Rentals scarce as students on University of Guelph residence waitlist scoop up available units

Some are calling it the Hunger Games of student housing.

The families of students heading into their first year of studies at the University of Guelph are still desperately trying to find a place to live before classes start in September. But, as CTV News found out, there aren’t many rooms on the market for rent.

Property Link, a management group based in Guelph, Ont., is in charge of about 300 rental units and 100 student rentals. They said summers are typically quiet because most leases have already been signed.

Mark Roberts, Property Link’s owner, said the scramble this year has been non-stop.

“Honestly, the communication coming through on my work phone, on my office phone, and the texts and emails just do not stop. It was constant.”

The University of Guelph recently announced there were approximately 1,300 students on a waitlist for first-year residence. Roberts said, since then, he’s getting messages daily.

“I’d say, I probably had 100 to 120 calls on the first day. My phone did not stop ringing.”

A message received by Property Link owner Mark Roberts. (Submitted)

Typically, Roberts said student rentals are secured in the winter.

“We had a couple of houses still available, in the beginning of June,” he explained.

That all changed once the university announced the residence waitlist.

“I’m hearing from a lot of realtors in town that they were getting contacted and asked if they had any housing,” Roberts said.

He’s also seeing residents doing what they can to increase supply.

“The general buzz in the city is that a lot of people are kind of looking at their basements, looking at their backyards, wondering: ‘Hey, can I put in a coach house? How quickly can I do it?’”

But getting a new property on the market is not a simple process.

“Unfortunately, there’s no magic wand when it comes to getting building permits and getting that accomplished in a timely fashion,” Roberts explained. “I think, if the property’s not already ready, it’s not going to happen this year.”

To help meet the demand, he added, a house that might typically be used by a family is being snatched up by stressed out students.

“What we would traditionally do with product like that is market it to a family at around $3,100, maybe $3,200. But with the current environment, it’s been put out at $3,600 and we’ve already signed four students.”

He’s also seeing a similar trend with other properties.

“A traditional student townhouse [with four bedrooms], that was going for $2,000 is now getting upwards of $3,400 to $3,600. I even think with this current crunch going on, we’re looking at those townhouses… even pushing up to $4,000 or $4,200.”

Roberts said Property Link currently has one and two bedroom units still available, but those are more expensive and aren’t usually what first-year students want to rent.

The demand for housing could also cause a potential spillover effect.

“Until [the school] gets control of enrollment and stops having such high demand for off-campus housing, I think it’s going to overflow into other neighbourhoods in the city,” Roberts added.

The University of Guelph, meanwhile, said they don’t expect to have an update on the waitlist until later this week.