What Should I Pack?

Young woman with moving boxes

Space in residence is limited, so try to reduce what you bring with you. And if you need anything else after you arrive, you can pick up any other essentials at the UBC Bookstore—or order ahead and have items prepared for your arrival!

Bring only what you need

Do your best to limit what you bring to residence and accumulate while you’re living at UBC. You’ll need to take all your belongings with you when you move out and donate, sell, recycle or throw away all the stuff you no longer want.

How bringing less helps

With nearly 14,000 students living in residence, we can generate a lot of waste. By reducing what you bring in the first place, you’ll help reduce the waste you produce while living in residence.

Let’s all work together to help reduce waste in residence—in support of UBC’s Zero Waste Action Plan and Climate Action Plan.

What to bring

Essentials

Items everyone should have on their packing list.

Personal items

  • Identification documents—including government-issued photo ID.
  • Health insurance documents—health care card and extended health and dental insurance documents.
  • Renter’s insurance documents
  • Prescriptions/medications
  • Toiletries—toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, etc.
  • Toiletry tote bag
  • Bath towel
  • Water bottle—to fill up with safe, clean drinking water right from the tap.

Room supplies

  • Bed and bath linens—order ahead for delivery to your residence.
  • Pillow
  • Pillow case(s)
  • Clothes hangers
  • Laundry bag—for storing your dirty laundry and toting it to the laundry room.
  • Laundry detergent—detergent sheets/strips are the most sustainable option!
  • Basic cleaning supplies—disinfectant spray and reusable cloth for cleaning surfaces.
  • Emergency kit

Electronics

Clothing and footwear

What to pack for Vancouver’s climate: mild, rainy winters and warm, sunny summers.

  • Essential items—pack light, bringing just the essentials you’ll wear regularly. A minimal wardrobe to reduce waste, decrease environmental impact and travel more sustainably.
  • Multi-purpose items—that you can style up or down in any season.
  • Items you can layer—so you’re ready to adapt to quick weather and temperature changes.
  • Waterproof outerwear—a jacket that can handle medium to heavy rain.
  • Weather-resistant footwear—UBC is mainly a pedestrian campus, so you’ll need good quality footwear for getting around when the weather’s rainy.

For suites with bathrooms and kitchens

Additional items for residents moving into a suite with a bathroom and/or kitchen.

Suites with bathrooms

In addition to your personal toiletries, you’ll need these items for your private or semi-private bathroom.

  • Toilet paper
  • Hand soap
  • Hand towel
  • Cleaning supplies

Suites with kitchens

You’ll need to bring these items for your kitchen.

  • Cutlery
  • Dishes
  • Pots and pans
  • Cooking utensils
  • Food storage containers
  • Dish cloths
  • Kitchen towels
  • Dish detergent
  • Dishwasher detergent—if your suite features a dishwasher.

Remember, you’ll need to take everything with you when you leave, so plan ahead and consider which items you’ll actually use, connect with roommates to reduce duplicate items and visit our annual Mindful Market in September to purchase cheap, second-hand items and support UBC’s circular economy.

🌿 Sustainability tips—cleaning supplies!

To reduce plastic waste and your overall environmental impact, try to buy cleaning supplies that are biodegradable, non-toxic, concentrated, and/or come in recyclable packaging or refillable containers.

Reusable cleaning cloths or sponges, instead of single-use options, are great too!

UBC’s Mindful Consumption Guide

Check out UBC’s Mindful Consumption Guide to learn about making informed purchasing decisions and discover UBC resources, programs and more.

Permitted appliances

These cooking and cooling appliances are permitted in residence.

Cooking appliances

If you’ll be living in a unit with a kitchen, it will feature a stove, oven* and fridge, with some also offering a dishwasher and microwave. Check your residence and room type to confirm!

*except in our Nano suites, where the kitchenette features a stovetop only.

If you want to bring some additional appliances, these items are permitted, as follows.

Permitted in any residence area

These items are permitted in any residence area, but are typically not needed in Orchard Commons, Place Vanier or Totem Park, which have a required meal plan for the residence dining halls.

  • Toaster
  • Electric kettle
  • Coffee maker
  • Rice cooker
  • Sandwich maker

Permitted—except in first year residence areas

These items are permitted in residence, except in Orchard Commons, Place Vanier and Totem Park, where they are prohibited.

  • Toaster oven
  • Air fryer

Pro tips!

  • If you’ll be living in Orchard Commons, Place Vanier or Totem Park, you won’t need any additional appliances (cooking or a mini fridge), except perhaps an electric kettle, since you’ll have an All Access Residence Dining Plan with access to residence dining rooms from early morning to late at night.
  • If you have roommates, connect with them before you move in and see what they’re bringing or what they already have to reduce the chance of duplicates.

Appliance not listed above?

If there’s a cooking appliance you were hoping to bring, but it’s not listed above, you must contact your Residence Life Manager to find out if it could be permitted.

Can I bring a mini fridge?

While you are permitted to bring a mini fridge to residence—that’s no bigger than 0.14 cubic metres (5 cubic feet)—many students end up finding that it’s an unnecessary item.

If you’re moving into a unit with a kitchen, you already have access to a fridge. If you’re in a residence with a dining hall, you’ll have access to plenty of food and drink from morning to night through your meal plan.

Plus, it’s burdensome to move in and out of residence and can result in extra electronic waste at the end of the year.

Cooling appliances

While most residence buildings don’t include air conditioning, Vancouver’s mild climate means that a portable cooling appliance isn’t necessary during the Winter Session (September to April) but may be valuable during the Summer Session (May to August).

What is and isn’t permitted

  • Portable fans—permitted in all residences.
  • Portable air conditioners—only permitted in Year Round and Summer residence areas, with written approval from your Residence Life Manager.
  • Window air conditioners—not permitted in any residence.

What you’ll need to stay cool

During the Winter Session

If you’re living in a Winter Session residence area, you won’t need a fan—and air conditioners are not permitted in Winter Session residence areas.

During the Summer Session

With temperatures during the Summer Session (May to August) becoming warmer on average, some students living in Year Round residence areas find a fan useful for staying cool during these months.

While portable air conditioners are permitted in Year Round and Summer residence areas, you must email your Residence Life Manager to request approval, in advance, to bring one to your unit/room.

And before you purchase a portable air conditioner, to help us reduce energy use and appliance waste during move out, we ask you to consider whether one is truly necessary and explore alternative ways to stay cool in hot weather.

Return to top

What not to bring

We don’t recommend you bring these items.

Printers

You’ll submit the majority of your assignments digitally, so it’s unlikely you’ll need to print much, if anything, during your time at UBC. In the rare case, you need to print something, you’ll have easy access to printers in libraries across campus through UBC Pay for Print.

Bikes and vehicles

UBC is a very walkable campus—flat and pedestrian-friendly, with everything inside a 15-minute walk or so and much of campus a car-free zone. So you don’t need to bring a bike or vehicle to get around.

Plus, with plenty of rain in the winter, students who bring a bike often find they don’t use it as much as they thought they would.

Alternative transportation options

If you need to travel a little further away or get somewhere in a hurry, here are some options.

For getting around campus
  • The route 68 community shuttle—an on-campus TransLink shuttle bus that’s covered under your U-Pass. Great for grocery trips to Wesbrook Village!
  • UBC’s Bike Share program—an affordable bike share program through Mobi, with plenty of locations across campus to access bikes and e-bikes.
  • UBC Accessibility Shuttle—a free, shared ride service for people with conditions that impact their mobility.
For going off-campus
  • Take transit! With thousands of buses leaving campus each day, it’s easy to get off-campus with your U-Pass.
  • Bike Share—Mobi bikes and e-bikes aren’t just for use on-campus. They can be docked and undocked at any of Mobi’s stations throughout UBC and across the City of Vancouver.
  • Car Share: Modo and Evo—two great options if you need access to a vehicle now and again.

If you do bring a bike

If you do end up bringing a bike or buying one while you’re at UBC, make sure it’s inexpensive—and bring a good U-lock. Bike theft happens. Learn more about cycling at UBC and how to keep your bike safe on-campus.

If you do bring a vehicle

Parking availability is limited. Make sure you apply early. Learn more about residence and campus parking.

Expensive and priceless items

Avoid bringing expensive or priceless items to residence, such as luxury jewellery or family heirlooms. It’s not worth the risk of losing items while moving/travelling or to theft.

Alternative options

  • Leave them with someone you trust—a parent/guardian, other family member or supporter, if possible.
  • Store them in a safety deposit box—explore secure, off-site storage options, such as a safety deposit box at a bank, either where you call home or here in Vancouver.

If you bring expensive/priceless items

If you do end up bringing any items of significant value to residence (or store them in a safety deposit box) ensure that your renter’s insurance covers you in the event of theft or loss.

Prohibited items

The following items are prohibited in residence. While some items might be obvious, such as firearms, other items might seem less obvious, but are also prohibited for a range of reasons.

Thank you for your support, cooperation and understanding regarding these prohibited items. We all play a role in contributing to a safer residence environment.

  • Additional/unauthorized furniture—you must email your Residence Life Manager to request approval for any additional furniture that is not listed above.
  • Air fryers—prohibited in Orchard Commons, Place Vanier and Totem Park only.
  • Toaster ovens—prohibited in Orchard Commons, Place Vanier and Totem Park only.
  • Hot plates
  • Butane stoves
  • BBQs/barbecues
  • Propane / propane tanks
  • Hoverboards
  • Large appliances—such as washing machines, clothes dryers, stoves, dishwashers and refrigerators.
  • Pets—except for approved service animals.*
  • Subwoofer audio equipment
  • Window air conditioners
  • Mercury thermometers
  • Explosives
  • Firecrackers
  • Real, replica or fake firearms/guns or other weapons**
  • Illegal drugs
  • Any other items that are also prohibited by Canadian federal law and BC provincial law

*Students must apply for approval via the UBC Centre for Accessibility before bringing a service animal to residence. For students moving into Acadia Park (Family Housing), learn more about animals permitted in residence.

**Please refer to the weapons clause in your Residence Contract for further detail.

Questions?

If you have any questions about what to bring, what not to bring, permitted appliances or prohibited items, please contact us.