The main entrance of Loyalist College displays a large sign welcoming everyone to the campus. But international students struggling to find a place to live say they wish the welcome had included better access to housing. Photo by Jordan Mills, QNet News
By Jordan Mills
BELLEVILLE – Off-campus housing issues continue to plague international students at Loyalist College, with some of them taking it upon themselves to open up about their experiences.
Arvind Sharma is a first-year global business management student from India who arrived in Canada on Sept. 17. Since his arrival, he has been living in a Belleville hotel room that was provided by the college. The cost of the first week was covered by Loyalist, but since Tuesday, he has had to pay the bill himself.
Originally, Sharma had hoped to spend somewhere around $350 t0 $450 a month on rent. After looking at ads for housing in Belleville, he said, he realized that he’d have to be willing to spend more than $900.
“When I first applied to the program, I had no idea how hard it would be to find housing,” Sharma said in an interview with QNet News Tuesday. “The school never mentioned it as an issue and I still am looking for somewhere to stay.”
The college has been providing international students with transportation from Pearson Airport in Toronto when they arrive in Canada, as well as hotel rooms if they need a temporary place to stay. Sharma said he’s thankful for the first week being paid for by Loyalist. But as of Tuesday, he hadn’t found a permanent place to live.
“I appreciate what the school has done for me. Helping me financially was really kind of them, but the advice given (by the college on finding housing) is maybe a bit generic. (Students are) just told to look on (web)sites like Kijiji and Facebook.”
Deepanjali Thapa has found herself in a similar situation. She’s a first-year global business management student from India who is staying in a room at the Hampton Inn & Suites on North Front Street that the college set up for her. Thapa said she has struggled to be accepted as a potential tenant, as many landlords have unique conditions for international students.
“They want you to room with someone from the same region as you,” she said. “You can imagine that is very hard to provide, as I came here on my own. It has been a very frustrating experience.”
International students are also asked to provide a credit score and a work permit in order to rent a place, she said, adding that she has neither of those.
It seems like landlords may be holding students from other countries to different standards than they would apply to would-be renters from Canada, she said.
“If you belong to their community, they are ready to help you. They will be ready to respond to your texts and answer all your questions. But if you do not belong to their community, they will not respond to any of your messages.”
Thapa said she doesn’t mind if accommodation is off- or on-campus, or whether it is a house or an apartment, as long as she has somewhere to live.
Loyalist College has taken some measures to help international students affected by the housing shortage. The school added more beds to its on-campus residences and increased the size of some of the residence apartment units, as well as offering temporary hotel accommodation for those who need it.
Loyalist’s acting president, Mark Kirkpatrick, told QNet News last week that the housing issues affecting students aren’t unique to this college, and that the effects of the housing shortage are being felt around the province. The school doesn’t have the knowledge or resources to vet potential landlords, he said.
Meanwhile, on Thursday morning Loyalist announced a new home-share program that it will unveil at the Belleville’s Farmers Market Saturday. The program will match students in need of affordable housing with older adults looking for companionship.
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