Hundreds of post-secondary students in Calgary hunting for housing as campus residences full

As the fall semester approaches, hundreds of incoming students are without a place to live as campus housing across Calgary is full and the city's competitive rental market persists.

University of Calgary residences are filled for September and the wait list is nearing 750.

That's up from last year in August, when 500 students were on the list. 

The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, too, is at capacity, with about 100 students waiting for housing.

And Mount Royal University has a wait list for the first time in 10 years, with most of its 950 residences reserved.

"This is unprecedented," said Mark Keller, director of residence services at MRU.

Calgary's rental vacancy rate dropped to a near decade low last year in October, and rental costs have increased since.

Keller says new and returning students are looking to campus housing as a way to escape the tight rental market, but there isn't enough supply for that increased demand.

Student renting Airbnb

Andres Sanchez and his partner are moving from Ecuador this fall in order for him to start a masters program at the University of Calgary.

But after two months of looking, he says they've had to rent an Airbnb for the first month of his schooling, as they haven't been able to lock down a longer-term rental.

"[It's] difficult and [I'm] a little let down, because of the price," he said.

Sanchez says further complicating the search are scam offers for places to rent, which are hard to verify while he hunts for housing from another country.

The growing wait list emphasizes a need to build more housing for students, says Shaziah Jinnah Morsette, University of Calgary students' union president.

She says as enrolment increases the problem will only worsen, as more students will have to rent all across the city, where transit may not be as accessible for them.

"There's at least 700 students that are going to be looking for housing out in the community now instead. And that means that, you know, students are going to struggle," she said.

She says students are already facing tuition hikes and increased costs for necessities like groceries.

Call out for spare bedrooms

In a written statement, the U of C said that it is working to help students find places to stay off-campus.

A spokesperson for the university said this month they will be advertising in community newsletters and via social media "with the goal of informing Calgarians of the housing shortage impacting our students and an appeal asking people to consider renting out spare bedrooms."

The U of C students' union has paid to make it free for students and landlords to post on Places4Students.com — a website that works with campuses across Canada to post rental listings for students.

Mark Keller at MRU says students should apply for housing anyway, as "we'll do our best to house absolutely everybody we can."

The U of C says they are in the midst of conducting an "analysis of long-term student housing demands" in order to make decisions about their needs in the future.