WATERLOO — Local universities and students fear a potential overstock of student housing in Waterloo could hurt student welfare.
Last week, the local town and gown committee told Waterloo politicians there is potentially a 1,100-bedroom surplus in the city.
Students and university officials worry this could lead to rundown housing, half-empty buildings and unpleasant environments for students.
"If we get into a situation where we've got a lot of oversupply then you end up with empty rooms or situations where people living together don't know each other because they didn't intend to move in together," said Chris Read, associate provost–students at the University of Waterloo.
The committee is made up of representatives from the city, the schools and the community.
Its study said there is a potential surplus of more than 1,100 bedrooms in the city, with another 900 bedrooms planned on campus and about 6,200 planned off campus.
Student enrolment isn't expected to keep pace with planned builds.
Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky is skeptical of the data.
"Cranes in the sky, you look at that and go, 'Hmm, lots of new stuff coming online.' So it's not scientific … we have data points that have been put together and show a story that needs to be interpreted."
Housing built before 2000 was not included in the study, and the committee acknowledged not all low-density residential bedrooms are rented by students.
Cameron Rapp, commissioner of integrated planning and public works, said he's heard there's too much housing but developers keep coming forward.
"I've heard it on occasion from some people but then I still keep seeing similar people … coming forward and wanting to do more so I'm not sure of the accuracy of the message."
For several years politicians, students and university officials have criticized the five-bedroom "warehouses" that have sprung up in the city's Northdale neighbourhood.
The concerns were that there was no common space for students to socialize and that students were isolated.
That will change with approval of the city's Northdale plan, which seeks to provide more diverse housing types, Read said.
But there are still all those five-bedroom towers sitting around, creating a new concern about student housing in the city.
Andrew Clubine represents University of Waterloo students on the town and gown committee. He also works part time at the school helping students with housing.
"Concerns that come with that (overstock) are … public health or safety, difficulty knowing what's going on in a highrise building or who's living with who," Clubine said. "And then when there are vacancies, not enough money is spent on upkeep of the buildings which, anecdotally, sometimes are not the best quality to begin with."
David McMurray, vice-president of student affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University, echoed comments about the potential impact of vacancies.
He's heard housing horror stories from students.
"We feel that variables like that would not contribute to the success of students, much less their interest in remaining in the Waterloo Region community," he said of potential vacancy issues.
Matt McLean, a fifth-year student at Wilfrid Laurier University, has experienced some of the downsides of student housing.
The worst experience was a broken furnace in the middle of winter. He and his two roommates had to wait through the weekend for it to be fixed.
"Couple that with the financial pressures of going to school, the academic workload and all those different things — it was a lot to have to worry about at one time," McLean said.
There is one potential benefit of a housing surplus. It could drive down rents and improve choice.
That was one of the reasons city staff advised council last week not to approve an incentive for developers in Northdale that was intended to encourage affordable housing projects.
"We're seeing actual development activity that's quite high and so that … would suggest we don't need further incentives," Rapp said. "But it doesn't hurt when we receive this other information indicating there is an oversupply."
McLean said an overstock could benefit student renters but worries landlords would work together and agree to keep rents high to compensate for vacant space.
"It could be good for students because there's more supply and less demand for the housing," he said.
The town and gown committee plans to research student housing further and will encourage campus and community services to research the impact of accommodations, physical spaces and social interaction on the mental well-being of students.
