FINANCIAL MATTERS

SHORT-TERM GUESTS

No deposit is required from guests who book a room for less than one month, but a valid credit card is required to make a reservation. Your card will be charged for the quoted room fee and taxes. Once payment is processed successfully, you will receive an email confirming your reservation. When you check-in online, a valid card will be needed again to preauthorize (hold) a certain amount on the card for security and incidentals.

If you selected a refundable room rate, you will be able to cancel your reservation and receive a full refund at any time up to the deadline noted on the rate. If you cancel after the free cancellation period, you will be charged for a one-night stay and the remainder of your fees will be refunded.

If you selected a non-refundable room rate, you will be charged for a one-night stay if you cancel you reservation at any time before arrival.  

LONG-TERM GUESTS AND STUDENTS

The minimum reservation period for the Fall semester is 120 days. The Fall semester deadline to submit your fees is July 1. The Winter semester deadline to submit your fees is November 1. For other start dates, fees are generally due in full at least one month prior to arrival.

The deposit is non-refundable if you cancel your reservation before arrival. If you fail to show up on your check-in day without rescheduling with Granville Hall, your room will be offered to another student from the waiting list and your deposit will not be refunded. When you arrive, the deposit becomes your damage deposit for the room and will be refunded to you at the end of your stay following a satisfactory room inspection.

Long-Term Students and Guests Refunds

• Deposits: Your confirmation deposit is non-refundable. If you pay it and cancel your reservation, not show up to occupy the room, or miss the deadlines to submit the signed residence agreement and residence fees, then the deposit is forfeited.
• Meal Plans: If a resident departs after a calendar month has started, the meal plan fee for that month will not be refunded in part or in whole. However, any meal plan balance remaining on account for future months will be returned to the resident. Similarly, any fees on account for other amenities, services or consumables purchased or subscribed to for an ongoing month are non-refundable, but fees for future months of said items will be refunded.
• Room Fees: Residents are required to sign a residence agreement soon after reserving a room and paying the confirmation deposit. The agreement is a binding lease for the entire period of the stay. This is a “fixed-term” lease and residents are not able to break or quit the lease before the end date noted on the lease. Therefore, residents are responsible for the rent amount of the entire lease period. Rental payments received are non-refundable.

** REFUNDS and COVID-19 **

During the academic year, priority placements are provided to students who book and pre-pay for the full academic year (Sep 1 to Apr 30). If you book for a shorter period, and we're unable to offer you a room due to other students with higher priority, we will refund your deposit in full.

If you receive and accept a room offer, sign a lease, and pay your room fees in full (one year or one semester), then you cancel your travel before arrival for one of the following Covid-19 reason, you will receive a full refund of fees and deposit, minus one month's rent:

• New government travel restrictions prohibit you from traveling to Halifax by any mode of transportation (

No refunds will be issued if travel restrictions are imposed after students arrive in Halifax to begin their stay at Granville Hall. At that point, it is assumed that a choice to stay or depart is within your control.

Room Selection

Rooms will be assigned by Granville Hall prior to a student’s arrival. Where possible, residence staff will do their best to accommodate any special requests. After arrival, room change requests will be considered only if other rooms/students are available to accommodate the change.

SHARED LIVING - OUR CODE OF CONDUCT

Noise/Sound

All residents observe “consideration hours” at all times in order for residents to enjoy a respectful shared-living atmosphere. Additionally, there are “quiet hours” observed during which residents are asked to contain noise to their rooms or the common lounge and to be mindful about their neighbours’ comfort.

Quiet hours are from 10:00pm to 8:00am from Sunday night to Thursday night, and 1:00am to 8:00am on Fridays and Saturdays. If a resident or group of residents are being too noisy during quiet hours, the Residence Coordinator may ask the residents to be reduce the disturbance or go to the common lounge. If guests are present who are not residents of Granville Hall, the Residence Coordinator may ask them to leave the residence. High levels of bass from stereos or other equipment is prohibited at all times.

Alcohol

Any conduct or behaviour related to alcohol or drugs that threatens the safety, comfort or well-being of oneself or others is prohibited. The legal drinking age is 19 years of age, and underage drinking is prohibited in Granville Hall and residents must abide by all Federal, Provincial legislation and policies.

Smoking/Tobacco/Cannabis Products

Due to the shared-living environment and the close proximity of rooms, Granville Hall is a smoke-free environment. Smoking interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of the premises by other residents and is particularly problematic to residents who have certain respiratory conditions. Smoking any product (cigarettes, pipes, cigars, hookah, cannabis etc.) is prohibited anywhere inside or directly in front of the building. Use of e-cigarettes or vaporizers is not permitted in Granville Hall.

Illegal Substances

Granville Hall has a zero-tolerance policy towards illegal substances, drugs, drug paraphernalia etc. Residents who are caught with illegal substances may face eviction from the residence.

Curfew / “Lights-out”

There is no curfew at Granville Hall. We are a residence for adult residents ages 19 and over. Residents are able to access the residence at any time using their keys.

Parking/Bicycles

Granville Hall does not provide its own parking space for vehicles or bicycles. There are several parking garages, parking lots and metered parking around the residence that can be used. These parking options are not affiliated with Granville Hall and are open to the public based on various daily, monthly or annual parking fees that can be paid to the company that manages the parking space. 

Some nearby parking providers:
Metro Park (indoors): metropark.ca/halifax 
Waterfront Parking (outdoors): my-waterfront.ca/getting-here/parking/halifax  

Bathrooms/Washrooms

Residents at Granville Hall have access to shared privacy bathrooms, which are located on each floor. Privacy bathrooms are fully enclosed units with a toilet, shower and sink available for individual usage. There is enough space to dry off and change inside each bathroom. Each bathroom is shared by a maximum of approximately two or three residents. There are three bathrooms on the first floor, four bathrooms on the second floor and four bathrooms on the third floors.

Lost/Stolen items and insurance

Granville Hall is not responsible for any lost or stolen items. Residents must exercise due diligence in securing their belongings, valuable items or large amounts of cash. All rooms are equipped with locks and residents should not leave their doors unlocked or rooms unattended if they have highly valuable items in the room.

Granville Hall’s insurance does not cover any losses or damages that occur to resident belongings for any reason. Residents may be able to obtain separate tenants' insurance from their bank, travel agent, parent’s home insurance or other insurance providers to cover their belongings in the unlikely case of theft, fire, water damage, etc. If you're opening a Canadian resident bank account, ask your bank for more information about tenant’s insurance upon your arrival in Halifax.

Pets

Pets of any kind are not allowed in residence.

Storage

All beds are 14” high and can fit two or three regular-sized luggage bags underneath the steal frame. There is also room on top of the wardrobe for one or two small bags. Granville Hall does not provide additional storage space other than what is available within each room.

Recycling/Garbage

Recycling is an important part of a sustainable future. It is also required by the city's municipal laws. Each floor in Granville Hall is equipped with recycling bins and residents should separate their garbage and put it in the correct bin. A clear guide of what goes in which bin will be provided.

Housekeeping

Short Term Stays (less than 30 days): Your room will be cleaned once a week. On that day, our housekeeping staff will clean the room, empty your garbage, remove your sheets and pillow cases for washing and put on a clean set of sheets and pillow cases. 

Common areas, such as bathrooms, kitchens and lounges, are cleaned frequently. Residents are encouraged to maintain clean and tidy common spaces to help our cleaning staff keep your living environment enjoyable for everyone.

For long-term bookings (30 days or more): Residents are responsible for cleaning their own rooms and sheets/linen. Bed sheets should be purchased separately from Granville Hall or supplied independently by the resident. Each bed is supplied with a mattress and two pillows. Long-term residents must supply their own bed sheets, pillow cases, duvets and duvet cover. You can also purchase a linen pack from Granville Hall when you create your reservation on the website. 

Emergencies

If you encounter a fire, medical or criminal emergency - dial 911 first. Next, alert the Residence Coordinator or Residence Director at (902) 237 4606 OR (902) 441-9730.  If you encounter a fire, close any doors between you and the fire, pull the nearest fire alarm and evacuate the building following the fire evacuation procedures.

Pest Control

As a port city, Halifax can experience periods of increased presence of mice, specially in areas near the harbour or waterfront walk. Granville Hall uses a professional pest control company to maintain a clean and pest-free environment in the residence building. Keeping pests away is a shared responsibility by all residents of Granville Hall, and students are required to follow best practices in storing food and disposing of garbage to avoid attracting pests to the building.

Open food containers, dirty dishes or pizza boxes should not be left in your room, on the kitchen counters or dining tables throughout the day or overnight. Instead, dispose of any garbage in the appropriate bin. For food remains, scrape all remaining food off your plate and into the green compost bin in the kitchen and close the lid, then rinse and place your plate in the dish washer. If you have any open food containers that don’t require refrigeration, place them in your assigned kitchen storage cupboard or in one of the provided plastic Rubber Maid bins in the kitchen. Without a food source to attract pests, all residents will enjoy a clean, tidy and healthy living environment.

If you see a mouse, don’t panic! Record the time and place and inform staff. A pest control technician is typically dispatched within 24 hours.

Bed Bugs

Granville Hall is a new facility with brand new furniture and equipment as of September 2017. We are proud to provide a clean and healthy environment free of issues experienced by older and poorly maintained student accommodations. To help maintain a bug-free environment, please follow these three main practices:

1.     Do not bring any outside furniture into your room or second-hand bed sheets, pillows or comforters. All the furniture in the room has been carefully selected by Granville Hall to be pest-resistant. Second-hand furniture, specially furniture containing wood or fabric, is one of the main ways for bed bugs to be carried into a building. If you plan to purchase a new piece of furniture for your room, such as an additional side table, you must inform the Residence Coordinator first and obtain approval. Any unapproved outside furniture found in a room during weekly housekeeping may be removed from the room by the staff at their discretion.

2.     Avoid visiting or spending the night in another building that has reported or suspected bed bug infestations. They can travel on your clothes or belongings when you return to your Granville Hall room.

3.     Avoid hosting any overnight guests who come from buildings with reported or suspected bed bug infestations. They can carry the bugs on their clothes or belongings to your room.

Not every bite you discover on your body is caused by bed bugs. If you suspect that you have bed bugs, don’t panic! Inform staff right away and a pest control technician will be dispatched to inspect your room. If there is evidence of bed bugs in your room, there is a process in place to disinfect the room and all of your belongings. During the remediation period, you may be required to find accommodations elsewhere if no other room is available at Granville Hall.

Cooking Facilities

Any form of cooking or electric hot plates or stoves are a fire hazard and are prohibited from use in any rooms other than the common kitchen area. Residents who use cooking equipment in their room may receive a written warning followed by eviction from residence if the issue continues to occur.

Granville Hall Property

Removing or moving Granville Hall furniture or other items from lounges, and rooms is not permitted. Outside furniture is not allowed in Granville Hall to minimize risks of pests.

Commercial Use of Granville Hall

Residents are not permitted to use any space or service in Granville Hall for commercial purposes.

Telecommunications & Internet Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)

Residents are not permitted to install wires, cables or other electronic connections in Granville Hall.

Free internet access is provided to all our long-term residents and short-term guests. Users must read and agree to the following conditions BEFORE using Granville Hall’s internet services. Failure to follow the AUP may result in cancellation of service or, in some cases, cancellation of your reservation/booking with no refund issued.

Granville Hall makes no warranties regarding the speed, availability or security of the internet service and accepts no liability for damages resulting from your use of the service or inability to access the service.

Granville Hall’s internet service MAY NOT be used for any of the following activities:

• Transmitting any material that infringes on any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other proprietary rights of any party, or is otherwise protected from unauthorized duplication or transmission;
• Transmitting any material that is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, obscene, libelous, invasive of someone’s privacy, hateful, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
• Transmitting any material that contains unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, chain letters, or any other correspondence that would generally be considered “spam”;
• Transmitting any material that contains software viruses or other harmful computer code;
• Forging an email header to obscure the originator of the message;
• Harming or attempting to harm minors in any way;
• Interfering with or disrupting the use of the service for other guests, either by design or due to unusually high bandwidth usage;
• Stalking or harassing another or collecting personal data about a third party without their knowledge or consent;
• Any other activity which would violate local, provincial, or federal laws

Evictions

At the Residence Manager’s discretion, residence rule violations may result in written warnings. On the third infraction, a resident may receive notice that their residence agreement/lease has been cancelled and that they must vacate the residence within 5 to 15 days, depending on the issue. 

A resident’s lease agreement may be terminated if rent is more than 15 days late. A 15-day notice of termination will be provided to the resident in this case. The decision to terminate a lease is at the discretion of the Residence Director

For more serious infractions, such as violence towards another resident, harassment, causing deliberate property damage to the residence, or engaging in illegal activities, the Residence Director may issue notice to a resident without any initial written warnings.

Property Damage

The cost of fixing damages caused by the misuse of equipment or caused by deliberate intent will be charged to the responsible resident. In addition, the resident may receive a warning or be evicted from the residence, depending on the seriousness of the damage/incident.

Guest Policy

You are welcome to have guests in your room and in the common areas; However, you must accompany your guests at all time to respect the other residents. Your guests are your responsibility, including any damages or disturbance they cause.

You may have one overnight guest for up to a maximum of two nights per week. However, guests are visitors, and cannot use your room as a place of short or long-term accommodations. Granville Hall's rooms are meant to accommodate only the one resident who leased the room. Residence staff have the right to evict your guest from the building if they are concerned for the safety or comfort of other residents, or if your guest violates any of Granville Hall’s rules.

** COVID-19 NOTE ** 

Please visit the Nova Scotia Public Health website for latest information on restrictions and gathering sizes.  

Fire Safety

Behaviour which endangers the safety of others (ie. Altering a smoke detector, not evacuating during a fire alarm) is prohibited. All residents and guests are required to evacuate the building at the time of a fire alarm. The use or possession of explosive or flammable material is not permitted in Granville Hall (ie. fireworks and propane/gasoline tanks).

Discharging, tampering with or operating any fire prevention or detection equipment for any purpose other than the control of fire is strictly prohibited. Such equipment includes fire extinguishers, pull stations, alarms and smoke and heat detectors. Tampering with fire safety equipment will typically result in a $500 fine and/ or eviction. Any negligent or intentional fires started by any person can lead to a resident’s immediate eviction.

Safety and Security

Behaviour that jeopardizes or has the potential to jeopardize the safety & security of oneself, others or a Granville Hall is prohibited.

Restricted or Unauthorized Areas

Residents are not permitted in restricted or unauthorized areas (except in emergencies).

Unauthorized Key Possession/Use

Residents are not permitted to copy, lend or be in the possession of unauthorized keys.

Theft

Possession of another person’s or Granville Hall property without permission is prohibited.

Weapons

Firearms or any other weapons or items that are created or intended to cause harm, could be seen as intimidating or mistaken for a weapon are strictly prohibited. Examples include, but are not limited to, restricted weapons, fencing foils, ceremonial or decorative swords, air soft guns and paintball guns.

RESPECT AT GRANVILLE HALL

Civility

Residents must not intimidate, threaten or otherwise interfere with any person.

Discrimination

Conduct that results in hostile treatment of an individual or group based on race, gender, origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, ability or other human right protected grounds, is unacceptable in Granville Hall.

Hate Activity

Any comments or actions against a person or group motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on any individual right or protection is prohibited in Granville Hall. This includes but is not limited to, hate crime, hate propaganda, telephone/electronic communications promoting hate, and the display of hate through any notice.

Harassment

Any unwelcome, unwanted, offensive or intimidating attention or conduct (oral, written, virtual, or physical) by an individual/group is prohibited in Granville Hall. This includes, but is not limited to, bullying, hazing, or racial slurs.

Graphic Materials

Displaying pornographic or graphic material in public or common areas is prohibited.

Sexual Violence

Any form of Sexual Violence will not be tolerated within residence and may result in severe consequences such as criminal charges and eviction. This includes but is not limited to sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, indecent exposure, voyeurism and sexual exploitation.

Violence

Physical aggression will not be tolerated. If faced with a violent situation, residents should vacate the premises and call for help. Any resident who engages in physically aggressive behaviour, regardless of the intention, can face severe consequences such as eviction.

Cleanliness Standards

Residents are expected to keep their rooms and common areas at a standard that is acceptable to Granville Hall staff.

Pranks

Initiating, supporting, or participating in pranks that are disruptive, offensive, and/or damaging are prohibited.

Cooperation with Staff

Failing to follow the directions or instructions of Residence Coordinator who are acting within the scope of their position is not permitted.

Personal conflicts

Residents are encouraged to address any issues with each other openly and respectfully. If you're uncomfortable in communicating your concerns or resolving your conflict directly with fellow residents, the Residence Coordinator will do his/her best to resolve the issue. He/She is trained in conflict resolution.

Dress Code

Residents must be appropriately dressed in common/shared spaces and during interactions with other residents or staff. Nudity in common areas or walking around in what can be considered undergarments is prohibited. Appearing topless or bottomless in common areas is not allowed.