Questions about living in CapU Residence? Find the answers here.
CapU housing is open year-round, providing affordable and safe housing for CapU students. If you are actively looking for housing or will be for an upcoming term, please email housing@capilanou.ca to find out if we can accommodate your request for housing.
Students will be required to be enrolled in at least 9 credits each term (in-person or online) to maintain their eligibility for CapU Student Housing.
When you are offered a spot in CapU Housing, an email will be sent to your CapU email and residence portal. The offer email contains information about how to proceed.
The offer email also contains the deadline to accept the offer. If you don't accept your offer by the deadline, the offer will expire and your application will be cancelled.
Contact housing for more information.
You will be added to the waitlist and you will received an offer when selected by lottery. Lottery is done as rooms become available.
Your room/building will be provided to you when you arrive for move-in. This is because we continue to change rooms and community as needed until move-in day.
General information
By transit: CapU student fees include a U-Pass, giving students unlimited access to TransLink bus, rail and ferry services. To get between campus and student housing, students catch the #212 bus to Phibbs Exchange and change to the #245 bus to CapU. The total trip takes about 20 minutes. The #212 bus provides service every 30 minutes, and the #245 bus provides service every 10 to 12 minutes. Visit Translink Mobile Services for more details.
By bike: An on-street bike route connects the campus with the Dollarton CapU housing. Convenient outside bike storage is provided on campus and at the student housing.
By car share: CapU and Evo are partnering to bring car sharing to CapU and CapU student housing. The pilot project will give students more options for getting between the campus and student housing.
By car: Limited parking is available, considering that students apply for parking. Costs, if any, are still being considered. Typically, we have a waitlist for parking during the academic year. It is important to note that demand for parking spaces may, at times, exceed the space available. All vehicles must be registered with student housing upon move-in. Students are encouraged to use transit, cycle or car share.
Demand for student housing is high. Students need access to safe, clean and comfortable housing that is also reasonable. The off-campus location is the first phase of student housing to meet that demand.
Our goal is to provide student housing in on- and off-campus residences. Planning is underway as we look at options to best serve our campus community. Our longer-term plans include on-campus housing.
Please visit Apply For Residence for detailed information and to submit your application.
Log in using your student login username and password. If you do not yet have your student login information and have already submitted an application to CapU, please contact housing@capilanou.ca for assistance.
All current and new students, who are registered full-time (9 credits) at CapU are eligible for student housing.
Summer Eligibility: During the Summer term, students are not required to be enrolled in courses in order to live in residence, but must have studied at CapU during the previous (Spring) term.
Students who apply for housing by the deadline in the first application round will receive priority consideration. Others will be placed on the waitlist and offers sent as space becomes available.
Most of our double rooms are prioritized for students entering their first year of studies at CapU with additional consideration given to international students and students living outside of areas local to North Vancouver.
Our single rooms are prioritized for students continuing their studies at Capilano University and students with an identified need for special accommodation. Additional consideration will also be given to students who have previously lived in CapU Residence.
Due to limited available spaces in housing, room offers will be sent to applicants first based on their application period, then as rooms become available, using a lottery system.
For more information about application periods, please see important dates.
For those that have applied and wondering what their odds are, we will continue to send out offers as spaces become available throughout the summer.
No. At this time, our shared accommodation is only suitable for individual residents.
The housing fees include a bed, storage, desk, chair and closet for each student. Rooms are equipped with high-speed wireless Internet. Each floor in housing includes a common lounge, shared washroom and shared showers.
The fee also includes a daily meal plan that provides a range of healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner options in the dining hall and $500 in dining dollars that can be used for meals on the main campus.
During the application process, you will be asked to create a profile and screen name to be used in our online roommate matching portal*. Shared accommodations are single gender only.
Through the portal, you will be given the opportunity to browse prospective roommates and compare interests to select the best fit for you.
*The Roommate matching portal is only open before the start of each Academic Year, typically in August. Students applying only for the spring term or the summer term cannot use the matching portal.
For these two terms, roommates are assigned by the housing office using the information students provide in their housing applications.
Pets are not allowed. Guide and service dogs are permitted, but must be registered with Student Housing Services and Accessibility Services.
In partnership with CapU's Accessibility Services, we are taking steps to make these older buildings more accessible for everyone, including automatic door access to the main residence building (Grouse Hall) and to the dining hall.
The washrooms and showers are also universally accessible. In addition, Accessibility Services will continue to work with Student Housing to address student needs and make the property more accessible and inclusive for all ages and abilities.
For all inquiries or to book an appointment with an Accessibility Services Advisor, please call 604 983 7526 or for an email response at access-serv@capilanou.ca.
CapU student housing is located in a growing neighborhood with a number of amenities and services within short walking, biking or transit distance.
Amenities include coffee shops, restaurants, grocery stores and social activities such as rock climbing and laser tag.
Residence fees are broken down into four payments. Application fees are payable using a credit card on the application portal, when you apply for housing.
Confirmation fees are to be paid using a credit card when you receive a housing offer and you want to accept on the application portal.
Fall and Spring term fees are posted to your student account in the 2nd week of each semester. Payment can be made the same way you pay your tuition. Fall and Spring fees are due in full by the deadline in your offer letter.
Arrival and move-in
You will receive an email via your CapU email address and your residence portal, about the move-in date and time.
Early move-in means arriving in housing prior to the move-in date. You must have received and accepted a housing offer before making a request for early move-in.
We may not be able to accommodate all early move-in requests, but we encourage you to contact housing@capilanou.ca to make your request.
Yes, you can arrive after move-in date. Students are required to check-in no later than 7 days after the move-in date in their offer letter. Email housing to let us know when you plan to move-in and we will plan for your arrival.
In the fall semester, our student athletes or Residence Advisors welcome new and returning students and assist them with moving into their new home. Students are permitted to have one family member/friend to assist them with their move.
Living in Student Housing
Our housing orientation is designed to provide you with everything you need to know about living in housing. Details are shared with confirmed students prior to the start of the orientation.
Signage has been placed in all entrances, halls, and shared spaces.
Hand sanitizers and hand soaps dispensers have been places in various location around our buildings.
Cleaning and sanitizing of shared and common spaces continue to be done more frequently.
Your residence agreement is a legally binding document between you, the resident, and Capilano University. By accepting an Offer of Residence from the University you acknowledge that you fully understand and agree to the terms, standards, and financial obligations as outlined in the agreement.
This means that if a student who is enrolled in courses at Capilano University is looking to move out of residence before the end of the agreed-upon contract term, they will be responsible for any outstanding residence and meal plan fees for the academic term during which the agreement is terminated. If you are required to withdraw from residence because you are no longer a Capilano Student, your residence fees will be prorated based on your move-out date, less a processing and administration fee of $500.
If you have questions about move out, please contact housing@capilanou.ca
Yes. See Counselling Services for more information.
Safety Procedures
Mask-wearing is optional for all students, employees and visitors present in student housing and other CapU learning locations, including classrooms, common areas and office spaces where the public is being served.
While masks are no longer required or mandated, we recognize that we all have our own risks and vulnerabilities and support everyone's choice to wear a mask, if they feel more comfortable doing so.
Facilities (cleaning, etc.)
Prior to arrival, our cleaning team will clean and prepare your residence rooms. After you have arrived, it is the student's responsibility to clean their own room.
Our custodial services team will be responsible for cleaning common areas such as washrooms, shower, laundry, common/lounge room, hallways and stairwells.
If you notice something that needs cleaning, put in a maintenance request and the work will be allocated to our maintenance or cleaning staff.
Housing Services has added cleaning staff and extended daily cleaning hours in shared spaces.
Laundry rooms will be open to students 24/7 and in-room occupancy limits will be posted inside and outside the room.
Instructions and protocols to follow while in the laundry room and prior to and following use of machines will be posted in the laundry rooms.
It is the student's responsibility to wipe-down the touch points of the washers and dryers prior to and after use.
General cleaning by custodial staff will be completed frequently in all laundry areas.
Meal Plans
There will be dine-in and take-out options available. Students will be able to eat in the dining hall or take their meals to go.
Our meal plan is a declining-balance meal plan. The declining-balance meal plan operates like a debit card.
We load your meal plan dollars onto your student card and every time you make a food purchase, in residence or on campus, the cost is subtracted from the dollar balance remaining in your account.
The housing meal-plan is mandatory for all students in housing. If you have any dietary needs please contact housing@capilanou.ca with your dietary needs.
The flex dollars can be used both on campus and in the residence dining hall (When you purchase only snack items – drinks, chocolate bars, candy, chips).
This means that if you do not need to be on campus, you will still able to spend the amount in housing.
Email us at housing@capilanou.ca and let us know you would like to add funds to your meal plan. In the email be specific, about which account you would like to top up (flex or dining dollars account), and provide the amount you want to add.
The minimum amount you can add is $200 and the deadline to top up any of these two accounts is December 1 or April 1, depending on the semester. When we top up your meal plan balance, your student account is charged for the same amount.
You can always use a credit/debit card for your meals, you will be charged the same amount for the meal when you pay with a bank card.
All funds not used during each semester expires at the end date of that semester. If you do not use your meal plan dollars you will lose it, so make every effort to spend it all by this date (See offer letter for end of semester date).
Ask the cashiers to give you an update on your meal plan balance, so you can plan your spending.