In Waterloo, it’s becoming a rite of September: Students showing up for the new school year, only to find that the building they’ve planned to live in isn’t ready on-time.
Chelsea Davies-Kneis signed a lease to live in Icon Waterloo, a 25-storey tower at the corner of Columbia and Phillip streets.
She says she was told at the time that the building would be ready to move into on Sept. 1 – and then told in August that she wouldn’t be able to start living there until a few days later.
“When we signed the lease they said that 100 per cent, it would be ready by Sept. 1 to move in,” she said in an interview.
“It’s really frustrating.”
Davies-Kneis was taking classes at the University of Waterloo through the summer.
She was staying in a house elsewhere in the university district, and her lease there ran through the end of August.
As a result, she’s had to rely on friends to find places to stay, and also come up with temporary storage for her belongings.
Icon Waterloo isn’t the first building in the city to promise students one move-in date, only to end up delaying further into September.
Chris Lolas, the president of the University of Waterloo’s Federation of Students, says he’s aware of two other buildings where similar scenarios are unfolding this year.
“The problem is, it’s so common,” he said.
Lolas wants to see the province strengthen laws governing student rentals to give more protection to students.
Davies-Kneis says she’s frustrated by her living situation being “up in the air,” but says she’s still looking forward to living in Icon – a building with such amenities as a viewing lounge, a gym with a personal trainer, and a shuttle to and from the Waterloo campus.
“Hopefully once we finally get in and once everything’s finally finished, it’s as good as it’s supposed to be,” she said.
With reporting by Marc Venema
