International students struggle to find affordable housing, some facing homelessness

From high rents to scams to excessive paperwork, students and advocates say the housing market has gotten worse over the last few years.

From high rents to scams to excessive paperwork, students and advocates say the B.C. housing market has gotten worse over the last few years.

Many students find themselves so desperate to find a place to live, they accept unsafe and unhygienic conditions, including Amy Choi, an international student at The University of British Columbia.

“Last year, I had a huge leakage on my ceiling and my landlord did not tell me anything about malfunctions of the house. I had to deal with it during finals week, but I was really desperate for housing so I had to just sign up for it," she recalled.

Despite being a returning student, she still hasn’t secured a place to live long-term.

“Everyone’s competing and they’re even collecting reference letters for it-- for housing-- which I don’t really think is necessary and everything is also just incredibly expensive," said Choi.

She never expected it to be this challenging to find affordable housing.

“We just have to be grateful that we at least have a place to live and conveniently commute to campus," she said, adding that she has friends who live far away and are forced to commute for hours.