Housing, affordability remain top issues for university students heading into fall term

As September nears, some university students are still facing issues around accessing and being able to afford housing.

"Students are finding themselves having to work 20-25 hours a week during the school year just to stay afloat," said Alexandre Levesque, president of the Université de Moncton student union.

"Our students are very much in a bad situation when it comes to off-campus housing."

Finding a place to live off campus is often a student's only choice. On the U de M website for student housing, a message comes across the screen when students try to apply for on-campus lodging.

"Please note that all of our university accommodation for September 2024 is currently full," the site says, in French.

Last year, the school even went so far as to ask the public to consider renting out rooms to students to help address the lack of housing.

On the University of New Brunswick's housing website, students are urged to apply as early as possible.

"In 2023, Residence began operating with a waitlist by the end of May," it says.

In Fredericton, even when students do locate housing, they're often faced with high rents.

"On average, students are having four to five roommates and still paying $500 to $800 a month," said Drashtant Varma, the president of the student union at UNB Fredericton. That information came from recent surveys the student union has done, he said.

"It's a matter of affordability."

On Tuesday, the province announced a $4 million fund to create more off-campus housing at several schools, with an initial project set for Mount Allison University in Sackville. 

The school is finishing renovations on a residence hall that will add 147 new beds this month, a government news release said.

"Mount Allison prioritizes the well-being of our students, and this investment will significantly enhance our ability to offer high-quality, student-centred living," Ian Sutherland, the school's president, said in the release.

The province is working with U de M and UNB on agreements to create more on-campus housing, the release said. 

CBC News asked spokespeople from both universities what plans exist to create more student housing, but neither responded.

Regardless of plans to add more student housing in the future, students are facing more problems than just housing.

At U de M, Levesque said he's hearing that students struggle to balance working to pay the bills and studying as costs rise. 

"They sure enough know exams are right around the corner but they can't let go of that job for one week or else they'll be drowning in financial issues," he said.

Levesque said students are often at the mercy of landlords setting prices because there are no other options, and New Brunswick does not have a rent cap.

"We've heard a lot of stories of them price gouging because they know that students coming from abroad and across Canada don't have another option."

Additionally, Levesque said the fact that the province doesn't have a rent cap is making the situation worse.

"That doesn't help," he said.

At UNB, students last year narrowly voted down a plan that would have seen them all receive city bus passes at a reduced rate, like the students receive at neighbouring St. Thomas University. 

Varma said it was mostly domestic students who opposed paying for the passes, since some have their own vehicles, with international students more likely to want the reduced cost of transportation.

But since it was voted down, students looking to take the bus must pay the standard $60 a month.

And the student union is also working to introduce a housing bursary this fall to help students, but plans are still being finalized, he said.