Dalhousie First-Year Residences: Howe, Risley, Shirreff, Gerard and Truro Compared

Every building below lists first-year students on its Dal page. All of them are all-gender, and each offers regular and quiet noise levels. Most Halifax rooms have a twin XL bed, a desk, a chair and a wardrobe or closet. Fridges aren't included.

Dal also runs LeMarchant Place, Glengary Apartments and Grad House in Halifax. Their pages list returning and transfer students, not first-year students, so they're covered further down.

Dal charges residence per student, not per room, split between fall and winter. Rent covers your room, utilities, Wi-Fi and TV streaming for the eight-month academic year, so there are no monthly bills. A $20 council fee each semester is already included in these Halifax rates. Dal says rates can change without notice.

Chapman, Fraser and Trueman share one set of traditional rates. Truro adds a $20 House Council fee and a $35 laundry fee each semester on top of these rates.

Every first-year building needs the Freedom Plan, an unlimited dining hall plan that costs $6,232 for 2026-27 on either campus. It's added to your student account with your residence fees. Here's what a year costs before the $50 application fee and any Truro semester fees.

Dal guarantees a room to new, direct-from-high-school students, domestic or international, who have a complete residence application on file by the guarantee deadline. It gives priority access to Indigenous students, especially Mi'kmaq students; African and Black students, especially Historical African Nova Scotians; and students with disabilities or ongoing medical conditions that significantly affect their housing needs.

Dal's pages don't agree on the deadline. The residence application page says May 15, and Dal's academic important dates list May 15, 2027 as the priority deadline for Fall 2027. The residence FAQ says Dal starts sending offers in mid-May to new students who completed an application by May 1, and the 2026-27 residence dates used May 1, 2026. Apply by May 1, 2027 to meet both.

Residence applications for 2027-28 were listed to open on October 1, 2026, a date Dal marks as tentative. Rooms are assigned first come, first served, so applying early gives you the best chance at your preferred building and room type.

You have to be a full-time Dal student to live in residence, and you can't apply until you've finished the admissions steps.

To accept a room offer, you accept it in the Residence Application Hub and pay a $500 room confirmation deposit. New students have 10 days from the offer to pay. If you don't pay by the due date, Dal cancels your offer and your application. If you're under 19, a parent or guardian signs the residence agreement.

You can pay by credit card in the hub or by Canadian online banking. If you're an international student who can't pay online by credit card, Dal accepts a bank transfer.

The deposit is non-refundable once paid. You can appeal within 30 days of cancelling if something beyond your control, such as a medical, mental health or family emergency, stops you from living in residence. Going to another school or living off campus doesn't count. If you change your mind before paying the deposit, there's no penalty, but the $50 application fee isn't refunded.

Once you've moved in, you're responsible for the full year's fees, including the meal plan, if you leave early. Exceptions include withdrawing from Dal, graduating, a Dal exchange or co-op outside the area, or documented medical reasons. In those cases you pay for the time you lived there.

Dal starts assigning rooms for September in late May and emails your assignment letter to your Dal account. It considers the preferences of more than 2,800 students. First-year students can get a single room, but Dal can't guarantee any room type.

If you don't name a roommate, Dal matches you using your answers about sleep times, tidiness, noise, guests and sensitivity to scents. To room with a friend, you both name each other with your B0 numbers. In all-gender buildings, only people of the same gender share a room.

LeMarchant Place opened in 2013 on Studley Campus and houses 326 students in singles with a shared bathroom and two, three and four-bedroom suites. Its page lists returning and transfer students and groups who apply together. A single or any suite costs $11,967 for 2026-27, and a meal plan is mandatory, with two smaller block plans available.

Glengary Apartments houses 40 returning and transfer students on Edward Street. A bachelor costs $12,684 and a single $10,761. Grad House houses 13 returning, transfer and graduate students downtown for $10,606. The meal plan is optional in both.

Space for returning students in Halifax is capped at 250, plus 100 spaces held for student leaders. There's no cap in Truro.