Understanding the high demand for University of Calgary’s on-campus housing
By Nazeefa Ahmed, January 20 2025—
As demand for on-campus housing rises, the University of Calgary’s Residence Services is striving to tackle challenges related to increasing waitlists and student affordability concerns.
According to Statistics Canada, the Average Residential Rent in Calgary went from $1,347 per month in 2022 to $1,462 in 2023, increasing by 8.50 per cent. This is in addition to students paying 25 per cent higher rent than other renting demographics, according to a 2022 Utile report.
With the University of Calgary’s student housing ratio falling below the national average and residence hitting capacity for the past two years, it raises the question: how did we get here?
The high demand for on-campus housing
The University of Calgary Residence Services can house just over 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students. With approximately 37,000 students, the university has a 1-to-12 housing ratio, which is lower than Desjardins’ calculated 1-in-10 housing ratio for Canadian students overall.
“A lack of safe and affordable housing can also deter potential international students from pursuing post-secondary education in Canada. This can have the unintended consequence of reducing the pool of skilled workers our country needs for future economic growth,” reads a statement from the Desjardins report.
The occupancy rate for University of Calgary Residences was 95 per cent for the 2023-24 academic year and 97 per cent for the Fall 2024 term. The University of Alberta’s residency occupancy rate, in contrast, is 75 per cent. To maximize space, Residence Services doubled up rooms, creating approximately 150 additional spaces this year. However, Shane Royal, director of Ancillary Services, recognizes this as a short-term solution.
“We did sign an agreement with the Aloft hotel, so that we have 51 spaces in the hotel that students live in for the next few years,” said Royal.
The University is considering building additional infrastructure, given its goal of increasing total enrolment by 10,000 and graduate enrolment by 7,000 by 2030.
“It’s a symptom of lack of planning, a lack of oversight and not listening to students in the broader community for the past many decades, when they’ve said that we need a greater housing supply in the city,” said Students’ Union Vice-President External Mateusz Salmassi.
How Residence Services works
Residence Services falls under the umbrella of Ancillary Services, which also includes the Bookstore, Unicard, Food Services, Accommodation and Events and parking and transportation. These business units support one another as they are entirely self-funded and cannot receive support from grants or tuition.
“We have to generate all our own revenue through the services we provide and cover our costs that way,” said Royal. “The surplus revenue gets directed to reinvest in capital projects. Sometimes it’s residence-heavy; sometimes we have to renovate the dining center for food service. It just depends year to year.”
Ancillary Services is part of the university, but its distinction lies in funding.
“The university is not allowed to allocate the funding they receive to ancillary services, because that funding is intended to support education,” said Royal.
The institution is eligible for the Apartment Construction Loan Program (ACLP) as it as a student housing component, but has not borrowed from the program to date.
“We get mortgages on our buildings, and we get loans through the provincial government,” said Royal. “So we’re just assessing what the appropriate loan mechanism will be for our next set of buildings when we do go forward with building them, whether that [program] will be an option, or whether it’s going to be through the through the provincial government.”
Calgary will receive $228 million in funding from the Housing Accelerator Fund, which will help build 35,000 new homes. However, Conservative party leader Pierre Pollievre aims to end the $4 billion program if elected to office.
Fees and Affordability
When deciding on fees, Residence Services works to balance operational costs, property taxes and utilities with affordability. Smaller increases are applied to entry-level units, while steeper increases affect more spacious units.
For example, the annual fee for a four-bedroom shared apartment in Cascade Hall rose by 7.68 per cent between 2021–22 and 2024–25, while the cost of a single room on the seventh floor of International House increased by 30.44 per cent.
“So we’ve been cognizant of trying to keep options for those individuals who are truly looking for more affordable options,” said Royal. “We’ve done smaller increases on those units to support those, and where we’ve been a bit more aggressive is on some of our single units.”
To support student housing further the SU is asking the province for a $250 million housing fund for on and off campus developments. The fund would provide a subsidy per square foot, which would support rapid development of residencies to support students.
“Provincially [the recommendation] comes out of a Desjardins report which states that Canada’s housing market is the worst among the global north for students, and that there needs to be more investment capital provided from provincial governments,” said Salmassi.
The SU 2024 Annual Survey finds 27.34 per cent of students spending between $1,000 and $1,999 on monthly rent or mortgage. This number excludes other fees such as internet or phone costs. Salmassi states that the rising cost of housing exacerbates other pressures students feel.
“The cost barrier to entering university has now in jumped significantly, because now, aside from tuition, lack of employment, opportunities other cost of living pressures students have to contend with the fact that even if they have the money, they might not be able to get to access shelter nearby.”
Housing demand, allocation and University District
The U of C offers guaranteed housing for first-year students as long as they apply by May 1, which is typical of most institutions. The remaining units are allocated through a lottery to students who apply by Feb. 10.
“We feel that’s the most equitable way for individuals that want to live with us,” said Royal.
The number of first-year students in residence reached a record 1,267 this academic year. The demand for residential units on campus has led to waitlists in the hundreds.
“You know they’re on the wait list for a few weeks. Others I know will be on the wait list until the beginning of the term,” said Royal.
When asked how Residence Services prioritizes students on the waitlist, Royal stated that the position indicates the likelihood a person will secure housing on campus.
“We communicate where you are on the wait list so that people have an idea. If you’re 12th on the wait list, you’re gonna get in. If you’re 910th, we recommend you look for alternate housing,” said Royal.
However, Salmassi believes that the waitlists exacerbate uncertainty and stress for students.
“I think that the long wait list creates a deep uncertainty and worry for prospective students coming to the U of C,” said Salmassi.
“As recently as five to six years ago, students who wanted to come to U of C would, without much stress, apply to on-campus residents or find a rental off campus but near, but nearby. Those days are long gone,” said Salmassi, citing the competition and cost barrier as some reasons campus housing has been less accessible.
Additionally, Salmassi believes that the University of Calgary missed out on creating affordable housing in University District.
“While it’s understandable that the university is doing everything it can to increase revenue and profit, especially in an environment where the provincial government has slashed lots of money from from the university, it’s shameful that there hasn’t been more thought put into ensuring that University District actually serves university students,” said Salmassi.
The SU believes that there should be dedicated student units and developments in the district.
“We want to see students living in the communities that that they would like to live in in communities that are closer to the university and throughout the city,” said Salmassi.
Renovations and improvements
Residence Services prioritizes approximately six projects annually to ensure building spaces are modernized and up to standard.
“We’re doing a $15 million renovation of all the washrooms,” said Royal. “Sometimes it’s elevators, sometimes it’s roofs, other times it’s new furniture. We just replaced all the furniture a couple of years ago in Cascade Hall. We’re also replacing all the flooring and all the bathtubs are being converted. Every year, we do a variety of projects within the residence community to support those buildings.”
Mental health services and employment opportunities
Residence Services’ Wellness in Residence program now has a support advisor specifically for students in residence.
“Whereas before [students] would just go to the university wellness resources, now they have access to something that’s dedicated to that community,” said Royal, emphasizing the importance of availability and specificity of care.
Residence Services also supports students through employment opportunities as community ambassadors. Every floor of a residence building has one ambassador, and those applications open annually.
“We typically hire around 80 positions, with the final number dependent on the number of students living in residence,” said Royal.
More information about Residence Services can be found on the University of Calgary website.
January 21, 2025
Upon publication, the Gauntlet added a note to the caption of the second table regarding Varsity Courts, clarifying that its listed rents are monthly, whereas the other residences reflect a single value for the period from September to April. Due to this discrepancy, we also removed the average of all units calculation.