Student Housing: A City’s Puzzle
Recent
findings show that, for post-secondary students, the city-wide housing
shortage has resulted in unaffordable rental fees, housing insecurity,
overcrowding, and, in the worst cases, homelessness; 47.5% of students
surveyed for a recent study said that housing costs were a barrier to
the quantity and quality of food they consumed**.
Toronto’s Housing Crisis
Toronto’s housing crisis has been the constant source of headlines over the last several years. The lack of affordable rental units, in addition to an extremely low vacancy rate of 1%*, severely impacts the population of the city in general. And yet, the effects are more devastating for a particular group: post-secondary students.Recent findings show that, for post-secondary students, the city-wide housing shortage has resulted in unaffordable rental fees, housing insecurity, overcrowding, and, in the worst cases, homelessness; 47.5% of students surveyed for a recent study said that housing costs were a barrier to the quantity and quality of food they consumed**.
Official assistance does not suffice either; a recent report found that students on Ontario’s Student Loan Program (OSAP) would have a difficult time attending one of the universities located in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) because the formula used to calculate living expenses does not take into consideration the much higher average costs for shared accommodations in GTA, in comparison to the rest of the province***.
*Myles, J. (2017, November 22). Toronto Vacancy Rates Since 2000. Retrieved from: https://www.torontorentals.com/blog/toronto-vacancy-rates
**According to a study conducted by Meal Exchange across five Canadian universities, it was reported that 47.5% of surveyed students said that housing costs were a barrier to the quantity and quality of food they consumed
*** Silverthorn, D. (2016). Hungry for knowledge: Assessing the prevalence of student food insecurity on five Canadian campuses. Toronto: Meal Exchange. Retrieved from: http://mealexchange.com
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