Student Housing in Prince Edward Island: Residence, Rentals and What It Costs
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026 • Student Housing, Money & Budgeting, Canadian Universities & Colleges
UPEI residence for 2026-27 runs from about $4,166 to $7,762 a semester depending on hall and meal plan, Holland College houses students in two Charlottetown buildings with utilities and Wi-Fi included, and Charlottetown apartments off campus average around $1,627 a month.
🏠 Cheapest UPEI option: a 4-person apartment in the Performing Arts Centre and Residence at $4,166/semester, no mandatory meal plan
Most expensive UPEI option: a single suite in Bill and Denise Andrew Hall with a 7-day meal plan at $7,762/semester
💵 Holland College residence fees include heat, electricity, Wi-Fi, phone and parking, plus a $500 damage deposit
Off-campus 2-bedroom apartments in Charlottetown average about $1,565/month as of August 2026
UPEI residence: halls, rooms and meal plans
UPEI runs five residence buildings, and cost depends heavily on which one you pick, whether you get a single or shared room, and whether a meal plan is required or optional. Figures below are per semester for the 2026-27 academic year, from UPEI's residence fees page .
| Residence | Room type | Fee/semester |
|---|---|---|
| Bernardine Hall | Double, 5-day meal plan | $6,248.50 |
| Bernardine Hall | Double, 7-day meal plan | $6,312.00 |
| Bernardine Hall | Single, 5-day meal plan | $7,100.00 |
| Bernardine Hall | Single, 7-day meal plan | $7,163.50 |
| Bernardine Hall | Premium single, 5-day meal plan | $7,300.00 |
| Bernardine Hall | Premium single, 7-day meal plan | $7,363.50 |
| Bill and Denise Andrew Hall | Double/triple suite, 5-day meal plan | $7,598.50 |
| Bill and Denise Andrew Hall | Double/triple suite, 7-day meal plan | $7,662.00 |
| Bill and Denise Andrew Hall | Single suite, 5-day meal plan | $7,698.50 |
| Bill and Denise Andrew Hall | Single suite, 7-day meal plan | $7,762.00 |
| Performing Arts Centre and Residence (PAC) | 2-bedroom/4-person apartment | $4,166.00 |
| PAC | 2-bedroom or 3-bedroom apartment | $4,880.00 |
| PAC | Single studio | $5,080.00 |
| PAC | Premium 2-bedroom apartment | $5,080.00 |
| Blanchard Hall | 2-bedroom apartment | $4,181.50 |
Students in Bernardine Hall or Andrew Hall must buy a meal plan each semester, either the 5-day plan at $3,183.50 or the 7-day plan at $3,247.00, both already folded into the room prices above. PAC and Blanchard Hall residents cook in their own kitchen and can skip the meal plan entirely, which is a big part of why those buildings come in cheaper overall. If you plan to cook most nights, the self-catering buildings save money over a full year, but budget your own groceries realistically before assuming that savings holds.
Holland College residence
Holland College operates two residence buildings in Charlottetown: Glendenning Hall, with 186 beds across 90 furnished apartments (mostly two-bedroom units, plus single, triple and accessible options), and Cumberland Residence, with 80 beds across 31 furnished apartments, according to the college's student housing page . Fees cover furniture, appliances, heat, electricity, Wi-Fi, local phone service and parking, and you pay a $500 damage deposit at registration.
Rates are set per rate sheet based on your program's end date rather than one flat annual fee, since Holland College programs finish on different dates through the year. Confirm your exact cost with Residence Life once you know your program and intake, and apply for residence at the same time you apply for your program through MyDashboard, since space is assigned on a rolling basis rather than guaranteed to every applicant.
Off-campus rent in Charlottetown
Average asking rent in Charlottetown sat around $1,627 a month as of August 2026, with 2-bedroom units averaging $1,565 and 3-bedroom units around $2,350, per Zumper's rent tracker . These are asking prices on active listings, which usually run higher than the average rent paid across all existing tenancies in the city, so treat them as a ceiling for what a new lease costs rather than an average for every renter. Rents in smaller towns like Summerside or Stratford tend to run lower, though the pool of available units is thinner too, and commuting from further out adds a transportation cost you should weigh against the rent you save.
Search off-campus listings through Facebook Marketplace groups for Charlottetown renters, Kijiji, and your institution's own off-campus housing board if it runs one. Start looking at least two months before you need to move in, since the best units near campus go fast around the start of each term.
Leases and tenant rights
Prince Edward Island's Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) oversees residential tenancies on the Island, including lease terms, security deposits and notice periods. Get everything in writing before you move in: the rent amount, what utilities are included, the deposit amount, and a move-in condition report with photos. Deposit limits and notice-period rules change from time to time, so confirm the current figures with IRAC directly rather than relying on what a landlord tells you verbally.
Ask upfront whether heat and electricity are included in the rent. Older apartments in PEI can carry high oil or electric heating bills through the winter, and a rent that looks cheap on paper can end up costing more than a slightly pricier unit with heat included once the coldest months hit.
Roommates and commuting
Charlottetown is compact enough that most off-campus housing sits within a short bus ride or bike ride of UPEI and Holland College, so commuting distance rarely forces a housing decision the way it does in larger cities. Weigh a roommate split against a single residence room by adding up rent, utilities and groceries against the all-in residence fee, since residence pricing already bundles costs that add up fast off campus, especially through a Island winter with high heating demand.
If you are moving to PEI from another province for the first time, consider a first-year residence placement even if it costs more than a shared rental, since it removes the need to sign a lease sight unseen, furnish an apartment from scratch, and navigate a new rental market before you have set foot on the Island.