Home Stay

Homestay

A stay at a residence by a traveler and especially by a visiting foreign student who is hosted by a local family.

Since 1995, the Canada Homestay Network, a family-run, non-profit society, has helped tens of thousands of students find a home away from home in Canada.

The average cost of homestay

The average cost of homestay accommodation: is $400 - $800 CDN per month. Many schools have accommodation conveniently located on or near their campus. Rooms can vary in size and in quality, and many dormitories have shared kitchens, toilets, showers, and laundry facilities.

Homestay Programs

Homestay programs can help students gain more from their international studies. This is because, through a homestay, students can gain a network of native English speakers to practice speaking with, as well as daily insight into Canadian culture, including its cuisine.

Homestay Application

To submit a homestay accommodation application on behalf of students planning to or currently studying in Canada, you must have an Agent Portal account. To register or log in to an Agent Portal account. You will need to check the confirmation email before you are able to log in.

Payment of host families:

For these short-term homestays, the daily stipend varies significantly from company to company and region to region. But generally speaking, host families can expect to make anywhere from $30-$60/day, sometimes more, sometimes less.

Hosting Foreign Students

      Hosts Responsibilities

• Provide a warm welcome and treat the student like family.
• Advise the student about the homestay neighborhood and their route to school.
• Allow access to common areas in the house (e.g. kitchen, living room, garden) and keep these shared areas clean and tidy.
• Furnish bedrooms with a comfortable, standard bed, wardrobe, drawers, and study desk.
• Student rooms should be cleaned weekly and fresh bed linen and towels provided.
• Give access to the laundry facilities so students can launder their own clothes.
• Where provided meals should be shared with the family and be varied and nutritional.
• Keep the school informed about any problems the student may be experiencing
• Respect students’ different cultural backgrounds and be sensitive to their particular needs.
• Encourage the students to practice their speaking at home.
• Be present in the home during the student’s stay.
• Supply a key so the student can have easy access to the homestay.
• Provide adequate bathing facilities so students can take a daily bath or shower.

     School Responsibilities

•  Handles invoicing and student payment for all accommodation costs.

• Remunerates homestay hosts on a fortnightly basis direct to their bank accounts.
• Matches students to host providers according to the meal plan option offered by the hos.t
• Gives feedback from student's evaluations regarding their homestay.
• Provide details of student arrival times where students have booked an airport transfer.
• School accommodation officers will liaise between the student and homestay host when issues arise and will find alternative accommodation for the student where issues cannot be resolved.