WANTED: Affordable Student Housing

Written By Alexandra L.

To many, the phrase “home sweet home” prompts feelings of comfort and safety. However, it most often doesn’t ring true to the millions of Canadian students and graduates who are unable to keep up with the skyrocketing real estate and rent prices. The continuously developing economies in popular provinces like Ontario, Vancouver, and Quebec attract many foreign businesses, property development opportunities, and large amounts of immigration, which impacts the real estate market with exponential inflation. This surge in costs is leaving students out in the cold when it comes to affordable housing.

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is a centre of commercial, industrial, distribution and financial development. From 2017 to 2018, the real estate sector in Toronto has risen by about 8.92%. This type of inflation has caused many students to live in neighbouring cities, furthering their commute. Longer commutes can have implications for success in school, as well as the potential to maintain part-time work. On a broader scale, the issue of affordable housing in Canada affects the least wealthy of the population, and that demographic includes university students. With cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) and less funding towards all levels of education in Ontario, many students are struggling to pay for their tuition. The inflated housing costs are financially impacting an entire generation, causing many people to decide against post-secondary education due to the peripheral costs of attending college or university. The average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in downtown Toronto runs at about $2,300 a month (depending on the location), which would amount to $27,600 annually. The price of accommodating living spaces in the GTA are unaffordable on a minimum wage salary. The current minimum wage in Ontario is $14/ hour, meaning that the average full-time minimum wage worker would be earning around $31,200 a year. Not only is tuition expensive, but living costs exceed just rent. The average adult spends $3000 a year on groceries, $2412 on hydro bills, and $1524 on electricity bills. Nearly 15% of Ontario’s workforce consists of people working minimum wage jobs, and half of those minimum wage workers are students of ages 15-24. Students often have to resort to sharing living spaces with 2 to 4 other people to manage rent.

Some people may ask, “What about student housing?”. According to Nick Lazanha, a business student at Ryerson University, most students don’t even consider student housing. “Student housing is just costly and a lot less affordable than just renting a place off-campus. It’s even more expensive for international students,” says Lazanha, and he’s right. Student accommodation costs for Canadian students parallels the average expenses of off-campus living spaces, but the pricing for international students is much more costly. On top of the increased prices of student housing, international students also have to pay higher tuition fees when attending public (tax-funded) universities or colleges. Meal plans and transit fees are also additional expenses that only add to the financial burden students face.

There are approximately 435,415 students who study in Canada each year (estimated by the Canadian Bureau for International Education). Since the beginning of 2019, international study permit holders have contributed over $21 billion to Canada’s economy.

The availability of affordable housing not only affects international students wanting to study in Canada but also has implications for the country’s fiscal future. As Canada becomes more economically relevant, the rest of the world sees the country as an investment opportunity. With current unemployment rates being rather low compared to previous fiscal years, Canada needs to keep up with leading nations and provide specific necessary incentives for the next generation of Canada’s workforce to prosper. These incentives may include encouraging, rather than discouraging, international student activity.

Students and those in the middle-lower financial classes of the GTA are the victims of an affordable housing crisis that is only growing in severity. During the recent federal election, most parties participating commented on the affordable-housing issue and concluded that it would negatively impact Canada as a whole. With ongoing debates about the crisis in Parliament and individual municipalities, one thing is for sure: students graduating from high school and looking to attend post-secondary institutions should carefully consider their living accommodations beforehand to avoid falling into unmanageable debt.

---

Works Cited

“Average Rent for 1 Bedroom Apartment Hits $2,300 in Toronto.” CityNews Toronto, 28 Aug. 2019, https://toronto.citynews.ca/video/2019/08/28/average-rent-for-1-bedroom-apartment-hits-2300-in-toronto/.

“Housing.” Living Costs | Student Life, https://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/hs/living-costs.

Belmonte, Lisa. “Canadian House Prices Are Expected To Soar In The Next 2 Years.” Narcity, Narcity, https://www.narcity.com/real-estate/ca/average-house-price-in-canada-is-expected-to-rise-to-its-highest-amount-since-2017.

Global Property Guide. “Is Canada's Amazing House Price Boom Coming to an End?” Global Property Guide, 4 Mar. 2019, https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/North-America/Canada/Price-History.

Wong, Natalie, et al. “Toronto Housing Prices Jump the Most since 2017 - the Year the Market Peaked.” Financial Post, 5 Nov. 2019, https://business.financialpost.com/real-estate/toronto-home-prices-jump-the-most-since-2017.

Whatley, Tim. “Minimum Wage in Ontario Is Now Officially $14/Hour.” Notable Life, 2 Jan. 2018, https://notablelife.com/minimum-wage-ontario-officially-14-hour/.

Morissette, Rene, and Dominique Dionne-Simard. “Recent Changes in the Composition of Minimum Wage Workers.” Recent Changes in the Composition of Minimum Wage Workers Workers, Government of Canada, Statistics Canada, 13 June 2018, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2018001/article/54974-eng.htm.

Pressprogress. “Statistics Canada: Percentage of Canadian Workers Earning Minimum Wage Has Doubled Since 1998.” PressProgress, PressProgress, 13 Sept. 2019, https://pressprogress.ca/statistics-canada-percentage-of-canadian-workers-earning-minimum-wage-has-doubled-since-1998/.