N.S. university students struggling ‘year-round’ with living costs

With the fall semester just two months away, university students throughout Nova Scotia are struggling to find an affordable place to live in an increasingly crowded rental market.

Although summer is in full swing, many post-secondary students in Halifax already have their attention on the fall, as the city’s one per cent vacancy rate has some students struggling to access secure housing options.

G. Saleski, executive director of Students Nova Scotia, a non-profit advocacy group, said concerns are “year-round” for students when it comes to balancing schoolwork and budgets.

“Here in Nova Scotia, students are paying grocery costs that are the highest among students across the entire country,” they said, adding that about 50 per cent of the province’s students have to occasionally limit their grocery bill to afford housing.

Although it depends on the region, Saleski said many students begin searching for housing about six months before their course start date.

“The difficult part now is that even though students are searching earlier, there’s still less affordable and accessible options,” they explained, noting that housing remains one of the biggest barriers between someone obtaining a college or university degree in Nova Scotia.

“The reality is students are choosing other provinces to study in when they know the cost of housing is going to impact their ability to obtain their degree.”

In addition to a clustered rental market, tuition costs are rising at a faster pace than anywhere else in the country.

In a report from August 2023, Students Nova Scotia found the average tuition for domestic undergrads in Canada has increased three per cent over the last six years to $6,834.