Housing crunch for MUN students continues ahead of new school year

Just days before the start of a new school year, students of Memorial University are voicing their concerns over the lack of available housing, which one union official says is likely keeping people away from campus.

"It's very difficult to find the houses. The new students [have] already started approaching me," Shyam Yadav, executive director of external affairs for the university's Graduate Students Union, told CBC News Friday.

"They are really struggling. The rent really goes high."

The wait list for housing on campus was as high as 150 names, MUN's housing director Bruce Belbin said.

He said work has been done to shrink the list, but there are still students without a place to live.

"The list a couple of weeks ago was quite extensive," Belbin said. "But our pressure point remains. Families and families are still coming, looking for a place to live, and we are full."

Speaking with CBC News at MUN's orientation day on Friday, several students who have secured housing said it took them months to do so.

They faced several hurdles, student Anuj Nirwhal said.

"It took me two to three months just to find a room, and that room is not also good. I don't think it's in good condition," Nirwhal said.

"I heard from some of the students that were here before me. They told me the rent was $475. The rent right now is $600, just for that room."

Sanaz Javanbakht, a PhD student studying chemistry, said she's seen the housing situation get much worse over the last year.

She says rental services like AirBNB have only worsened the problem.

"It's been two years, I want to change my apartment. I cannot find a place at all," she said. "It's awful."

Mary Feltham, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students in Newfoundland and Labrador, said her organization asked Premier Andrew Furey to commit to secure housing in the St. John's area and the rest of the province.