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Sunia Uwase, 20, an international student from Rwanda was forced to share her living space with mice in her Etobicoke apartment.
She came to Canada in January 2023 to continue her education at Humber College.
In the few months here, she realized her educational journey had unexpected hurdles mainly stemming from the housing crisis that is gripping the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
The region of about 6.7 million people is Canada’s economic engine and is renowned for its lively culture and educational institutions, drawing thousands of students and job seekers each year, which increases the need for accommodation.
Students and renters are particularly affected as they deal with the expensive cost of living in the area since the spike in demand.
One of the first challenges Uwase faced was providing her credit history. To determine the financial dependability of new renters, landlords frequently need a credit history.
International students might not have built up credit in Canada, which makes it challenging to fulfill this criterion.
She noticed most apartment units required a lot of paperwork and the deposit for it was way higher than landlords that rent out rooms in townhouses.
“Most rental units prefer tenants on a work visa or that have a full-time job rather than a study visa and that makes it nearly impossible to find a place,” she said.
“To be honest I compared it to my home country and realized that the cost of living was considerably higher,” she said.
The stress and anxiety brought on by the high rental prices in the neighbourhood overwhelmed her hopes for a smooth transition into a place to call home.
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“Even the space of the room is not that huge and I was taken aback by the price for the room when I saw the size,” she said.
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Uwase was also shocked to hear that the monthly rent for a small room is $750 without furniture and a washroom that is shared by six renters.
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“When I first moved in the challenge to live in an environment that I’m not comfortable in took a toll on me and I was constantly sick,” she said.
She found that expensive rent was frequently paired with inadequate living conditions.
For many student renters, like Uwase, the presence of uninvited guests like mice is an unhappy reality with no option but to accept.
“It’s part of the package… the mice come included with the rent,” she said.
She immediately notified her landlord but nothing was done about the rodents she said.
Uwase was forced to stay for two months so she wouldn’t lose her deposit as her landlord refused to reimburse her.
“During those two months, the kitchen couldn’t be used which forced me to spend triple the amount I do on takeout,” she said.
She then decided to leave her rental unit and look for another one.
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“The townhouse I currently live at has two additional bedrooms made in the living room space and it feels claustrophobic,” she said.
According to Uwase, it’s pretty common in townhouses that are for student rentals to have additional bedrooms and she’s witnessed multiple houses with the same situation.
“As you get closer to a college or university neighbourhood the rent prices are unrealistic for a freshly graduated student’s budget let alone one who is doing part-time work,” she said.
Renters are subjected to unstable housing circumstances and financial constraints by landlords who take advantage of their weakness and desperation.
She soon realized the cost of having a roof over her head is steep.
After her rent which is $750, her phone bill, grocery and a single subscription to Spotify costs her around $270 and it eats more of her paycheck every month she said.
According to the City of Toronto Housing Data Book in March 2023, 40 per cent of renters are living in unaffordable housing.
Racial, ethnic, or gender-based discrimination are just a few examples of the many ways that discriminatory behaviours can appear in Toronto's varied rental market.
Some landlords could unfairly give some applicants preference over others, denying them access to homes based on prejudiced standards.
“There are so many ads on Kijiji that say ‘only Indian students wanted,’ ‘only girls,’ so the already slim choices get slimmer,” she said, “I’ve noticed houses with only girls or co-ed houses have a higher rental price than the boys-only house.”
The high rent rates strongarmed her into getting a part-time job. Uwase said the pressure to have a roof over her head and pay rent every month is overwhelming and exhausting.
“It takes a toll on your mental health,” she said, “I was stressed about finding a house it's hard.”
According to the Rental Market Report by CMHC, a rental unit is affordable when rent doesn’t exceed 30 per cent of the occupying household’s income.
“More than two-thirds of my paycheck goes toward rent and it is so demotivating,” Uwase said, “I’m on a student budget and the current rent rates are not adapted to students' budgets.”
Sunia Uwase’s bedroom in Etobicoke. Photo Credit - Nicole Fernandes
Photo Credit - Frank Clayton
The immigration goals Canada has set for the near future make finding solutions to the housing crisis even more urgent. As the number of immigrants entering the country rises, the demand for housing also rises, necessitating creative solutions to keep up with the country's population expansion.
“Toronto is just booming, it seems to be high tech, financial, all kinds of different sectors. So as long as the jobs are being created and immigrants keep coming, we're going to have a very strong demand for housing,” Clayton said.
Clayton said 90 per cent of rental housing is provided by the private sector and hence the prices are on a higher scale whereas if we (the GTA) had housing with the public sector’s involvement like the government or non-profit organizations it would be lower.
He said immigration adds to the diversity in the age and needs of various renters in the GTA. This increases the need for the types of housing.
“If you're an individual living alone, you only need a one-bedroom apartment or even a bachelor apartment,” Clayton said. “But if you're a single parent with three kids and one's a teenager and two are younger, you might need a three bedroom.”
The variety in the types of housing according to the renters' needs also plays a vital role in the lack of proper housing and between about 30 to 40 per cent of renters in the GTA have an affordability problem he said.
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Frank Clayton, a senior research fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University's Centre for Urban Research and Land Development, who holds a doctorate in economics said it is difficult the close the gap between the huge demand for housing units and the shortage in supply of them.
“Unfortunately, inflation and the current housing market make it almost impossible for an affordable house,” he said.
Canada’s 2023–2025 Immigration Levels Plan is calling for the country to welcome 465,000 permanent residents in 2023, 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025.
Many will most likely make the GTA home.
According to the plan, immigration is projected to account for 100 per cent of Canada’s population growth by the year 2032.
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The immigration levels plan places pressure on the demand for housing.
“The availability of housing for students is challenging, I think it's challenging in particular to the larger cities,” she said.
This can particularly be seen in cities major cities like Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, she said.
“Their densely packed population mainly of students combined with a lack of housing results in housing crisis like the one occurring currently,” Cracknell-Young said. “People are going further from the city to be able to get more affordable housing options.”
This is reflected by the rise of houses being occupied in smaller towns within a few hours of the major cities and a rise in their population.
While looking for affordable homes outside of urban areas might provide some relief, it also presents difficulties, she said.
Smaller towns' housing markets and local infrastructure are under additional stress as a result of the growing migration there.
“Most of our (Canada’s) debt is mortgages, not directly credit cards,” she said.
Cracknell-Young said the impact of interest rates can be hefty because of the lengthy mortgage periods.
Canada’s increasing interest rates have caused many people to find it impossible to make their mortgage payments on time, only further increasing the debt, according to CMHC.
“Many colleges and universities lack sufficient on-campus housing options and there isn’t a student-specific housing on the market and that’s been the biggest challenge,” Cracknell-Young said.
The rental market is very competitive for students, especially with first-time buyers and young professionals
Because of the lack of student-specific housing on the market, many landlords that rent to students often take advantage of their particular location needs.
Photo Credit - Jasmine Cracknell-Young
Canada’s high levels of household debt exceed any of the other countries in the G7 when compared according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
This results in a vulnerable economy, at risk of a global economic crisis.
Unfortunately, this dense population frequently makes the housing crisis worse, making it difficult for many students to find an acceptable home that fits their budget.
Housing affordability has become a major worry for students seeking higher education in these urban centres as a result of the present economic situation.
Jasmine Cracknell-Young, the vice president of advisory at Zonda Urban which provides real estate data for various Canadian provinces, said affordability has always been the driving force behind the GTA residential market.
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Benjamin Gianni, an associate professor and coordinator at Carleton University's Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism, said inflation and the competition between the population increases the severity of the housing shortage.
There is no shortage of difficult obstacles that prevent renters from becoming homeowners, high-interest rates and houses that are built with no infrastructure to adapt to the land availability, are some examples he said.
The thought of accumulating a substantial down payment for young buyers entering the home market remains a daunting hurdle, and for many, the "bank of mom and dad" may be the only workable alternative, he said.
There is a vast difference between renting an apartment and buying one he said, saving for the down payment of an apartment for a previous renter can seem daunting for the buyer.
“The fact that rent is high which in turn increases the down payment which increases the rental market… it's a continuous loop that needs to end,” he said.
Meeting the rising demand for affordable housing is a significant problem for the Canadian housing sector; according to a study from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), 3.5 million more affordable housing units must be built by 2030 to make more housing affordable. But to ensure housing is affordable for all, a total requirement of more than 22 million housing units is needed.
The report said Ontario and British Columbia, have the least affordable housing markets, and account for two-thirds of the 3.5 million housing unit shortfall. Over time, affordability has significantly decreased in these areas, posing a difficult task for stakeholders and policymakers.
“CMHC has estimated that we are millions of housing units behind per our current population and as you know the federal government has been quite aggressive about the targets for new immigration over the next few years ... we have a challenge ahead of us,” Gianni said.
The Ontario government has decided it would keep the rent rise guideline for 2024 at 2.5 per cent to strengthen tenant safeguards and address the problems caused by the growing cost of living, according to a news release.
This means that until 2024 landlords can only increase the existing rent by 2.5 per cent.
For the roughly 1.4 million rental families protected by the Residential Tenancies Act by this decision, exorbitant rent increases are no longer an issue.
The policy will continue to serve as an important safeguard, preventing most tenants from having their rent increased without the landlord and tenant board's consent. The maximum rent increase allowed is set at 2.5 per cent, which is still much less than the 5.9 per cent average inflation rate.
The province assures the rise is weighed against economic circumstances over the last year, effectively representing the cost of living for renters, by tying the guideline to Ontario's Consumer Price Index.
This action protects residents against potential rent increases brought on by rising interest rates.
The Ontario government's larger Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants initiative, which aims to promote housing affordability and security for citizens throughout the province, is in line with its commitment to tenant safeguards.
Tenant safeguards are ensured by the choice to keep the rent increase guideline at 2.5 per cent, which also demonstrates the province's commitment to building a stable and sustainable housing market.
Tenants and landlords may anticipate a more secure and equitable rental picture as the government continues to work to improve housing affordability and stability, according to the news release.
Another step taken to improve the housing market and affordability in Ontario is taken by the More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022, an addition to Bill 109, which was put out by the Ontario Home Builders' Association (OHBA) and its member local organizations.
The OHBA and its member local organizations have presented their top goals to the provincial government to address the challenge of housing affordability in Ontario and assure greater home supply.
The Housing Advisory Task Force (HATF) has approved these suggestions to speed up building approvals, open up more land for construction, and reduce the burden of development fees that have been driving up housing costs for residents.
The act attempts to resolve delays in development approvals for the construction of new dwellings, which frequently go beyond appropriate regulatory time limitations.
It also aims to reduce red tape. To save costs and hasten the delivery of housing units, this would include setting and enforcing realistic time limitations for new house building approvals.
The act suggests tying local access to infrastructure funds to fulfilling new home start objectives as per the province's Growth Plan to further battle protracted approval processes and related cost increases.
This policy pushes local governments to speed up house construction and simplify the approvals procedure.
Geordie Dent, executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations, a non-profit organization which advocates for better rights for renters, said limited renting experience, low incomes, and lack of awareness of tenancy regulations mean students frequently struggle to navigate the GTA’s rental market.
For foreigners who may find it difficult to understand the intricacies of the rental market, the issue is made much worse. He strongly recommends students approach their home search with “caution and thought in light of these difficulties.”
“Take your time to find a place you like and always compare areas and the cost,” Dent said.
Carefully considering each of their needs, students should dedicate an adequate amount of time to finding the desired place, with the rental market in demand the availability decreases every year, Dent said.
He emphasizes it is crucial to make educated choices in the rental market. And tenants not knowing their rights and responsibilities often results in unnecessary troubles and financial problems.
“Many tenants I see pay money they don’t have to, move out when they don’t have to and give up rights they don’t have to,” Dent said.
Landlords take advantage of student renters he said, mostly students are new to the GTA or even Canada and that's when the prices start increasing.
“They can also make decisions that promote their financial stability and housing stability,” he said.
Students can navigate the housing market with more confidence if they are involved in learning about their rights, responsibilities, and options.
“Step one is to know your rights as a tenant and then look at your source of income, find a neighbourhood that fits in your budget and start applications,” Dent said.
Knowing your rights as a renter may protect you against fraud and ‘made-up’ rules enforced by landlords, which is what happened to Uwase.
Uwase was forced to forgo her deposit and lost over $1200 she said.
“Knowing your rights will help you spot situations when landlords try to take advantage of you,” she said, “Don’t make the same mistakes I did, $1200 is not a small amount for a student.”
Canada’s Housing Supply Shortage: Restoring affordability by 2030. (n.d.). Www.cmhc-Schl.gc.ca. https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/blog/2022/canadas-housing-supply-shortage-restoring-affordability-2030
CITY OF TORONTO HOUSING DATA BOOK. (2023). https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/96be-HousingSecretariatDataBookMar20230320small.pdf
Exploring the Impacts of Household Debt on Canada’s Economy. (n.d.). Www.cmhc-Schl.gc.ca. https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/blog/2023/risks-canadas-economy-remain-high-household-debt-levels-continue-grow
Immigration, R. and C. C. (2022, November 1). An Immigration Plan to Grow the Economy. Www.canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2022/11/an-immigration-plan-to-grow-the-economy.html
More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022. (n.d.). Legislative Assembly of Ontario. https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-2/bill-109
Ontario Newsroom. (n.d.). News.ontario.ca. Retrieved August 14, 2023, from https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1003223/ontario-capping-rent-increases-below-the-rate-of-inflation
Our latest Residential Mortgage Industry Report shows borrowing habits are shifting. (n.d.). Www.cmhc-Schl.gc.ca. Retrieved August 14, 2023, from https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/blog/2023/mortgage-borrowers-adapt-higher-interest-rates
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Changes in rental prices in the GTA (infographic) - https://trreb.ca/files/market-stats/rental-reports/rental_report_Q1-2023.pdf
Increase in rental rates in the GTA (infographic)- https://trreb.ca/files/market-stats/rental-reports/rental_report_Q2-2023.pdf