Keys in hand? Six things to do before you unpack a box

You have the keys. The van is double parked. Here is the order that saves you money later, because a few of these have deadlines that start the day you walk in.

Day one: photograph everything before a single box comes in. Every wall, every appliance, inside the oven, the shower grout, the scuffs on the floor. Ontario has no damage deposit, so the only argument about the state of the place happens when you leave, and the person with dated photos wins it.

Get the lease in writing, on the standard form. Most private landlords in Ontario must use the provincial standard lease. If you did not get one, ask for it in writing. The landlord then has 21 calendar days to hand it over. If they still have not, you can withhold one month's rent, and if 30 more days pass with no lease, you keep that month. That is the rule, not a threat, and it exists precisely because "we'll sort the paperwork later" is how people end up with surprise clauses.

Know what a deposit can and cannot be. The only deposit a landlord can take is a rent deposit, and it cannot be more than one month's rent. It goes toward your last month, nothing else. It cannot be used for damage, and your landlord owes you interest on it every year. "Damage deposit", "cleaning deposit" and "pet deposit" are not things in Ontario.

Call Alectra a week before you need power. Alectra Utilities wants at least seven business days' notice to start service, and there is a setup fee on your first bill. You will need a driver's licence or Ontario Photo Card. Gas is Enbridge, which has an online moving portal and a phone line on weekdays, 8 to 6. Ask your landlord which of these are already in their name, because in a lot of student houses one of them is.

Find your garbage day before Sunday night. Guelph runs three carts. Type your address into the City's collection calendar, print it, stick it on the fridge, and put the free Guelph Waste app on your phone so it nags you the night before. A skipped week with four housemates is not a small amount of garbage.

Get an OnYourWay transit card. Cash on the bus is $3.50. The card is $2.90 a ride for adults and $2.35 for post-secondary students, and it caps your month, so once you have paid for 34 rides the rest are free. If you are at the university or the college in town, your pass comes through your student association fees, so check that before you buy anything.

Do those six things in that order and the rest of the month is just furniture.

The Cribb Team

Cover photo: J. S. (Steve) Bond, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. commons.wikimedia.org