By: Hailey Miller, Staff Writer
Studenthaus is an organization that conducts studies “about how young people make housing decisions to shape the future of housing in Canada.” So far, they’ve surveyed 850 students in five Canadian cities and are currently leading a survey for SFU students. The survey includes questions about how students make transportation decisions, what their rental and living costs are, whether students receive family support, and more. Through this, Studenthaus aims to understand why SFU Burnaby is considered a “commuter campus” and help advocate for more housing surrounding the Burnaby campus.
The Peak interviewed Julian Wells, co-founder of the Victoria-based organization and UVic political science and economics graduate, for more information.
“I think one of the biggest issues in our housing market right now is the lack of student housing in general,” said Wells. Desjardins and the Toronto Star used some of Studenthaus’ research that concluded “only 10% of [Canadian] students live in student-specific accommodations,” such as residence halls or shared apartments. Wells explained that this leaves about 90% of students to live in surrounding communities. Students living away from family often face high costs when it comes to housing, transportation, and food.
Studenthaus conducted studies over the last two years in Calgary, Kelowna, Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria. Wells explained that their data is used to help “stakeholders in the housing community” better cater to young people in need of housing. They also publish a bi-weekly newsletter “featuring education about housing, student rental stories, and good news updates.”
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation aims to provide 3.87 million new housing units across the country by 2031. Wells said for progress to be made, students need to be included in the narrative: “We need to get back to a place where students are making educational decisions based on education,” he said. Specifically, Wells means being able to choose an institution based on the experience it’ll provide without concerns for financial constraints. Or, limiting “the negative impact associated with housing.” He also mentioned wanting to continue conducting studies every year, as housing costs change and students adapt to different environments: “It’s really fascinating to see how student opinion adjusts over time.”
“They’re trying to build for the next generation, but the next generation doesn’t have a seat at the table to tell [stakeholders] what they want.” — Julian Wells, co-founder of StudentHaus
Beyond the studies, Wells said Studenthaus plans to start “a campaign to help the City of Burnaby recognize that student housing is crucial” both on and off the mountain. He said Studenthaus wants students to be able to better integrate themselves into their communities. “If we move the needle on diverse housing that works for students, we move the needle on diverse housing that works for everyone,” said Wells.
He explained that cities are now at a stage where they recognize they “need to be building for the next generation,” but don’t have feedback from students and adults to do this effectively. Wells described public hearings as an “archaic form of public comment” for citizens to “provide their views to their elected representatives” on housing. He said that most of the feedback was received from “privileged, older demographics” available on the weeknights of these hearings. “They’re trying to build for the next generation, but the next generation doesn’t have a seat at the table to tell them what they want,” he stated.
While the recent “provincial policy to remove public hearings [for most housing proposals] is a great start,” he explained, more voices need to be heard “in this process for new housing and for new city building.” Under Bill 18, residential development projects will now need to adhere to municipal guidelines informed by interim housing needs reports. “We’re trying to do all this research and bring our own chair,” he explained.
“By building more housing we create optionality in the market that allows people to self-select into housing that works the best for them,” said Wells. “And right now, one of the biggest issues is there’s no choice.” Wells also expects political parties to want to “court the youth votes” in the upcoming federal election, arguing they “should build a political platform around making change for young people.” He said parties can do this by proposing “funding for the student housing sector,” and that Studenthaus will push for this in the next six months.
For more information, follow @studenthousinginitiative on Instagram. To take part in the Studenthaus study, visit their website here. The survey closes on February 7. Any students interested in the campaign can email Wells at julian@studenthousinginitiative.com.
