Housing crunch on for Calgary students
Posted Aug 27, 2013 7:11 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Before hitting the books this fall thousands of students in the city need to find a place to call home.
June’s record flood did impact Calgary’s inventory of rental units, but so far most student leaders contacted by 660News report they have not heard a lot of complaints from those on the accommodation hunt.
The Vice President External at the University of Calgary Conner Brown says he has only heard from a handful of students who have expressed some difficulty in finding a place to rent.
Calgary’s vacancy rate is currently pegged just above one per cent.
Missy Chareka at Mount Royal University says post-secondary student leaders in the city plan to make Calgary’s shortage of secondary suites a major issue during the upcoming fall municipal vote.
Kenneth Taylor, VP External at SAIT Polytechnic, tells 660News because of the tight rental market some students, especially those looking to save cash, are thinking about moving into an illegal suite.
Back in 2009, three post-secondary students in Calgary were killed when they were unable to escape a fire at a northwest home.
The suite didn’t have a working smoke detector, and had bars on the basement windows which could not be pried open.
Those who are thinking about opening up their homes to a student this fall are being asked to contact the post-secondary institutions closest to them.
