Popular culture often paints the first days of university as a period of bliss, free of assignments and full of social events unfolding under a waning but still warming late summer sun.

If it only were so.

As the University of Victoria, Camosun College and Royal Roads University welcome thousands of new and returning students this week, many of them are still looking for off-campus housing, and not because they are picky.

Ainsley Kerr is among them.

Her current bus ride to UVic lasts 90 minutes B次元官网网址� far too time consuming. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been looking in a 25-minute radius around the UVic campus,B次元官网网址� she said. Unfortunately, choices in that category appear slim, said Kerr, who describes her search as B次元官网网址渄raining,B次元官网网址� if not B次元官网网址渋ntimidating,B次元官网网址� as she often finds herself touring strangersB次元官网网址� homes alone.

What she has seen so far is not impressive.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e seen dark, tiny basement suites, bathrooms with mould, $900 rooms that will barely fit a queen-sized bed, and a striking number of places so absent of kitchen space that they donB次元官网网址檛 even have a hot plate,B次元官网网址� she said.

Ultimately, the search for off-campus housing comes down to making some difficult choices.

B次元官网网址淢ost affordable rooms require making a sacrifice in some area, usually privacy, where you end up living with four or five other people you donB次元官网网址檛 know. Next is distance. ThereB次元官网网址檚 nothing unusual about living 90 minutes away from campus. Safety is the biggest concern though.B次元官网网址�

But for Kerr, the issue is not just a personal matter. It is also a political matter.

As director of campaigns and community relations for the University of Victoria Student Society, Kerr deals with the issue on a policy level, whose various aspects affect the social fabric of Saanich and surrounding communities.

Of the 18,000 undergraduate students that attend UVic, 78 per cent live off-campus. While some live with their parents or other family members, many are competing with other students and non-students for an increasingly shrinking and therefore unaffordable supply of rental housing with several factors stacked against them.

One, they generally need housing for eight months, but landlords are often looking for a longer commitment. Two, landlords have considerable leverage over rental rates.

B次元官网网址淕enerally speaking, renting to students is an easy way to make money and people recognize it,B次元官网网址� said Kerr. B次元官网网址淲e need the housing and canB次元官网网址檛 migrate to cheaper areas the same way someone with a full-time job can. WeB次元官网网址檙e pinned to our schools because theyB次元官网网址檙e whatB次元官网网址檚 creating opportunities for our futures.B次元官网网址�

Third, some municipalities have artificially limited the supply of off-campus housing by prohibiting certain types of housing. Restrictive municipal bylaws (such as Oak BayB次元官网网址檚 ban on garden suites) continue to restrict what could be accessible options for students, although municipalities have begun to lift some restrictions of late,B次元官网网址� she said.

Add it all up and students find themselves increasingly living in substandard housing, whose escalating costs compound the financial burden facing students.

B次元官网网址淩ent is the most significant contributor to student debt,B次元官网网址� said Zac de Vries, a candidate for Saanich municipal council and former student leader, who recently graduated from UVic. Low vacancy rates also cause stress among students and encourage overcrowding with all its negative effects. B次元官网网址淢any people have taken to hanging curtains in the living room and calling it a bedroom,B次元官网网址� he said.

Alistair Vigier, a local landlord who also runs the local family law firm Clear Way Law, can confirm, if not sympathize with many of these concerns.

B次元官网网址淭he demand for housing from UVIC students is massive,B次元官网网址� said Vigier, who rents out two houses in Saanich and one in Oak Bay. B次元官网网址淚 put up an advertisement on Kijiji or Craigslist and within the day my inbox is filled with people wanting to see the house. I do an B次元官网网址渙pen houseB次元官网网址� and have the groups of students come see the properties. ItB次元官网网址檚 hard to turn some of the students away because a lease has been signed that day. IB次元官网网址檝e seen students cry.B次元官网网址�

Vigier has been a landlord for six years. Every year has been extremely busy and he does not foresee any change. Vigier and Kerr also agree municipal governments need to do more to improve the supply of affordable housing.

B次元官网网址淭he biggest impact on rental activities are [municipal bylaws].B次元官网网址�

Kerr cheers this development, but only to a point. B次元官网网址淭his is fantastic and weB次元官网网址檙e overjoyed with UVic for making the investment but it will not fix the problem.B次元官网网址�

Until municipal and provincial governments create more low-income housing for everybody, students and at-large-community members will continue to clash over development goals, said Kerr, an unfortunate phenomenon.

B次元官网网址淪tudents care about more than their on-campus environment,B次元官网网址� she said B次元官网网址淭hey care about their communities.B次元官网网址�