Sharing bedrooms, infestations, scams: What some international students have to endure to find housing | CBC News

Conestoga College student Bd Srinivasan is enduring a lot to stay in Canada and study.

Currently, the finance student from India pays $550 a month to live in a house with 13 other students. She’s in the basement with six people and sharing a bedroom with two of them.

A few weeks ago, Srinivasan noticed water was leaking through the ceiling from the washroom above.

“Can you believe it? Now, we’re down to two washrooms in the whole house,” she told CBC News.

“How are we supposed to manage?” 

And that’s not all. 

“See all this?” Srinivasan says, pointing to the dark spots on her arm. “It’s insect bites.”

She called the landlord for help and “he said just put vinegar and lemon on the insects and they’ll be gone,” she said, adding she waiting for treatment at the hospital for more than three hours and is on a medication to help with the irritation. 

Srinivasan’s situation is not unique. Other university and college students are finding themselves in less-than-ideal housing as they struggle to find anywhere to live while attending school.

A report went before city council in Waterloo earlier this month that indicated the region was lacking around 5,000 beds for students.

Add to that the cost of being an international student. According to Statistics Canada, the average tuition cost for an undergrad is around $7,000, but for an international student in a similar program it’s $38,000.

In 2022, the federal government’s figures showed more than 800,000 foreign students in Canada. That number is expected to rise to 900,000 this year.

Dr. Mike Moffatt, an assistant professor at Western University’s Ivey Business School in London, Ont., says many students come to Canada with high hopes that can quickly change.

“They come here to get an education, contribute to Canada but they’re often unaware or not made aware of how difficult Ontario’s housing situation really is,” Moffatt said.

WATCH | Rent for student housing is out of control. Is there a fix?:

Rent for student housing is out of control. Is there a fix?

Students are being faced with higher rents and a shortage of supply and some experts say post-secondary institutions need to co-ordinate enrolment levels with the availability of housing.

27 students scammed

Housing scams can be a major problem for students trying to secure housing in Waterloo region when they’re coming from a different country.

Last fall, Kitchener real estate agent Deanna Anene came across 27 international students looking for an immediate place to live. 

The group had actually booked a one bedroom apartments on Seagram Drive in Waterloo, but when they arrived at the address, they found themselves in front of University Stadium.

“What it is, is rows and rows of bleachers, changerooms and washrooms for athletes and visitors. There are no houses. There are no rooms,” Anene explained.

Most of them had already paid first and last month’s rent. 

“Someone actually took advantage of these young students who were going to be half a world or more away from their parents and there was no recourse for them,” she said.

Through Anene’s connections with colleges, investors and clients around the city, she was able to house about 10 of the students. Others spent their first semester couch surfing or at 24-hour lounges set up by universities for when it’s snowing or too late to go home after an exam.

High acceptance rate, lack of infrastructure: former student

Ashish Bhatia is an international student turned influencer who makes videos to help guide newcomers in Canada.

“Giving them offer letters is OK. But it’s important to understand that they should have a place as well to live,” he said.

A spokesperson for Conestoga College said in an email that they will be opening up an additional residence in Brantford this fall. And just last week, the college announced it purchased two more buildings in Waterloo region that will help house its students.

The University of Waterloo provides a residence guarantee for all first-year students and say they are working on a new strategy to build more on-campus housing.

Wilfrid Laurier University has partnered with businesses like Settle-In Relocation and Spaces Shared to support students in finding affordable housing.

Barriers to housing

But there are more problems that make it difficult for international students to secure housing.

“When international students come here, they don’t know anyone,” Bhatia says. 

This makes it difficult for international students to get credit reports and references, often required by landlords.

Bhatia also says some landlords have cultural preferences. 

“Punjabi landlords prefer Punjabi students. Gujarati landlords prefer Gujarati students,” he says. 

Bhatia explains a big part of this is eating habits, as “those who are vegetarian get more preference.”

But at the end of the day, he stresses that landlords should not focus on culture, but people themselves, as “people can be good and people can be bad as well — we should just help each other.”

Changes at federal level may help

Moffatt says the federal government should strengthen the rules around financial resources international students need before being given a student visa to make sure they have enough money to sustain themselves. 

He also thinks post-secondary institutions need to get on “a more sustainable path” by reflecting on their enrolment growth and building more residences to support their students. 

A new visa stream for students who have secured on-campus housing may help, he says.

“That would not only make sure that [students] can afford to live here, but incentivize schools to create that housing,” Moffatt says.

Last month, federal Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Sean Fraser said the government is even considering a cap on the number of international students entering the country to ease market pressure. 

In the meantime, though, students like Srinivasan live in less-than-ideal conditions.

“I will not say I was thinking all green and flowers everywhere,” she said about life in Canada.

“No, I knew I had to work hard. I have to take care of my course, my marks, my money — everything,” she added. “But seriously, I can’t believe I have to pay $550 for a home and in this condition.”

Give me shelter: The hunt for housing in Waterloo region is a series by CBC Kitchener-Waterloo that hears from the people struggling to secure the housing they want and need. They might be making do with non-traditional housing: a tent, a room shared with multiple people or their parents’ basement. We look at how the basic need for housing is not being met for many people in a rapidly-growing region of Ontario.