Dire student housing shortage sees Calgary schools helping each other out

The vacancy issues in Calgary are affecting students in a significant way, and the major schools in the city are banding together to help out.

Back in July, the University of Calgary and its Students’ Union knew there would be an issue. Shane Royal, the University of Calgary Senior Director of Ancillary Services, says they reached out to SAIT and Mount Royal University right away.

“We had contacted them fairly early and said, you know, do you have the capacity, and can we start referring students to you? So we started referring students to them back in, I think it was late July,” Royal explained. “Both SAIT and MRU have supported us through this process. And some of our students have gone there.”

Rent prices in the city have increased substantially in the past year, and we are seeing vacancy issues in Calgary. In a statement, SAIT confirmed things are filling up at their school, but they are offering to help.

“Residence is nearing capacity, and this is expected given the time of year. We accommodate close to 900 students from SAIT as well as a contingent from the Alberta University of the Arts and some University of Calgary students.”

At Mount Royal University, the manager of Residence Services is Bob Lambert, and he says their doors are open for U of C students as well.

“MRU is still receiving residence applications. Until capacity is met, we’re happy to accommodate and prioritize MRU students who need a place for the upcoming year. If students from the University of Calgary are without housing, they can contact us to discuss availability.”

The school confirmed that some University of Calgary students have already used this option.

Royal says the help with other schools and students finding other options has allowed them to cut into the backlog.

“Our waiting list is down to 75 people now, where it used to be at 550 several weeks ago. So it’s definitely improving. You know, there’s still a ways to go, and we anticipate still, some of those 75 students will get spaces with us over the next couple of weeks as other students opt out.”

So, with the help of the other Calgary schools, things are moving in the right direction. But Nicole Schmidt, the University of Calgary Student’s Union president, says there is still a lot of work to be done.

“Students are still struggling to find housing ahead of the start of classes. Our rental housing board remains available and is still free for landlords to post available accommodation until the end of the day today (August 31),” Schmidt states. “Landlords and tenants can visit www.places4students.com and search University of Calgary to post or see what is available. The Students’ Union has worked closely with the university, and despite the waiting list for residence having been significantly reduced, the situation remains dire.”

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Royal says everything that has happened over the last couple of years has combined to make this a major issue.

“It’s a bit of a perfect storm right now with the prices of rents going up significantly last year, and vacancy is so low, and it’s the first year back in-person classes since COVID. So all that together is created some additional demand that we have historically not seen. We’re usually 85 to 95% full within our residence buildings. And this year, obviously, that’s very different.”

With classes starting, Royal says there is a program to help if a student has no other options.

“If there’s a student that shows up that truly has nothing, nothing available, and they’re kind of stuck, we have a program where we just partner with a local hotel, and we’ll host our students for five days just so they can get to the resources they need to for looking for housing. So we do have that just so nobody is, you know, really stuck in a situation.”

Both the school and the Students’ Union have a message for people in Calgary who are looking to help.

“If you’re a landlord, and you have a spare room, and you know, we very much appreciate it people do this as you know, the best route is to go through the Students’ Union webspace and register your, your availability there because that’s where students look, and that’s the best place for people to connect.”