family unloading vehicle on residence move-in dayPost-secondary institutions must align their recruitment strategies with local housing markets, says Tim Brunet.

Instructor calls for action to improve student housing

Growing post-secondary student enrolment creates an additional challenge to Canada’s housing market, says Tim Brunet.

A sessional instructor in economics and co-ordinator of Outstanding Scholars and student leadership programs, he argues in an article published in the Conversation that governments and universities have failed to prepare for an increase in housing demand driven by recruiting international students and treating living space as an investment rather than a human right.

Canada tripled its population of international students between 2009 and 2021, Dr. Brunet notes, without an accompanying increase in available rentals.

“Whether the solutions are dormitories, partnerships with private investors with specifically designed regulations and inspections, government-run housing, or a combination of these strategies, student housing needs more policy and more planning,” he writes. “We need specific policies and regulations for student rentals that are based on housing as a human right.”

The Conversation is an online publication that shares news and views from the academic and research community. Read the entire article, “Universities and colleges want to enrol more students. But where are they supposed to live?