Q&A: More student move-in delays in Waterloo
'It adds some additional stress to students that are already stressed out'
In 2016, residents of ICON, Columbia One and the K2 buildings all experienced move-in delays.
This year, there have been delays at TheHub, a development catering to students and young professionals near the University of Waterloo.
As of Sept 5, none of the 351 bedrooms were completed at Towers 7, 8 and 9 at TheHub on 130 Columbia St.
A representative of Acommod8u, the rental company in charge of TheHub, told CBC News on Aug. 31 he was confident the units would be available for the students within the next two weeks.
On Tuesday, Waterloo Region Community Legal Services (WRCLS) held a presentation at the University of Waterloo to help students review their legal options.
The CBC's Max Leighton spoke to presenter Giordano Modesto, a community legal worker with WRCLS.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Who are most likely to be affected by these delays?
Possibly the international students would be the most vulnerable to this because they're going to be the ones that don't have the ability to come to the city to actually see the ongoing construction of the building. If you were to Google the address of the building, you'd probably just see that it's under construction, you're not going to see actual updates to the building. So, I think the international students, and also those who may live out of the province or somewhere farther away from Waterloo.
What are you expecting this year?
More of the same thing we've seen in years past. More students who are homeless as a result of this for, I think the timeline now is two weeks to complete the building, it could be even longer than that. And then there is still the ongoing construction of the buildings with the amenities that are not finished because to actually get occupancy permits for the units they don't actually have to get all the amenities finished, they just have to have the units in a livable state.
What are some of the difficulties these students are facing when they find their units are not ready?
Some students will choose to take the hotel option, some will commute from their home city, so maybe Toronto, maybe London, Brantford, Hamilton, Niagara Falls, somewhere along those lines. I have heard that some students have opted to skip the first couple of days, first couple weeks, of classes just because of this issue. So it adds some additional stress to students that are already stressed out.
What should students know before they sign a lease?
Your landlord does need to make sure that your unit is in a state of repair, that they're not interfering with the reasonable enjoyment of your living and that includes if other tenants are causing problems for you. They've got an obligation to address those concerns from you. And just because you're a student and you're only living in the city temporarily for one year, two years, three years, however long your degree may be, you do have rights as a tenant.
What sections of the Residential Tenancies Act are most important for these students?
With respect to the unfinished building issue, there's three sections that I think are the most important to students. There is section 13 of the Residential Tenancies Act, that the term or period of the tenancy must begin on the day that the tenant is entitled to occupy the unit. There's section 107 saying that the landlord shall repay the amount received as a rent deposit in respect of a rental unit, if the unit is not given to you under vacant possession. And then there's section 4 that states subject to section 194 of the act, a provision in a tenancy agreement that is inconsistent with the act or regulations is void.
Do you have any other advice?
If the most prominent feature of a building when you're signing your lease agreement is a crane outside the building, don't rent it out. That's as simple as it can get.
With files from Flora Pan