VP Academic and provost John Driver made a report to the SFU board of governors at their May 28 meeting on the current status of the closure of the Louis Riel House (LRH) residence.

Of the 211 units, only 120 remain occupied to date, with the remainder to be moved out by the end of the summer. All residents will be compensated the amount of one month’s rent to aid in the transition.

The university has promised to provide assistance to students who request it based on need. Those who remain eligible for LRH residency will be assisted until the time that their original lease would have expired.

For those that cannot or are not eligible to be placed in other accommodations on residence, for the remainder of their lease (which is valid up to four years maximum), the university will provide financial aid with consideration of the difference between LRH rent and average rental rates in off-campus areas. Students with families will be given priority to be placed in housing in UniverCity.

In response to concerns as to how to prevent a similar situation from occurring, Driver assured the board that nothing like this would happen again in the near future.

“We have a much better process in place now with the board of governors to actually set accommodation rates or rents that are appropriate to the kind of accommodation, that provide significant investment in the building, so that we don’t get into this situation we got into with Louis Riel House, where the revenues that we generate aren’t sufficient to maintain the building.”