UBC First-Year Residences: Totem Park, Vanier and Orchard

These counts come from UBC Student Housing's residence pages. A shared room holds two students, and all three areas require the same All Access Dining Plan. That means you're comparing rooms and washrooms, not food.

Based on availability, UBC may place some first-year students in Ritsumeikan-UBC House, Walter Gage or Fairview Crescent instead. Upper-year and some graduate students also live there. Ritsumeikan-UBC House and Gage rooms have full kitchens, so first-year residents there don't have to buy the full meal plan.

These are UBC's published room fees for the Winter Session contract, September 5, 2026 to April 28, 2027. Every first-year room also carries the $7,712.32 meal plan, shown in the next table. Fees include internet (ResNet) and utilities. Early arrival, extensions and parking cost extra. UBC says all fees are subject to Board of Governors approval, and 2027-28 fees aren't published yet.

Add the meal plan to the room fee to get what you'll actually pay. UBC splits the Winter Session into three payments. The first, $1,995.18 for every first-year room type, is due when you accept your residence offer. The second is due September 25, 2026 and the last on January 8, 2027.

You pay the first instalment by Visa or Mastercard through the SHCS Online Service Centre. For later payments, UBC recommends pre-authorized debit from a Canadian bank account.

For contracts starting in August or September 2026, UBC's guarantee required all of these: you meet the age and credit-load rules, UBC received your admission application and your Winter Session residence application by May 1, and you received and accepted your offer of admission by June 1. You also had to be coming straight from high school or CEGEP, graduating in June 2026, or in June 2025 with a gap year and no post-secondary courses since.

For Fall 2027, UBC's admissions calendar lists May 1, 2027 as the residence application deadline for the guarantee and early June 2027 for housing offers. The housing site hasn't posted its full 2027 criteria yet, so check them before you rely on the 2026 rules.

Indigenous students who self-identify get a separate guarantee of a place in residence if they apply by the deadline. The residence or room type still depends on availability.

Start the residence application when you apply to UBC. You don't need to wait for an admission offer. You finish it in the SHCS Online Service Centre, rank your room-type preferences and pay a $50 non-refundable application fee. Vancouver and Okanagan need separate residence applications.

After you accept an offer, UBC assigns residence areas and rooms from your room-type preferences and roommate group requests. It also considers your application date, age, gender identity and the vacancy type. UBC says it can't guarantee any of these preferences.

If you need accessible housing, have a qualified professional complete UBC's Accessible Student Housing Medical Assessment Form. Attach it to the Centre for Accessibility's request form and submit both with your UBC application or soon after. The May 1 and June 1 deadlines still apply. The Centre for Accessibility replies within four to six weeks. Food allergies are usually handled through dining accommodations, not a room change.

First-year residences close over winter break. The 2026-27 contract says you must leave from 12 noon on December 23, 2026 until 12 noon on January 4, 2027, and there's no meal service in between. You can leave your belongings in your room.

Cancelling gets more expensive closer to move-in. A cancellation between July 1 and July 31 can add a $400 fee. From August 1 until move-in, the fee is $950, or $700 if you paid a Residence Allocation Process deposit. UBC can waive fees if you aren't admitted or have a substantiated medical condition that stops you attending.