Bay Street - Summer Rental/Sublet

[J.Chiles]

Hi everyone,

I'm a law student from a school outside the GTA, and I secured a 2L summer position on Bay Street. I'm seeking advice on finding a safe and reasonably priced place to stay for the summer. Since my law school doesn't perform too well in the Toronto 2L recruitment, I don't know anyone working on Bay Street this summer who doesn't already have a living arrangement in place. I'd appreciate suggestions on the rental/sublet market in downtown Toronto, ideally for a place within a 20-minute commute to the financial district. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

TIA

[Turtles]

26 minutes ago, J.Chiles said:

Hi everyone,

I'm a law student from a school outside the GTA, and I secured a 2L summer position on Bay Street. I'm seeking advice on finding a safe and reasonably priced place to stay for the summer. Since my law school doesn't perform too well in the Toronto 2L recruitment, I don't know anyone working on Bay Street this summer who doesn't already have a living arrangement in place. I'd appreciate suggestions on the rental/sublet market in downtown Toronto, ideally for a place within a 20-minute commute to the financial district. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

TIA

Look out for UofT and Ryerson (or other school's) students leaving for the summer and subletting their place. I would start with the housing groups for each school on Facebook. If you want to check out a place before signing and it isn't feasible to travel to Toronto for that purpose, ask one of you friends in Toronto to attend a viewing on your behalf. Just beware of scams (e.g., the people posing as little old ladies on facebook who say they're out of town and just need you to pay a viewing or application fee for them to show you the place, people who are only willing to show photos/videos but not the physical place, etc). If you get desperate, you can Airbnb which has a few more protections than trying to find a random place yourself, albeit at higher cost. 

Once you find some interesting places, before proceeding either look-up the building and surrounding area on the internet or just ask a local for their thoughts. Some places can look nice on paper but have real safety pr maintenance or other unexpected issues in practice. For example, avoid Ice Condos.

[LMP]

Reasonably priced can mean different things to different people, especially in the context of Toronto. 

The trick for you is going to be finding a 4 month sublet. Best bet is to rent from students leaving the city for the summer. In terms of neighbourhoods I'd check out the Annex, Kensington or Cabbagetown. If you want to save a bit but commute a little more go for places in Midtown or North York. 

[HiGuys2020]

I am in essentially the same situation as you. I rented a basement on Airbnb for around 2900. The sublet thing wasn’t really for me.  
 

Somewhat expensive, but finding what I needed somewhere that offered a 4 month lease was proving difficult (parking, furnished, utilities incl.). In the end, the Airbnb will also save me a trip to the city which would be another 700-1200$. 

[switchdog]

Chestnut Residence does summer stays. 

[easttowest]

Check the U of T residences. They were commonly used by summer law and bank students before the pandemic. 

Another option is to try to sublet from a current articling student, many of whom will be gone this summer.

Edited February 2, 2023 by easttowest