UBC Okanagan Residence Options

Choose by the living model, not the building name alone. Similkameen gives each resident a private bedroom with communal floor bathrooms. Cassiar, Kalamalka, Nicola, Purcell, Valhalla, Skeena and Nechako pair private bedrooms with a bathroom shared by two residents. Cascades and Monashee add full kitchens and optional meal plans. Age, academic load and applicant group can remove options before preferences are considered.

Sources checked September 12, 2026. View sources

Cascades residences at UBC Okanagan, in a photograph uploaded in June 2010. The exterior does not show an individual room layout. Futongrab / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0. Original photograph; responsive versions remain under the same licence.

Choose a living model before a building name

Similkameen is the traditional option: each resident has a furnished private bedroom, while 40 to 55 residents share a floor with two single-gender communal bathrooms. Its meal plan is mandatory.

Cassiar, Kalamalka, Nicola, Purcell, Valhalla, Skeena and Nechako use single-connected rooms, also called traditional semi-private rooms on the fee pages. Each student has a private bedroom and shares a semi-private washroom with one same-gender resident. These residences are mostly first-year communities and require the meal plan. Cassiar, Skeena and Nechako also publish a higher-priced single-solo category.

Cascades uses townhouse-style four-bedroom suites with four private bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living area and eating area. Monashee offers studios, one-bedroom suites and four-bedroom suites. Both have kitchens and an optional meal plan. Monashee studios and one-bedroom suites require residents to be at least 19 by December 31; its four-bedroom suites have no published minimum age.

Choose a living model before a building name
Residence group	Bedroom and bathroom	Kitchen	Meal plan	Practical fit
Similkameen Place	Private single; communal floor bathrooms	Snack kitchen in floor lounge	Mandatory	Private bedroom with a larger traditional-floor community
Cassiar, Kalamalka, Nicola, Purcell, Valhalla, Skeena, Nechako	Private single-connected room; bathroom shared by two residents	Snack kitchen in floor lounge	Mandatory	Mostly first year; more bathroom privacy than a communal floor setup
Lower/Upper Cascades	Four private bedrooms; two shared bathrooms	Full suite kitchen	Optional	Roommates, self-catering and townhouse living
Monashee four-bedroom	Four private bedrooms; shared suite spaces	Full suite kitchen	Optional	Self-catering in a central residence
Monashee studio or one-bedroom	Private self-contained layout	Full kitchen	Optional	Residents aged 19 or older by December 31

UBC Okanagan Student Housing — Similkameen Place UBC Okanagan Student Housing — Single-connected residences UBC Okanagan Student Housing — Lower/Upper Cascades UBC Okanagan Student Housing — Monashee Place UBC Okanagan Student Housing — Eligibility and priority

Remove room types you are not eligible for

Undergraduates must register and remain registered in at least 18 Winter Session credits, with at least nine credits in each term. Graduate students need the College of Graduate Studies to confirm full-time status. UBC measures residence age requirements on December 31 of the move-in year.

The traditional residences, Similkameen, Cascades and Monashee four-bedroom suites have no published minimum age. Monashee studios and one-bedroom suites require residents to be at least 19 by December 31. This makes a studio or one-bedroom an unavailable preference for a younger applicant even if it appears in the room list.

First-year applicants most often receive a single-connected or single unit.
Upper-year applicants typically receive Cascades or Monashee offers.
A limited number of spaces are reserved for returning students.
Applicant category guides the likely inventory; it does not guarantee a building or room type.

UBC Okanagan Student Housing — Eligibility and priority UBC Okanagan Student Housing — How rooms are assigned

Apply before admission, then watch every offer deadline

A prospective undergraduate can apply to residence after submitting the UBC application; an admission offer is not required first. UBC charges a $50 non-refundable housing application fee. One fee can cover multiple housing applications submitted within 14 days, including separate Vancouver and Okanagan applications, but the applications themselves remain separate.

Applicants rank room preferences, but UBC does not guarantee a requested residence or room type. For prospective residents, UBC describes a typical sequence of first-round offers in June, further offers and room assignment in July, and specific room details in August. Check the current schedule and your offer email for your own dates. Each emailed offer has an expiry date and requires an acceptance deposit; missing either step cancels the offer.

The currently published first-year guarantee requires age and academic-load eligibility, on-time UBC and Winter Session residence applications, acceptance of the academic offer by the stated date, and direct entry from high school or CEGEP. Direct entry means graduation within the stated one-year window with no completed post-secondary coursework. UBC separately gives additional consideration to newly admitted first- or second-year international undergraduates, excluding post-baccalaureate programs. These are current conditions, while Fall 2027 dates and guarantee terms remain pending. Keep an off-campus backup if you do not meet every guarantee condition or are placed on the waitlist.

UBC Okanagan Student Housing — Essential application facts UBC Okanagan Student Housing — How to apply UBC Okanagan Student Housing — How rooms are assigned UBC Okanagan Student Housing — Eligibility and priority

Decide between all-access dining and self-catering

Single-connected residences and Similkameen include the mandatory All-Access Meal Plan. For 2026–27 it costs $7,528.48: $7,120.39 for unlimited entry to Pritchard Dining Hall during operating hours and $408.09 in Flex Dollars. Cascades and Monashee residents have kitchens and may buy an optional plan instead.

At the end of term, the all-access dining portion is not refundable. Unused Flex Dollars automatically move to a non-refundable Carryover Plan that does not expire. A resident may request a Flex refund within seven days of term end under UBC's conditions; the current terms include a $50 administration fee and $100 minimum refund.

See our UBC residence guide for the full fee and deadline comparison. For 2026–27, Winter Session totals range from $8,164 for a Monashee four-bedroom suite with food excluded to $16,841.02 for a Nechako single-solo room with the mandatory plan included. These are latest-available comparison figures, not Fall 2027 prices; 2027–28 rates, contract dates and guarantee deadlines remain pending.

UBC Okanagan Food Services — Meal plans UBC Okanagan Student Housing — Traditional semi-private fees UBC Okanagan Student Housing — Monashee Place fees

Keep exploring

UBC residences, guarantees and campus costs →UBC Vancouver vs Okanagan student life →University of British Columbia guide →

Sources and updates

This independent guide summarizes the official information linked below. Availability, access rules and application cycles can change; check the relevant university page before making a decision.