Landlords worry student tenants will break leases
Thousands of renters who go to school in Waterloo Region may not return this fall as post-secondary courses move online
WATERLOO REGION — Some college and university students may not move back to town this fall as classes move online. And many are trying to terminate their lease agreements as much as eight or nine months early to save some money.
Waterloo’s two universities and Conestoga College have all announced a move to online courses due to the COVID-19 crisis, so students are scrambling to get out of paying rent for apartments they may no longer need this September.
And it has left landlords anxiously waiting to see if their tenants are among those looking to break their lease.
Julia Pereira, vice president of university affairs with Wilfrid Laurier’s student union, said the Student Rights Advisory Committee — which helps inform students of their rights when it comes to landlord-tenant issues — has received dozens of requests from students in recent weeks for information on ways to get out of their lease agreements.
“A lot of students have already signed leases and don’t require accommodations in Waterloo and are looking to stay home,” Pereira said, adding the advisory committee doesn’t provide legal advice but offers information on basic tenant rights and where to find proper legal aid.
“We encourage collaboration and for students to speak with their landlords,” Pereira said.
Abigail Simpson, president of the University of Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association, said by the end of last week the association had also received about a dozen requests for information.
Many students sign leases in January or February in anticipation of the fall semester, Pereira said, which was months before the schools announced online classes due to coronavirus.
University of Waterloo fourthyear arts student Sylvia Skoruch says all of her courses are scheduled to be delivered online this fall and she’s considering subletting
her Waterloo apartment so she can move back with her parents in Mississauga.
Online listings are already swamped with apartments as students try to find others to sublet their rooms, and many are advertised below cost, Skoruch said.
“Before (COVID-19) the problem was that there were not enough affordable rentals for everyone,” she told The Record. “Now, the problem is that there is a surplus of rentals on the market, sometimes for insanely cheap prices, and students can’t get rid of their units.”
Both the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University have announced that almost all classes will be delivered online in the fall. Conestoga College is expected to take a similar approach.
Skoruch is currently living in her Waterloo apartment while completing three online courses this spring. She pays $737 per month, plus hydro and insurance, and still has about 10 months to go on her lease (though her landlord has given her the option of opting out at the end of 2020).
Many students have been unable to work during the pandemic due to the shutdown of many parts of the economy. In April, the federal government announced $1,250 per month for eligible students or $2,000 per month for eligible students with dependents or disabilities.
The Canada Emergency Student Benefit runs to August.
International students face even more uncertainty due to possible travel restrictions. More than 20,000 attended the three institutions combined last year.
Harshita Singh, a 19-year-old student from India, studies mathematics at UW and said she isn’t sure if she’ll be able to return to Waterloo in the fall. She is looking for someone to take her apartment off her hands, but most are only willing to pay half of her $800 monthly expense.
She’s tried emailing her landlord about her situation, but has not received a response.
“It’s going to be hard to pay $800 per month for a house I’m not even living in,” she said in an email to The Record.
Landlords left in a lurch
As students look for ways out of their rental agreements, landlords are getting nervous.
If even a fraction of the tens of thousands of post-secondary students in the region opt to remain home this fall and try to get out of paying their leases, it could have a major financial impact on local housing providers and the local economy, said Andrew Macallum, president of the Waterloo Regional Apartment Management Association (WRAMA).
More than 50,000 students are enrolled at the two universities, and another 20,000 fulltime students attend Conestoga College.
“I would say the economic impact is huge even if we lose 20 per cent of the student population attending the three schools,” said Macallum, whose association represents about 350 landlords in Waterloo Region and Guelph and about 15,000 total rental units. “It’s very concerning.” With the Landlord and Tenant Board of Ontario largely shut down due to COVID-19, it’ll make enforcement of nonpayment or broken leases even more difficult, he added.
Landlords in the City of Waterloo could be hardest hit since it’s home to the majority of student housing in the region.
One study from 2017 estimated there were more than 33,500 on- and off-campus beds in Waterloo, and another 7,000 were in the development pipeline. Those numbers are set to be updated in 2021.
Another study last year found more than 40 per cent of the nearly 42,000 purpose-built student housing bedrooms in the entire country are concentrated in Waterloo near the two universities.
Mike Milovick owns 35 rental units across three different buildings in Waterloo. The units are all currently rented, Milovick said, and “it’s my anticipation (the students) will be here in September.”
Nine of his leases started May1 and all of them paid their first month’s rent, he said.
Other landlords he’s talked to are planning for the worst-case scenario where the students simply don’t show up and stop paying rent.
When asked if the City of Waterloo had any concerns with students not returning in the fall, director of communications Tony Iavarone said: “We know the three post-secondary institutions are world class and the students will return when the situation allows ... our city is resilient and strong and it looks forward to welcoming the students back eventually.”
A clean break?
Lisa Nadon, a local paralegal who often deals with landlordtenant issues, said terminating a lease early isn’t always a straightforward process.
“There isn’t an easy or best way for a student tenant to not be obliged to follow through on their lease agreement, unfortunately,” she said.
Nadon is also a member of the apartment management association and said she’s chatted with numerous concerned landlords over the past week.
There are two types of tenancies: fixed-term (the tenancy will last for a specific period of time, often12 months) and nonfixed-term where there is no end date (such as a month-tomonth agreement).
To end a monthly non-fixedterm lease, renters just have to give their landlord 60 days notice.
There are ways to terminate a fixed-term lease early, such as by agreeing with the landlord on an end date or by finding someone to take over all or part of the remaining lease.
Students are encouraged to seek legal advice, and they can contact the Landlord and Tenant Board of Ontario for more information. Customer service officers are available Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. by calling 1-888-332-3234.
Tenants who move out without giving proper notice are responsible for paying rent until the lease term ends, or until the landlord finds someone else to rent the unit. Both sides also have an obligation to attempt to find a new tenant, Nadon said.
Above all else, landlords and tenants should “be compassionate, be understanding and be reasonable,” she said. “It’s tough for everyone right now.”