Step-by-step: How to List your Rental
- System Introduction
- Set up your account or visit studentlife.uoguelph.ca/ocl/user/register to create a new account
- Purchase a listing plan
- Create your listing
- Post/Publish your listing
- Re-post your listing
- Edit your listing
- Fee Schedule
- Frequently Asked Questions: A quick reference guide
- Disclaimer
NOTE: This system uses your central login and password if you are already a part of the U of G system.
You MUST have an email address to be able to set up an account.
What if you don’t have an email address? Free email accounts can be set up at:
What if you don’t have an email address? Free email accounts can be set up at:
All of this computer work may seem like a daunting task for those who are not familiar with computers, or who do not use the internet. While our system is very user friendly, we highly recommend having a friend or relative who uses the internet regularly to help you out. This will give you the freedom to perform maintenance on your listing at your convenience. We are available by phone or in person to provide assistance, but please be aware it may take 1-2 business days to complete the requests.
1. System Introduction
Welcome to the Off-Campus Living online listings system. This program was created with several goals in mind:
a. To provide at-home 24-hour access to listings for landlords and students.
b. To provide a better and more complete description of the rental property.
c. To allow landlords to post more pictures in a more user friendly way.
d. To minimize fraudulent emails being sent to landlords by requiring users to login to send messages to landlords.
The biggest advantage of this program is that you have a login name and password. Every account is linked to an individual email address, rather than phone number or mailing address, which is why you must have an email address to set up an account. This allows you to set up your account/make any changes from home.
You will notice that when you create a listing there are many details asked about the rental property. This, along with the “Description” box allows a landlord to give a complete portrayal of the rental property to prospective tenants. You can include up to 5 photos with your listing at no additional charge.
In order to minimize fraudulent emails, we have a “form” system, that allows renters to contact you by email through an online form, rather than requiring you to include your email address in the listing. When a renter is logged in, they will see a form at the bottom of the listing that they use to contact the landlord. A landlord's email address is not visible to the user, and the form content from the user is send in an email from our website to the landlord.
2. Set up your account
- Visit studentlife.uoguelph.ca/ocl
- On the right hand side – click “Create a New Landlord Account” to set up your account. Choose a username that you will remember – this will not show up on your listing. Make sure to write down your username and the email address you used to set up the account. Keep this in a safe place.
- A temporary password will be emailed to you at the email address you provided.
- Log in to your account using the temporary password and the username that you created.
- The first page you see is under the “View” tab (tabs are the grey boxes along the top of the white part of the screen). Click the “Edit” tab to change your password to something unique to you, that you will remember. Write this password in a safe place.
- You can return at any time to the “View” tab by clicking “My account” in the orange bar along the top of the page.
3. Purchase a listing plan
*With the online listing program you have the ability to do everything, including payments online. While we can process payments for your in person, we strongly recommend that you use the online payment option. If you would like to read more about the security of the website, please visit www.paypal.com*
· Purchase a listing plan by clicking “Payment Plans” tab, which is the grey tab furthest to the right. There are three different package options that you can purchase. See section 8 for a description of each one.
· Click “Buy the package” beside the one you wish to purchase. You will need a credit card (VISA or MasterCard) to buy the package online.
· You will be shown a summary of what you have selected to purchase. Click “Checkout” to continue.
· A secure form will come up for you to enter your information. You must fill in all of the fields. When you have filled out the form, click “Review and Pay”. This will bring up a summary of all of the information that you typed in. Double check that everything is correct (you won’t be able to see your card number).
· Click “submit” to finalize the payment.
4. Create your listing
· Set up your listing by clicking the “Manage Listings” tabs, then click “Create new listing”.
· Fill in all of the fields with as much details as you wish. Some of the options are check-boxes or drop down menus, so choose the most applicable item.
· If your apartment/lodging house is registered with the city, click the box that says “City Registered/Certified”. We will get a notice saying that you have requested verification, and will mark the listing as such when we receive a copy of your registration from the city.
· Some tips:
a. Current pictures are a big asset.
b. If you are aiming for student renters, but wouldn’t mind faculty or staff, click both boxes so it will come up when either group is searched.
c. The property title is a brief description of the property designed to catch people’s attention. Keep it short and descriptive.
· When you are done, click “Submit” at the bottom of the page. You can always edit the listing later if you find a mistake or want to change something. See section 7 for how to edit your listing.
5. Post/Publish your listing
· Now that your listing is created, and you have purchased the payment plan, it is time to post (also called publish) your listing.
· Go to the “My Listings” tab at the top left corner of the white page . After selecting this tab, about halfway down the page, you should see your listing(s). On the far right hand side, click “Publish” beside the listing that you want to be seen online.
· You can tell if a listing has been published by looking under the column that says “Status”. If it says “Published”, then the listing is online.
6. Re-post your listing
· You only need to set up an account and create a listing ONCE. They will remain in the system from year to year.
· When it comes time to repost your ad, all you need to do is log in to the system using your username and password, purchase a new listing plan (see section 3), and then publish the listing you created previously (see section 5).
· You can tell if a listing has been published by looking under the column that says “Status”. If it says “Published”, then the listing is online.
7. Edit your listing
· You can make changes at any time to your listing.
· Go to the “My Listings” tab. About halfway down the page, you should see your listing(s). Click on “edit” which you should see on the right hand side. Alternatively, you can click on the name of your listing (located on the left), and at the top of your listing you will see a grey box that says “Edit”.
· When you are finished making the necessary changes, click “Submit” at the bottom to save it.
8. Fee Schedule
· There are three different plans available for you to purchase. They are summarized in the chart below.
|
Name
|
Cost
|
Description
|
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Single Listing One Month Plan
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$15 for one month
|
- allows you to create multiple listings and have a maximum of one listing published at any given time over a one month period.
|
|
Single Listing 6-month Plan
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$45 for 6 consecutive months
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The Single Listing 6-month Plan allows you to create multiple listings and have a maximum of one listing published at any given time over the period of 6 months.
|
|
Multiple Listing 6-month Plan
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$90 for 6 consecutive months
|
The Multiple Listing 6-month Plan allows you to create multiple listings and have up to a maximum of six listings published at any given time over the period of 6 months.
|
Frequently Asked Questions:
A Quick Reference Guide
1. I have forgotten my…
a. Username and/or password, but I know the email address I used to sign up:
× click “Forgot password”
× You will be given a one-time login to the website. Your username is located at the top of the “View” page
× You will have to reset your password under the “Edit” tab
b. Username, password and email address:
× Call 519-824-4120 x 53357. It may take 1 to 2 business days to re-send your information to you.
2. I can’t see my listing online.
The first thing to check is that you have published the listing (see section 5 above). The status of the listing should say “published”. As long as it says “published” under the “status” column, it is online.
3. How do I get a receipt?
a. When you have purchased your plan, you can click on the “orders” tab.
b. Click on the order number. This will bring up a copy of the order.
c. At the bottom, you will see “Click to open a window with a printable receipt.” This will allow you to print a receipt of your purchase.
4. How do I remove my listing when the properties have been rented?
a. To remove your listing, click “Unpublish” beside your listing. The status of your listing will now say “Not published”.
Disclaimer
Off-Campus Housing Services is under no obligation to list accommodations. This service is designed to assist students, faculty and staff members of the University of Guelph, and the listing of properties is at the sole discretion of this office. The University is not responsible for damages, loss of income, or other loss as a result of the listing or not listing of any property.
Have a different question? Contact us at:
519-824-4120 x 53357
ocho@uoguelph.ca
ocho@uoguelph.ca