Housing affordability, safety top concerns of post-secondary students as city council approves lodging house rules

Changes are coming to the rules for so-called lodging houses, where people rent a room instead of a unit. CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson reports.

The students’ union of Edmonton’s largest school is paying close attention to several changes city council is making to lodging house rules.

One aims to ensure they’re not being used as short-term rentals like Airbnbs.

Another adjusts the zoning bylaw to ban them in most residential areas, where it would only apply to row housing, multi-plexes and garage or basement suites.

At a meeting earlier this month, developers and neighbourhood advocates supported the changes.

One city councillor, however, isn’t convinced the changes will address community concerns such as garbage, parking and noise and is instead worried they will limit housing choices where they are needed the most, including in places students try to find places to live.

“There would be no opportunity to have any student housing-lodging housing in the new row houses that are being built,” Anne Stevenson said Tuesday.

“I think that’s a big miss, and reduces some really important housing options for folks.”

City council approved the change at its July 7 meeting.

Angelina Raina, the University of Alberta Students Union’s vice president external for the upcoming school year, says protecting students from harmful living situations is a primary concern, but so too is affordability.

Raina said having the regulations to make housing safer and so students don’t get caught in exploitative rent schemes “is something that’s really important to us.”

“Students genuinely want cheaper housing; that’s the main concern we’re seeing,” Raina told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday.

“We’re seeing students have to take part-time jobs. They’re graduating with more debt. The main concern is the affordability of the housing options. Something that was wonderful to see in the past year was the downtown student housing incentive that’s going to get 550 units built, so when we talk about difficulties around housing, it is genuinely about affordability, about making rent, about buying groceries, and then also being able to come to class.

“Balancing that is the main difficulty for students.”

A public hearing will be scheduled before the changes take effect.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson