University, college students coping with high rent and scams ahead of fall semester

For many people, the rising cost of rent has been hard to keep up with, but it's been especially difficult for international students, who already have a lot on their plates with more expensive tuition and other barriers that come with starting from scratch in a new country.

As the start of the fall semester looms, it's been a mad rush for university and college students still looking for a place to stay.

For Lovish Chugh, a student from Ontario's University of Waterloo, high rent and limited options made it difficult to find a place before classes start in September.

"I just found a place last week and it was really stressful," Chugh said. "But fortunately I came across a good deal."

There are a few reasons the rental housing market in Canada is difficult to navigate. The country hasn't built enough rental stock, with RBC warning that without more construction, the country will be short 120,000 units by 2026. More recently, landlords have been raising rents to cover higher mortgage costs.

There is also an influx of students increasing steadily. A record 550,150 international student study permits were issued last year, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), a 75 per cent increase from just five years ago. 

Chugh said students looking for accommodations need to start early.

"If you're tight on budget, just don't be too picky," Chugh said.

"Maybe share the bathroom in an apartment or live far from campus, but do what you have to do and don't overshoot the deadline like me."

'It's too much'

Shristi Pandey, an international student at Conestoga College, said she's been moving from sublet to sublet to try to save money.

"It's too much. Even for sharing students [they] are actually paying $600 or at times $700. I was fortunate enough to get into [an apartment at] $550 for the month, for this four month duration from May to August. But then from September onwards, I would be paying $600 for sharing."

Pandey is a member of the student housing committee at Conestoga Students Inc, the college's student association. She said she's been hearing about the rise of rental scams in the region.

"So what happens is that the owner asks for an application fee. They email you a long application wherein they ask you to pay $100 or $200 for students," she said, adding there's no apartment offered after the money is sent.

"Another most common scam which is happening is ... a single person signs the lease and then he or she shares the accommodation with three to four students and then he himself is not paying anything and then the total rent is divided among the other three or four students who are staying with them."

Waterloo Regional Police Service warns that renters should limit the amount of personal or banking information they share with potential landlords because if the post or rental property is a scam, the fraudster may use the information for identity fraud purposes.

People who believe they are victims of such a scam are encouraged to file a complaint with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and make a report with your local police service. 

Chugh said he's figured out a way to filter through listings that sound too good to be true.

"I asked a few friends to text the same number and if he [the landlord] responds to every single one of them saying, 'Yeah, this place is available, I can sign the deal with you,' then that probably means it's a scam."

University of Guelph student Alexandra Mussar told CBC her new home will be a cramped bedroom with water damage and dysfunctional sinks, in a house shared with six other students. For this, she's paying $840 every month.

This isn't how she pictured her university housing experience, but after six long months hunting for somewhere to live, she says she felt she had to settle.

"There were no other options. This was my last resort," she said. "It was either that or I was couch surfing for the next year."