Region potentially short nearly 5,000 student beds: report

A report is set to go before city council in Waterloo on Monday suggesting the Region of Waterloo is potentially short thousands of student beds.

The report is from the city’s Town and Gown Committee which includes stakeholders from local post-secondary schools, the city, and students and follows a third ‘comprehensive review’ of student accommodations. The previous two having been carried out in 2016 and 2014.

As part of that review, the committee looked to calculate the number of students at Conestoga College, the University of Waterloo, and Wilfrid Laurier University who may be in need of off-campus housing along with the total supply of off-campus accommodations.

It found there are more than 35,000 ‘potential student tenants’ in the region along with more than 30,000 ‘total off-campus beds’, suggesting a potential shortage of around 5,000 beds.

The study did not, however, count illegal conversions or unlicensed rentals and also assumed a rate of one bed per person.

“There’s less supply than there is demand,” said Chris Read, Associate Provost for Students at the University of Waterloo and chair of the Waterloo Town and Gown Committee on The Mike Farwell Show on Friday.

“I think we all know, where students live is hugely impactful in their ability to succeed in their studies,” Read said. “The ability to get a good night sleep in their room. Where they’re living, are there good social spaces where they can hang out and build their communities of support. Feeling safe in the buildings and in the accommodations that they’re staying in. [Also] secure internet and things like that.”

Meantime, in addition to the supply and demand analysis, the report also includes results from an online student housing survey which returned more than 4,000 responses in March and April.

It found more than eight-in-ten respondents said they are ‘satisfied’ with the housing they have though six-in-ten said it was hard to find, which is more than double the number who said similarly in 2016.

The price point, also skyrocketing over the same period, up from just under $600/month all-in in 2016 to more than $950/month in 2022.

The report also suggests things cascade from there with six-in-ten saying they did end up settling for housing that doesn’t fully meet their needs, one-in-three saying they’re spending three-quarters or more of their monthly budget on housing, and nearly half saying there often isn’t enough money left over for other basic needs like food or a phone.