Would you share a single room with 3 other people? Why student housing is in a crisis

For the next year, this is what Alexandra Mussar will call home: a cramped bedroom with water damage and dysfunctional sinks, in a house shared with six other students. For this, she's paying $840 every month.

This isn't how she pictured her university housing experience, but after six long months hunting for somewhere to live, she says she felt she had to settle.

"There were no other options. This was my last resort," she said. "It was either that or I was couch surfing for the next year."

Across the country, students are sharing similar stories. The soaring rents that have hit some of Canada's biggest cities have also walloped college and university towns, with little relief in sight. Take Guelph, Ont., where the latest data shows the average cost for a one bedroom apartment has spiked to $2,095 per month in June, up 27 per cent from the same time last year.

Rents have also soared in Victoria, Kingston, Ont., and Halifax amid stiff competition. And while students can lower their costs by sharing housing, even those rents can be staggering, posing a serious challenge for those planning for the fall.

Mussar is entering her second year at the University of Guelph. She lived in residence for her first year — though that isn't always a guaranteed option for students. After that, she was on her own to find something in the off-campus rental market. She looked at dozens of apartments but says it was rare that someone would actually get back to her.

"When they did, it was, 'Sorry, we don't have space for you. Sorry, we don't think you're a good match. Sorry, we're out of your budget.' Just getting denied over and over and over again. So, so stressful and so painful."

There are many factors complicating the rental housing market. Canada hasn't built enough rental stock, with RBC warning that without more construction the country will be short 120,000 units by 2026. More recently, landlords have been raising rents to cover higher mortgage costs.

Economist Mike Moffatt, who studies housing issues as senior director at the Smart Prosperity Institute, said as provincial governments cut back on funding to higher education, colleges and universities across the country have increased enrolments substantially.

"The incentives for them are to bring in as many students as possible," he said. "International students pay international tuition so they tend to be a very, very profitable group."

The influx of students has been increasing steadily. A record 550,150 international student study permits were issued last year,  according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, a 75 per cent increase from just five years ago. Yet there's no cap on that number, and no requirement by the provincial or federal governments for schools to build corresponding housing, said Moffatt. 

"It's up to [schools] to be responsible, look at what the housing situation is in the community and keep enrolments at a manageable level," said Moffatt.

Moffatt said inadequate planning puts huge pressure on the communities surrounding these colleges and universities, calling the shortage of rental housing an "absolute crisis." Students compete with other renters and first-time home-buyers, he said, pushing up rents and prices across the board.

"It makes everything more expensive for everyone."