The Graduate Students’ Association and Students’ Union Statement on the Sale of 19 & 33 Ezra Ave

For release: January 28, 2022 

The Students’ Union and Graduate Students’ Association request that Laurier be mindful of the implications of the sale of the properties at 19 and 33 Ezra Avenue, and do all that is in their control to ensure the continuity of the existing affordable student rental units. 

In an already volatile and largely unaffordable housing market, students are left with further worries about the availability of rental options to meet their needs. University ownership of these properties provided some degree of predictability for students, and a reassurance that student needs would be an ongoing consideration. New ownership brings uncertainty and the risk of disruptive change. 

Affordable housing continues to be a pressing concern for students attending post-secondary education. In Waterloo, the proliferation of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) continues to transition the rental supply away from locally owned and often lower density properties, and toward real estate assets managed at arm’s length. 

PBSA in Canada increasingly reflects a ‘condo’ model where units are sold as investment properties with developers coordinating property management and the landlord-tenant relationship. Analysis published by researchers from the University of Waterloo in 2019 shows that five investment entities owned 24% of all PBSA in Waterloo (20 beds or more), and that the city itself contained 42% of all PBSA in Canada. PBSA often focuses on high-end and amenity-rich student housing that is more expensive to rent than conventional options. As is easily observable in the direct vicinity of the Waterloo campus, developers have not hesitated to demolish lower density rental property to enable the construction of new large scale PBSA. Additionally, as a result of recent legislative change, any rental units built after November 15, 2018 are exempt from provincial rent control.  

Representative of a broader societal problem, many Ontarians do not have access to the type of rental housing that meets their basic needs and balances their budget. The Students’ Union and the Graduate Students’ Association look forward to working with community partners in all of Laurier’s locations to address affordable housing. We welcome connections with others advocating in this space.

¹ Nick Revington and Martine August, “Making a market for itself: The emergence financialization of student housing in Canada,” EPA: Economy and Space 1-22 (2019).