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Student Housing and Social Supports

Lowering rent costs on Canadian campuses to 30% of the average income of university students is a favorable solution to address affordability issues. However, it comes with several disadvantages and risks. Consistent real estate demand has become the rationale for the massive investments in many university budgets and resources meant to provide rental accommodations of student accommodations to fund various programs and services. Some of the barriers to realizing such a drop are the difficulties faced, and could be incompatible with existing infrastructure and programs. Furthermore, the exact identification of this measure’s implementation success and unexpected outcomes is controversial enough, including potential influences on on-campus housing demand and conflicts with the real estate community.

Firstly, reducing rent costs to such a low percentage may reduce the quality of housing provided to students. The property owners could even be under financial strain as they save on their rental charges and may need help finding it feasible to repair or improve their property (Sharma & Samarin, 2022). Such a situation might be generated, leading to the absence of regular repairs to the student’s residence, which may not meet the student’s requirements. Also, the figurative cost of maintaining high-quality housing on campus has the potential to bite into university budgets and other essential resources, putting a damper on their ability to continue to provide invaluable services and support to students.

Furthermore, lowering rent costs significantly could deter investment in new student housing developments. On the other hand, private developers may not be interested in building student housing if the feasibility of that investment is reduced due to the revenue limits established by capped rent prices (McGrath et al., 2023). This could worsen the situation by creating a need for more options for student housing in Canada, which can lead to stiff competition for the few available ones. The change in this trend would also be challenging, as it is a matter of coordination among universities, landlords, and government powers to achieve and maintain order even without tampering with the existing housing market.

Another risk is the potential impact on the overall rental market. If campus rental prices are extensively lower than off-campus housing options, this may distort the market equilibrium for rental properties. This development could trigger more demand for college dorm rooms, resulting in high rent rates as students look for other options for living off campus. These may lead to uncertainty about whether the existing situation will allow the production of all the rental options to be successful in the long run and, if so, whether they will be able to fulfill the affordable housing requirements of the public effectively or not.

Moreover, a drastic reduction in rent costs could strain university budgets and resources. The missions of the universities depend on rental incomes provided by the student accommodations for the different jobs and services. Government support for universities is necessary to ensure quality education and the provision of additional social services in the schools, which can be impeded by the 30% rent drop for students.

Although by law, a university/college’s cheaper housing rent becomes only 30% of the average income of university students, theoretically, it is a perfect strategy. However, it has a lot of drawbacks and risks. The need to carefully consider those disadvantages is legitimate in finding the best sustainable way of studying affordability for youths. Comprehensive planning and understanding are vital to avoid any alterations to student accommodation guidelines that might be unsustainable and thus unable to produce any substantive results.

References

McGrath, K., Worzala, E., & Alexander, J. (2023). TVM, NPV, and IRR, Oh My! Creating an Inclusive Environment for Teaching the Potentially Intimidating Financial Concepts for Making a Real Estate Investment. Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education, 25(1), 2175952.

Sharma, M., & Samarin, M. (2022). Rental tenure and rent burden: progress in interdisciplinary scholarship and pathways for geographical research. GeoJournal, 87(4), 3403–3421. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-021-10417-2

 

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