Student Housing in Manitoba: Residence, Rentals and What It Costs

Campus residence: guaranteed spots and what they cost

Manitoba's main universities guarantee first-year residence space if you apply by their deadline, which removes the scramble that first-year students in bigger cities often face. Costs vary by room type, building and whether a meal plan is included, so treat any single number as a starting point rather than a quote.

At the University of Manitoba, room rates differ by residence. University College Residence charged a double room at $2,120 to $2,141 per term in 2024-25 and a single room at $3,318 to $3,351 per term, according to residence rate letters published on the university's site, which works out to roughly $4,260 a year for a double and $6,650 for a single across both terms. Other residences, including St. John's College and Arthur V. Mauro Residence, price differently and combine room cost with meal plans in different ways. Use the university's own residence fee calculator for your specific building and meal plan before you budget, since rates change every academic year.

At the University of Winnipeg, McFeetors Hall runs close to $4,300 a term, near $8,600 for the September to April academic year, and includes one of four mandatory meal plan options plus a $25 tenant insurance charge and a $50 Residence Life fee, according to the university's McFeetors Hall fee page . Students who commit to the full 2025-26 academic year get a 10% discount on rent. Meal plans at St. John's College Residence in Manitoba are built into the room fee rather than optional, so check each residence's own policy before assuming you can opt out.

Off-campus rentals in Winnipeg

Winnipeg stays one of the more affordable major Canadian cities to rent in. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's 2025 rental market data puts the average purpose-built two-bedroom rent in the Winnipeg census metropolitan area at approximately $1,571 a month, according to CMHC's Rental Market Report . The Winnipeg vacancy rate settled near 2.8% in the October 2025 survey, a balanced market rather than a tight one, with softer conditions in suburban neighbourhoods like St. James and West Kildonan where new rental stock expanded. One-bedroom rents grew faster than two-bedroom rents earlier in 2025, so pin down current pricing for your specific neighbourhood on CMHC's rental market tool rather than relying on a citywide average.

Splitting a two-bedroom or larger unit with a roommate is the most common way Manitoba students cut rent below the average. Areas near the University of Manitoba's Fort Garry campus and the University of Winnipeg's downtown campus carry a premium for walking distance, while a transit pass makes neighbourhoods further out workable.

Leases and tenant rights

Manitoba's Residential Tenancies Branch (RTB) administers The Residential Tenancies Act, which covers almost every private rental in the province, including apartments, houses and secondary suites. Before you sign anything, walk through the unit with the landlord and complete a condition report together. The RTB uses this report to judge the unit's state when you move out, so an inaccurate or missing report can cost you your deposit later, according to the Residential Tenancies Branch . Landlords must tell you about any required security deposit, its purpose and its due date before you sign the lease.

Manitoba caps how much a landlord can raise rent each year through a provincial guideline tied to the consumer price index. The guideline for 2026 is set at 1.8%, according to a provincial news release . A landlord who wants to raise rent above the guideline needs RTB approval for specific reasons, like major capital repairs. If a landlord tries to raise your rent beyond the guideline without approval, or fails to return your deposit properly, file a complaint with the RTB rather than losing the dispute by default.

Choosing residence versus renting

• Residence suits first-year students who want a short commute, built-in community, and no lease to negotiate, at a cost that is often close to or slightly above shared off-campus rent plus groceries.

• Off-campus renting suits upper-year students who already know Winnipeg or Brandon, want kitchen access, and can split rent with roommates to land below the citywide average.

• Meal plans in residence add convenience but remove flexibility. Compare the mandatory plan cost against your realistic grocery budget before assuming residence is more expensive overall.

• Commuting from a lower-rent neighbourhood works in Winnipeg because Winnipeg Transit's post-secondary Peggo pass and U-Pass programs discount monthly fares for students with a valid institution ID.