Students need housing for fall 2023 semester: UCalgary Student Union

The Student’s Union (SU) at the University of Calgary (UCalgary) says those enrolled in the 2023 fall semester are struggling to find housing, with residences filling up and rentals across the city reaching all-time highs.

In a news release, the SU is asking Calgarians to consider renting any housing to students, “whether a spare room, basement suite, apartment, or laneway house.”

“Please consider renting to a student if you are able,” said Mateusz Salmassi, Students’ Union VP External. “Students are living in unsafe conditions, and others have had to temporarily live in their cars because they couldn’t find housing. This is not acceptable in a place like Calgary.”

According to a rentals.ca July report, Alberta maintained its lead in yearly rent growth, with average rents up 18.3 per cent year over year to $1,552.

The report says Calgary surpassed $2,000 in average rental prices for the first time, surpassing Montreal as the fourth most expensive rental among the largest cities in the country. A one-bedroom in Calgary averages $1,764, while a two-bedroom is around $2,211.

Meanwhile, the SU claims UCalgary has no plans to add new residence buildings, despite the university planning on increasing student enrollment by 1,000 students per year until 2030.

In addition, union members point out the University District is “largely unaffordable” for students as some one-bedroom units start at around $2,000.

Lastly, the SU asks Calgary City Council to approve and “get to work on all recommendations from its Housing Affordability Task Force.”

Read More: Calgary reverses course, approves affordable housing recommendations after criticism

The union says it will advocate for the recommendations and will push councillors to “make the right decision by approving the recommendations.”

“These recommendations just make sense,” Salmassi said.

“If we want Calgary to be an affordable place to live, then we need to be concerned about all Calgarians, not only those who can afford to buy an expensive house. These recommendations would lower the bar for homeownership by allowing secondary and backyard suites that homeowners can rent to students, for example.”

In a statement to CityNews sent Tuesday afternoon, UCalgary says it is aware of the housing crisis that has impacted rental markets nationwide.

It states its residencies are full for September with a waitlist started “should openings become available.” At this time, UCalgary has 800 students on the list.

Meanwhile, the university says it is working on helping students find off-campus accommodations.

“We have also placed ads in community newsletters which will be distributed in August with the goal of informing Calgarians of the housing shortage impacting our students and an appeal asking people to consider renting out spare bedrooms,” the statement reads.

“These ads should reach over 78,000 Calgarians. We will also be running social media ads in the upcoming weeks.”

While the school didn’t directly say anything about adding new residencies, the university says it is engaged in a process in which it is “conducting an analysis of long-term student housing demands to help inform future housing requirements.”

UCalgary asks any Calgarians looking to help to post spare rooms on spacesshared.ca or places4students.com.

More housing information for students can be found on the UCalgary website.