Student income isn’t in line with the new rental market despite a 2.3 per cent decrease in rent.
Statistics Canada reports low-income individuals net about $2,500 a month, while the average rental cost post-decrease is $2,170 in Toronto.
For property to be affordable, it must be no more than 30 per cent of the annual income, said the Statistics Canada report in September 2024.
Senior researcher at the University of Toronto, Carolyn Whitzman, advocates for housing affordability and said the national problem is not a new one.
“We've known the students in housing need, but we've kind of ignored it nationally for quite a few decades,” Whitzman said.
UTIL, a non-profit housing developer for students, rents out 1-bedroom units for $1,000.
But Whitzman said units like these are not generally what is being built.
“Investors need to look at the human right to housing in the same way that they'd look at not having child labour. And that's not currently being done in terms of ethical investment decisions,” Whitzman said.
A 2024 city of Toronto press release said it will build 16,000 purpose-built rentals.
The city started the fast-tracked construction of one of the first purpose-built rentals at Mount Dennis near Weston Road and Eglinton Avenue on Sept. 3.
“Toronto is taking bold action to address the housing crisis. We’re offering up incentives to build thousands more purpose-built rentals and affordable homes,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said in the release.
The three development and investor companies, LiUNA Pension Fund, Fengate Asset Management and The Hi-Rise Group, responsible for the construction in Mount Dennis, have not commented on the project.
According to a city of Toronto report, purpose-built rental homes have been neglected from the 1980s to the present day.
The report said Toronto built about 200,000 purpose-built rental units from 1960 to 1979.
It said that it was followed by a steep decline to about 5,500 in the 80s and 90s.
Rental unit production has risen to approximately 21,000 between 2000 and 2023, the report said.
Nicolas Villarreal, an international Humber student, lives with three roommates in a repurposed home. He said he pays 75 per cent of his income toward rent, including support from his family in Colombia.
Villarreal said if he didn’t have the support of his parents, he would barely break even on his necessities.
Melanie Chiu, a Humber real estate program facilitator, said students inherited a poor system.
“(Students) want to improve themselves, improve their society and contribute to something. And it’s almost like they’re being punished,” Chiu said.
Jason Mercer, Chief Information Officer of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), said rental transactions didn’t grow as fast as the listings in the past year, which meant more competition between landlords.
“A lot of these would-be renters are benefiting from more choice,” Mercer said.
Whitzman said new immigration policies have directly affected rent costs.
“Because there is less population growth, and that equals slightly lower rent,” Whitzman said.
Statistics Canada reports population growth from earlier this year has been the lowest since 2020, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada’s population decreased by 1,232 people later that year.
Natural increase to the population is near minus 5,000 due to low fertility rates and an aging population, Statistics Canada said.
Chiu said that although the new immigration thresholds have slightly lowered rent, they have unintended consequences.
“Those policies haven’t necessarily come out with the desired outcome,” Chiu said.
College support workers are striking and losing jobs because of the lack of students coming through.
