How can you learn when you can’t count on a roof over your head? The lack of student housing in Canada affects us all. Thousands of university and college students are back on campus this week, but it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows as they begin a new academic year.
For many, the start of the school year has been preceded by a stressful and challenging search for student housing. It’s a problem that plagues students across Canada, and it doesn’t appear to be getting any better.
On Tuesday, Desjardins released a report highlighting the severity of the situation and the impact that it has on all Canadians.
Desjardins Report | From Campus to Community: Why Student Housing Shortages Should Worry All Canadians
– In recent decades, the demand for higher education in Canada has surged. Many students, particularly first-year and international students, prefer living in purpose-built student accommodation, yet residence beds were only available for about 1 in 10 students.
– The University of British Columbia is a case in point, where more than 6,000 beds have been added since 2010, but the waitlist for a spot in residence grew from 3,200 students to over 7,000 in 2024.
– Living in off-campus housing is often unaffordable for students. And with very low rental vacancy rates in most cities, available spaces can be hard to find. This lack of affordable housing is contributing to students graduating with heavy debt loads that impact their futures.
https://www.desjardins.com/bc/en/savings-investment/economic-studies/canada-part-1-student-housing-3-september-2024.html
Desjardins Report | From Campus to Community: Why Student Housing Shortages Should Worry All Canadians
A lack of student housing isn’t only concerning for students—it impacts all Canadians.
Economists Kari Norman and Randall Bartlett highlighted the far-reaching effects of scarce and expensive student housing:
- Student demand for off-campus housing limits availability in the rental market for other demographics
- Investors often charge above market rate for student rooms, thereby increasing local real estate prices
- A lack of housing could be driving international students away from Canada at a time when we’re looking to attract more skilled workers
- Vast numbers of students living off-campus need to commute to class, contributing to road congestion and increased demand for public transportation
- Students facing stress and anxiety or living in poor conditions may put increased pressure on the healthcare system
$4 million dollar solution?
The 2024 federal budget allocated funding directly towards increasing the housing supply for Canadian youth. Part of the $8.5 billion housing budget was a $4 million annual commitment to build more student homes. There are 2.2 million post-secondary students in Canada. They all need housing.
And more co-living models in student housing.
Institutions and developers need to rethink student housing models. New buildings have moved away from sharing and co-living models in favour of more private, and more expensive, housing models.
But people sharing facilities is an all-around good idea—it’s good for reducing costs, good for mental health and relationship building, and it’s good for the environment too.
