Post-secondary students in P.E.I. finding more housing options, but the cost remains high

Post-secondary students at P.E.I. institutions are moving into their dorms and off-campus housing this week, and while there may be more spaces for them, there are still cost concerns.

"I had to search a lot in… Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace. Finally, after searching for a long time, I got a roommate. So we're [paying] $450 each for one room," said Saru Bun, a Holland College architectural technology student from Nepal. 

"We have to adjust, right? Because there's nothing else we can do."

Bun said the cost to live on her own on Prince Edward Island is actually more expensive than it was in Brampton, Ont., where she used to live. 

Accommodation prices were a common concern among the new and returning students CBC News spoke with over the past couple of days. 

But at least finding a place to live is easier than it's been in the past. 

It used to be more difficult to get into a residence at UPEI, but a new building that opened last year means hundreds more rooms are available. 

The new residence includes two towers of apartments that account for 360 of the university's 813 on-campus bed spaces, UPEI said in a statement Thursday. 

"The university still has some bed spaces available, but we don't have numbers finalized yet as students are still checking in and will be over the next couple of weeks," the statement said.

It's a similar story at Holland College, which told CBC News it has a short waiting list for its residences. 

"We provide lists of off-campus accommodations for all Holland College locations to help students find alternate housing if necessary," college officials said in a statement. 

'Not everything is that cheap'

The dorm spaces take some of the pressure off finding a place to live, but students say it doesn't alleviate the cost of housing both on- and off-campus. 

Ricardo Urueta, a returning Holland College student from Mexico, said he found a place with a "decent" rent in downtown Charlottetown, but it wasn't easy. 

Housing options still top of mind as UPEI students settle into dorms

3 months ago

Duration 1:47

Many University of Prince Edward Island students are packing into their dorms and settling in as the new school year begins. Some say housing options on-campus are better this year, but the availability of off-campus housing is still tight.

"Not everything is that cheap and, like, honestly, there's not too many places," he said. 

"We wanted to live … downtown because we didn't have a car. So we tried to look at a place that was not that expensive and was closer to downtown."

There's not much help for students who are struggling to cover the cost of rent, either. 

Noah Mannholland, the vice-president academic with UPEI's Student Union, said the UPEISU handed out thousands of dollars in emergency funds to help students with rent last year. 

"Over 90 per cent of our applications — and we had 200 applications — were for rent, and that continues to be a trend today," he said. 

"It actually got so bad that we actually had to say we could not give money for rent because it's not fair to everybody that we can't give it to everybody."  

A new student-led report on housing funded by the province is expected out soon, and it will likely have some ideas on expanding the amount of options — and dealing with the cost.