Solve the Student Housing Crisis

Goals

If we want to maintain our position as a global higher education leader, and continue to attract the world’s brightest minds, then Canada must address its student housing shortage. Our targets:

• Add 300,000 new student beds nationwide within five years through a coordinated federal-provincial strategy
• Increase purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) provision rate from 10% to 25% by 2030

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Background and Motivation

Canada's higher education system is world-renowned, attracting students from across the country and around the globe. But while we've created world class academic institutions, we've failed to develop adequate housing for the students who attend them. This disconnect threatens to undermine one of our country's greatest competitive advantages.

Consider Alexandra Mussar, a University of Guelph student who spent six months searching for housing, only to end up paying $840 monthly for a cramped bedroom with water damage and dysfunctional sinks in a house shared with six other students¹. Or Rahish Jariya, an international student from India studying in Waterloo, who found landlords charging $650 per month to share a single room with three other people².

These aren't isolated cases. An estimated 1.2 million students in Canada struggle to find affordable housing each year³. Only 10.3% of non-local Canadian students have access to purpose-built student accommodation—lagging far behind comparable countries like the UK (27%) and the US (16%)⁴. Experts estimate that Canada needs at least 300,000 additional beds nationwide just to meet current demand⁵.

The housing crisis impacts student well-being directly. In Nova Scotia nearly half of students report skipping groceries to cover rent payments⁶. And, in university cities like Halifax, rents have surged 18% in a single year⁷.

The problem is growing worse. Post-secondary enrolments have almost doubled since 2000⁸, while on-campus housing construction has stagnated since the 1990s⁹. Schools have increased international enrolment without corresponding increases in purpose-built student accommodation. As a result, students are being pushed into already-stretched local housing markets, competing with families and working professionals and driving up prices for everyone.

International students contribute over $37 billion annually to our economy¹⁰. If housing shortages deter them from choosing Canada, we stand to lose not just economically, but in terms of talent, innovation, and global competitiveness. Students in cities like Peterborough, Ontario and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia have already called for universities to freeze enrolment growth until housing supply catches up¹¹.

Canada can solve this crisis with a coordinated approach that brings together federal and provincial governments, academic institutions, and private developers to rapidly increase student housing supply. By learning from successful models both within Canada and internationally, we can turn this challenge into an opportunity to strengthen our education system.

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Real-World Solutions

Many jurisdictions have successfully addressed student housing shortages through targeted policy interventions and innovative partnerships.

Ontario's Bill 185 demonstrates promising potential by exempting publicly assisted universities from the Planning Act and site plan control provisions under the City of Toronto Act, enabling faster approval and construction of student housing projects on university-owned lands¹². In combination with exemptions for development charges and other municipal fees in Bill 134 this provincial initiative streamlines regulatory processes, and incentivizes development of new PBSAs offering a model that could inspire similar efforts across Canada¹³.

The United Kingdom transformed its student housing landscape through a national strategy that increased their provision rate to 27% by encouraging private investment in purpose-built accommodation while maintaining quality standards¹⁴. Their Performance-Led Planning system streamlined approvals for projects meeting specific criteria, leading to over 300,000 new student beds built between 2010 and 2020¹⁵.

Ireland's National Student Accommodation Strategy combined regulatory reforms with direct investment, establishing a dedicated funding stream and expedited planning processes for student housing¹⁶. 

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What Needs To Be Done

Canada must launch a bold national student housing strategy that addresses both immediate needs and long-term capacity building. This strategy will require coordination between all levels of government, academic institutions, and private developers, with clear federal leadership.

• Adopt and expand Ontario's Bill 185 nationwide through federal-provincial agreements. The federal government should work with provinces to implement liberalization of planning rules for PBSA as well as create new realty tax and development charge exemptions for student housing projects on or adjacent to post-secondary campuses. This could be structured as a matching program, where the federal government offsets a portion of provincial revenue losses during implementation. Success would be measured by tracking new projects initiated under these exemptions and beds created per dollar of foregone revenue.‍
• Reform CMHC lending policies specific to student housing. Current CMHC restrictions on buildings with more than seven units and debt service coverage ratio requirements of 1.3 disproportionately hinder student housing development. These should be adjusted to a 1.2 ratio for qualified student housing projects, and restrictions on multi-bed configurations should be eliminated. ‍
• Mandate that post-secondary institutions issuing international student visas develop comprehensive housing plans. Post-secondary institutions should be able to demonstrate how they will accommodate enrolment growth from international students with corresponding housing development on and off campus. These plans should become a condition for issuing student visas.‍
• Create a national student housing data strategy to drive accountability. Canada lacks comprehensive data on student housing needs and supply. A national database tracking student housing projects, vacancy rates, and affordability metrics would allow for targeted interventions and progress measurement. Universities and colleges would be required to report annually on their student housing provision rate and future development plans.

Success will be measured primarily by the number of new student beds created, with annual targets building toward the 300,000 goal. Additional metrics will include the national provision rate, and student satisfaction with housing options. A public dashboard will track these metrics with quarterly updates.

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Common Questions

• Why focus on students when many Canadians are struggling with housing? Student housing has unique characteristics that make it an ideal sector for targeted intervention. Purpose-built student housing frees up thousands of homes in the general market that are currently occupied by students, benefiting everyone. Each student bed created can potentially free up a bedroom in a family home or apartment that can serve other populations.
  
  
• Will post-secondary institutions just use this to increase tuition or enrolment without improving student welfare? The program includes strong accountability measures, including requirements that universities and colleges demonstrate how new housing will benefit students through affordability guarantees.
  
  
• How will this affect neighbourhoods near schools? Purpose-built student accommodation actually improves neighbourhood stability by reducing pressure on single-family homes and reducing issues like noise complaints and property maintenance concerns. The program includes community consultation requirements and design standards to ensure new developments enhance surrounding neighbourhoods rather than disrupting them.
  

• Why not let the private market solve this problem without changes? The market has consistently underdelivered student housing due to regulatory barriers and financing challenges specific to this sector. Our approach reduces these barriers while maintaining quality standards. The experience in comparable countries shows that a coordinated public-private approach is necessary to achieve sufficient housing volume at affordable price points.
  

• Why only focus on international students and not domestic? By building more student housing we will benefit everyone in the community. The federal government, as the authority responsible for issuing visas to international students, has a legitimate interest in ensuring schools demonstrate adequate housing plans for the students they admit from abroad. This federal oversight naturally extends to housing capacity as part of responsible immigration policy and will have knock-on effects of improving affordability for all students
  
  
• Won’t there be fewer international students given changes to immigration policies? While immigration policies may fluctuate, Canada’s higher education remains globally attractive. Providing sufficient housing ensures we remain competitive, keeping our schools desirable destinations regardless of policy shifts.

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Conclusion

The student housing crisis threatens one of Canada's greatest assets—our world-class education system. By implementing this national student housing strategy, we can add 300,000 new student beds within five years, improving educational outcomes, boosting economic growth, and relieving pressure on housing markets nationwide. This bold approach will transform student living conditions, enhance Canada's reputation as an education destination, and demonstrate our capacity to solve complex challenges through coordinated action. We must act now to continue to deliver an educated workforce and house Canada's future.

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