After running out of room again, U de M asks public's help with student housing

The return to classes is still more than a month and a half away, but staff at the Université de Moncton are already planning for the influx of students in September by helping set up a housing registry.

Gabriel Cormier, vice-president, administration and human resources, says there is a serious shortage of affordable housing, so the university is turning to the public for help.

People are being asked to consider renting empty rooms to students starting in mid-August or early September.

"Our residences are basically full for the fall," he said. "So we're asking for help from the community."

There are 628 rooms on campus but with a waiting list of 100 students, Cormier said the university is looking for other ways to help students find affordable housing by connecting them with homeowners.

Cormier said the increase in the population of Moncton and an increase in student enrolment have created a shortage of housing suitable for students. 

"In some cases, housing is available," he said. "But it's not really affordable for our students."

International students most affected

This is the second year the university has put the call out for homeowners to consider renting rooms to students. 

Last year, many students were scrambling days before classes started.

This year, Cormier said, it wanted to be better prepared and to help reassure students they will have somewhere to live when they arrive. 

"It's more of a question of managing the amount of help we give the students and [having] less of a crunch in August."

Cormier said international students are most affected by the lack of housing. 

Unlike local students who may have a friend or family member to help them, international students "don't know the region."

"So we are providing the initial contact with the homeowners and housing and everything else."

Jovial Orlachi Osunzu, president of the international student association at the Université de Moncton, applauds the university's efforts to create this registry to provide support and protection for "vulnerable" students who are not familiar with New Brunswick's rental rules.

"We are happy," she said. "They are showing publicly that they are concerned by inviting the community to host students."

"But this is what happened last year," she said. "We're asking ourselves if this is the way things are going to be."

Osunzu said the university needs to find long term housing solutions for students. 

"We believe that the university can do more. What about building new housing?"

Osunzu said she also wants the provincial government to help find solutions. 

"International students help grow the New Brunswick economy," she said.

Advocating for more housing on campus is a priority for FÉÉCUM, the university's student association.  

"It's something we're working on," said  Étienne Bélanger, president of the association. 

"We need housing here at the university and the students need some place to live."

He said the union has heard from students who were forced to rent spaces that were unsuitable or too expensive because of the shortage of housing. 

Bélanger said the union has raised the issue of housing with university administrators but he wants to see the university and the provincial government "to make action." 

Building more residences possible

Gabriel Cormier said the university is planning for long-term solutions to the housing shortage for students. 

He said they are reviewing New Brunswick's housing strategy and are waiting on "final details from the government to see exactly what that means for universities."

Once they know how much funding is available, he said, they will "increase capacity, which means building residences."

In the meantime, Cormier said homeowners stepped forward to help last year and all of the students found suitable housing within the community.

He said he expects the same this year, too. 

"We already had homeowners who called in and said they had some space available. So we're really expecting a good response from the community."