There is a wide variety of apartment complexes and rooms in privately owned homes, and many students live in this area. It's a popular area and availability is usually more limited after the term begins. Shopping is possible in the nearby Atlantic Superstore.
- Uptown: 15- 20 minutes by bus to the campus. The uptown is where most of the city's entertainment (restaurants, shopping, City Market) can be found. The uptown area is popular with students and home to many affordable apartments.
- East Side: 30 minutes by bus to the campus. Saint John largest retail centre, cinemas and restaurants are located in this area. There are many apartment complexes and rooms in privately owned homes.
- West Side: 30+ minutes by bus to the campus. The west-side is mainly a residential area with few apartment listings.
- Rothesay, Quispamsis, Grand-Bay-Westfield: 30-45+ minutes by bus to the campus. Bus service is limited. Your own transportation is recommended if you wish to live in these areas.
Good luck with your off-campus housing search!
