Sudbury educating international students about off-campus housing rights

Prabhjeet Kaur from Amritsar, India is sharing a basement room with her friend in Greater Sudbury, Ont.

Both are new international students at Cambrian College. They arrived in Canada a week ago.

The two found the rental space on Kijiji, and rented it before seeing it in-person. They share a kitchen and bathroom with three other female students. 

"We chose that because [the space] is shared and we are students. It's difficult for us to give (pay) the rent," Kaur said, adding that so far things are going well.

The two roommates were at a community services fair at Cambrian where community partners were invited to speak to new students starting school this month.

One of the booths included representatives from Greater Sudbury's bylaw and building services. The city wanted to make sure students who are living off campus know what landlords should be providing in their rental units.

In 2022 Greater Sudbury inspected 20 rooming houses. Landlords were all required to make necessary changes.

"When we're in these properties we're making sure that any work has been done with permits," said Stefany Mussen, manager of corporate security and bylaw services.

"That there's enough exits in the unit, the electrical is safe, sufficient smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Really the goal is just to make sure there's safe housing options for people in the city," she added.

"We will work with the property owner to work towards compliance," Mussen said.

"We would identify any deficiencies that might be present and give them timelines to rectify those situations."

If residents are concerned about a neighbouring property they can check the city's website to find out if a property owner has legally obtained the proper permits to build a secondary unit.

Meanwhile Sudbury residents like Maria Bozzo are frustrated with the number of problems cropping up with rooming houses across the city.

Bozzo lives in New Sudbury not far from Cambrian. She said a house on her street was sold a few years ago and bought by a landlord who didn't live in the city.