Canada Urged to Address Int’l Student Housing Crisis
International students in Canada are vulnerable to housing insecurity and exploitation in the rental market.
Across Canada, students are grappling with record-high rents, low vacancy rates and widespread housing shortages . International students, however, experience these pressures in uniquely severe and unequal ways.
Many of them are unfamiliar with local rental markets and have small social networks. As well, they often have limited knowledge of their rights and often face uncertain immigration and financial situations.
As a result, international students are especially vulnerable to rental discrimination, housing insecurity, financial exploitation and even homelessness .
Ongoing research I’m conducting with colleagues highlights the responsibilities of governments and institutions who are obligated to uphold the housing rights of international students. Researchers have included Rupa Banerjee, Mariam (Mo) El Toukhy, Jack Krywulak and Rushde Akbar from Toronto Metropolitan University, and Sandeep Agrawal and Pradeep Sangapala from the University of Alberta.
This research examines the accountability measures and actions governments and institutions must take to ensure students’ rights are preserved using the Rights and Responsibility framework developed by researcher Kathryn Sikkink.
Based on our preliminary findings, grounded partly in interviews with
students as well as research dialogue at a housing symposium , we offer urgent recommendations.
Housing is widely recognized as a basic human right . Yet, international students often lack protection when securing safe and affordable housing.
They are also unfairly blamed for worsening Canada’s housing crisis.
Across the Global North , the lack of accessible and affordable housing has put international students at risk of housing insecurity. While financial instability is one main cause, many students also experience exploitation.
This includes overcrowded housing , rent hikes, forced evictions , illegal upfront rent payments , rental scams and harassment from landlords.
These negative housing experiences are linked to growing mental distress . Many students struggle to meet basic daily needs , such as food and shelter, and they face barriers to social integration. These vulnerabilities put international students at risk of psychological, academic and financial stress.
International students also frequently report discrimination based on their status, race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. These challenges are worsened by the limited support higher education institutions provide regarding tenant rights or finding safe, stable long-term housing.
Canada formally acknowledges housing as a basic human right under the National Housing Strategy Act of 2019 . Through this legislation, the federal government has committed to ensuring that everyone in Canada has access to adequate housing. For international students, this means the right to live in safe, secure, affordable and adequate conditions.
But many international students are denied this right . Unfairly high rent, unsafe living conditions and discrimination often leave them living in severely inadequate conditions, all while being scapegoated for Canada’s growing housing pressures.
In January 2024, the federal government capped international student visas to approximately 360,000. The 2025 budget also proposes cutting study permits by over half within three years.
Rather than addressing the longstanding housing crisis, this approach wrongly shifts blame onto international students, further marginalizing them and risking lasting harm to their health, academic success and future careers .
Current housing policies are outdated and lack intergovernmental co-ordination . This has worsened the country’s housing crisis by creating regulatory bottlenecks, misaligned incentives, inadequate development of affordable housing and insufficient co-ordination among stakeholders across sectors.
Government policies affecting student housing are complex and fragmented. They involve overlapping jurisdictions, including federal immigration decisions (like visa caps), provincial education mandates (such as student recruitment goals) and municipal zoning rules that regulate student housing development.
Canada’s National International Education Strategy (2019-24) incentivized universities and colleges to boost international student enrolment through grants tied to tuition revenue.
Institutional dependence on these fees grew, but the strategy was not accompanied by housing funding. Similarly, provinces regulate only domestic tuition, allowing institutions to maximize their reliance on international fees without addressing housing needs.
At the municipal level, zoning bylaws have also acted as barriers to student housing.
All levels of government should create formal avenues for collaboration on housing issues, while higher education institutions should play a key role in leading student housing development.
There is a clear need for co-ordinated action to address the policy, infrastructure and human rights dimensions of these challenges . Existing research rarely examines the role of multisectoral partnerships – or how key stakeholders, such as governments, higher education institutions, housing developers and community organizations should collaborate.
We conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 international students from 14 countries, representing 10 higher education institutions from across southern Ontario – as well as with two private and non-profit housing developers, two student housing providers and one higher education representative.
Drawing on interview insights, we conducted an online survey with nearly 1,800 Ontario and Alberta international and domestic students.
Our findings echo recent studies showing that limited institutional services and resources, combined with poor governmental policy co-ordination, have left international students disproportionately vulnerable to exploitation and discrimination in housing markets.
Many turn to digital platforms, such as Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji and other rental agencies, in addition to social media, for housing information and resources. However, as several students from Nigeria, China and Cambodia reported, many online housing options are scams, including listings with false information and demands for six to 12 months of rent paid upfront. There is clearly an urgent need for safer and more reliable digital student housing infrastructure.
In the survey, international students reported greater stress during their housing search, heightened financial anxiety and more negative housing experiences compared to their domestic counterparts.
These rules should be expanded to allow private and non-profit developers, multi-tenant buildings and the reuse of commercial or office spaces. Student housing should also be developed near campuses with shared space designs to help students connect socially.
International students contribute significantly to Canada’s culture, prosperity and global standing. Urgent action is needed to protect these students’ rights and well-being while fostering community cohesion and long-term sustainability.
Zhixi Zhuang receives funding from Migrant Integration in the Mid-21st Century: Bridging Divides, a research program funded by the Government of Canada through the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF).
View Original | AusPol.co Disclaimer