With classes at the University of Regina just a few short weeks away, students are packing up and getting ready to move. School may be stressful with all the exams and papers to write, but the hardest part may actually be finding an affordable place to live.
Balancing tuition fees with increasing rents is causing headaches for some students, including fifth year business student Jeff Cutting.
“It adds up when you have to come from a new place,” Cutting said. “If you’re from Regina you can live at home and pay your parents a bit of rent or whatever you have to do. It’s just an extra cost when you come in from somewhere else.”
Cutting said his rent jumped more than $200 in only two years, resulting in him having to find something more affordable. It is not an easy task in Regina where vacancy rates have dipped below one per cent.
Currently, the average rent for a two bedroom apartment is $858 per month. For a student, that is a large amount of money. University of Regina’s Students Union has heard many concerns.
“Affordable housing isn’t easy to find,” URSU Vice President Kaytlyn Barber said. “There are places, but few of them are available.”
URSU is helping students by having a housing registry on its website. It lists vacancies and ads for people looking for roommates who can help offset the costs.
In the university’s residences there are 1,200 beds available, but those who have not already claimed one will likely be out of luck.
“We are full,” University of Regina’s Vice President Barb Pollock said. “There is a waiting list available to sign up.”
Only 10 per cent of the student population can be accommodated in residence, which is something the university admits needs to be improved. Until the time it can be addressed, it will continue to be difficult for students.
“We will take it a year out,” Pollock said. “Right now a person in Grade 12 could apply for residence, even if the application to university hasn’t happened yet.”
With the lack of options off campus, students may need to settle for something below what they hoped for. Barber admits it is a hard lesson.
“Don’t give up,” Barber said. “If you find a place, jump on it quick.”
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