90% of P.E.I. students not confident they could find new housing if needed, report finds
Housing tops list of concerns for those studying at post-secondary institutions, says UPEI student union
A newly released report highlights widespread concerns among on Prince Edward Island's post-secondary students over the availability and affordability of housing.
The report was prepared for the UPEI Student Union, and polled students on what issues they think the union should prioritize.
Noah Mannholland, the student union's council chair, said the report is the first step in addressing the concerns.
"Housing has repeatedly been at the top of that list," Mannholland said.
"We needed to get the ball rolling, so the first thing to do whenever you're trying to figure out a problem is to identify the scope, and so that's what this [report] is."
Mannholland said he did not expect to see so many students affected by the issue — the report showed about 90 per cent of those surveyed weren't confident they could find new and affordable housing if needed.
"We sort of expected an amount of students to be OK, but... 90 per cent of [them] are not confident they can find new housing if their current housing runs out," he said. "Students buy at a fairly short timeframe, because often times they take the summer off [and] that creates a really big problem for them."
On top of that, there are other things students need to keep in mind when finding housing, such as balancing their studies with jobs, and finding a place that's close to campus.
"There are students who would need to sacrifice things like textbooks and sometimes food in order to pay for housing," Mannholland said. "Students also need to really be careful, because they can't find anything too far away from UPEI or Holland College, or they'll never get to school."
Finding housing can take months
Mannholland said housing options are scarce, and there are a lot of students living in "subpar" conditions.
"It can be a months-long process if you don't get super lucky. We had students that are coming to us having started school and saying 'we don't have housing,'" he said.
"There are students who live without a window around here, there are students who are four to five to a single room. It's... something that needs to be addressed."
Youssef Ashraf, a computer science and mathematics student who's graduating this year, was one of those who had a hard time finding a place to stay when he first arrived at UPEI.
"It actually took me three to four months just to find a proper house," he said. "I came from outside of Canada, so to find a place, [there] wasn't a specific website and the majority of websites were scammers."
Ashraf said the place he was able to eventually get next to the campus wasn't ideal due to the high rent.
It's really rough deciding if you're going to work those extra five hours for rent or if you're going to go to class on time.— Noah Mannholland, UPEI Student Union
Ashraf isn't the only one facing those issues.
Mannholland said a sizeable amount of students have considered dropping out. He would like to see more housing with a focus on affordability for students.
"About 20 per cent of students that we surveyed say that... academics is something they would consider giving up entirely because they can't find a place to live, the cost of living is so high," he said.
"Students often times are not getting support from their parents, and it's really rough deciding if you're going to work those extra five hours for rent or if you're going to go to class on time."
In a statement to CBC News, officials with Holland College said they would have a better idea of how many students need housing by the end of May, once enrolment numbers start to become more clear.
The City of Charlottetown also sent a statement, saying it's working on increasing housing options in the city.
"We understand that affordable housing is a top concern for Charlottetown residents, including students who are often on a fixed income," the statement reads. "We need to increase housing options that are not only affordable but that are also near transit and other services students need to access."
City officials added they're also planning on easing housing needs by increasing density in residential areas.
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With files from Tony Davis