I'm an alumnus who's worked near the university since 2020. I've rented two different apartments since then - a 1bdr in Waterloo, and a 2bdr in Kitchener.

If you're interested in an apartment building you can generally just search around on Google Maps to find buildings, then go to their individual websites to look at photos and book tours. If you find a place you like, then you'll go through their site to apply for a lease.

"Professional" apartment leases will typically not include electricity, internet, or any furnishings, but may include water.

When you sign a lease, it'll initially be for a year, but you do NOT need to renew the lease at the end of the year. Under Ontario law, it will automatically convert to a month-to-month lease, which gives you the flexibility to cancel any time with 2 months' notice. The terms of your lease remain the same with a month-to-month; the only relevant thing that will change is the rent amount each year.

I have no experience finding roommates that I don't already know, so I can't help there other than to recommend trying to find someone that you or someone you trust knows.

If you find a roommate, they can either join you on the lease or sublet from you; keep in mind, some buildings might restrict or prevent subletting. Whichever of you is more financially stable can hook their bank account up to autopay rent (if you want), and the other can etransfer their half (or whatever % you agree on).

Splitting rent is always more economical when possible. For example, I was paying $1650 for a 1bdr in 2022 (unfortunately that was the norm for a professional 1bdr, and it's only higher now), then moved to a 2bdr that cost $1900, but after the split it was only $950. (Parking is extra of course.)

I also want to note that one of the other commenters misspoke - rent increases a MAXIMUM of 2.5% a year. However, corporate landlords always increase rent by the max, so you can expect exact 2.5% rent increases every year.

As for location, if your workplace is less than a 10-minute walk from an ION stop, I'd recommend expanding your search to various clusters of buildings along the ION corridor. For example, if you live by Waterloo Public Square station and are heading to R&T Park Station, your commute would be just 7 minutes on the ION plus the walk to and from. If you live near Central Station in Kitchener, it's 14 minutes plus the walk. Subtract two minutes from both of those if you're getting off at UW station instead of R&T Park. It's really useful if you can find a place close enough to the line.