Students decry 'shameful' 25% rate increase at Halifax university residence
Social Sharing
Post-secondary students living in the residence at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax were shocked by a letter from administration last week outlining a 25 per cent monthly rate increase for residence rooms starting in September.
The residence provides housing for up to 103 students from Dalhousie University, NASCAD University, Saint Mary's University, Nova Scotia Community College and the University of King's College, as well as its own students.
Since the news of the rental increase, students have been organizing in protest, putting up signs and flyers around the south-end campus emblazoned with slogans like, "Cut the Hike — No to 25."
University of King's College physics student Nicholas Todd is one of the dorm residents protesting the increase. He says many students will struggle to pay the higher rates but can't afford to move elsewhere.
"AST booting the rent up is actually going to create a significant trail of human misery behind it," Todd said in an interview Monday.
According to the Atlantic School of Theology, the current residence rental rates range from $660 to $768 monthly for standard or large single rooms, with a shared kitchen and bathrooms.
Todd said these inexpensive rates are what drew many students there. He is living in the cheapest room style, paying $660 per month. After the increase in September, that will rise to around $825.
"It's very, very frustrating to see such a stark increase," Todd said. "Especially when our building manager in our email said that they are aware … there is the five per cent limit due to the Tenancy Act, but universities are exempt."
University says rates remain lowest in city
Atlantic School of Theology president Rev. Heather McCance said the increase is an attempt to bring the university's residence rates closer to the market rate in the city.
She said even with the increase, the rooms will be going for 25 per cent less than dorms at other universities. But she said she understands the students' concerns.
"I don't blame them for being upset," McCance said in an interview Tuesday. "I'd be upset. You'd be upset. Anybody would be upset with that kind of a jump. And we looked at the possibility of spreading it out, but frankly, there are costs we need to recoup."
McCance said the federal government's international student cap has been hurting the school's bottom line. She said the residence used to have a long waitlist, but this year the dorm is not even full.
In December 2022, the provincial government provided $3 million to the Atlantic School of Theology to upgrade the residence and add more beds to meet increased demand for student housing.
McCance said "it was an expectation from the province" that when the renovations were complete, the university would raise the rent closer to market value.
Not protected by province's temporary rent cap
According to the Nova Scotia government, university and college dorm rentals do not fall under the province's Residential Tenancies Act because "they are board governed institutions that determine their rental costs."
This means the temporary ban on rent increases over five per cent does not apply to students renting there.
"We are disappointed with this sizeable rent increase at a time when cost of living increases are affecting many students," said Department of Advanced Education spokesperson Chloee Sampson.
Sampson also said the department gave no direction to the Atlantic School of Theology to increase rents as part of the funding agreement.
Char Russell, a NASCAD University student who lives in the Atlantic School of Theology dorms, said they were surprised to learn the province's rent cap doesn't apply to universities.
"It's really shameful that this is happening," Russell said. "Especially because it feels like they're taking advantage of a loophole to exploit students."
Both Russell and Todd said they don't feel the building is worth the new higher prices, saying it isn't in great condition and citing the presence of mould as an example. McCance denied this but admitted there is "occasionally some mildew" that is dealt with quickly.
This week, a poster advertising an opportunity for students to meet with McCance and other university officials on March 20 was posted inside the building.
McCance said she has only heard directly from one student contesting the increase, and she wants to open a dialogue.
"I want to hear what they need more of to make this an attractive place for them to live," she said. "And we will do everything we can to make that happen within the constraints that we have on us."
Russell said the best outcome would be for the university to reconsider the rate increase, "especially during a housing crisis."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Cision Canada
4 days ago
- Cision Canada
Canadian Fund's Investment in Litco LSO First of Its Kind in Legal Sector Français
TORONTO, June 5, 2025 /CNW/ - Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) announced today that it has secured a landmark investment in the legal industry. The private equity firm invested in Litco LSO, marking the first deal of its kind in Canada. Litco LSO is redefining what is possible in the legal profession, drawing inspiration from growth models common in other professional industries like accounting, dentistry, and veterinary medicine, but rarely seen in the legal space. Todd (CEO) and Fred (CGO) Litwiniuk are taking what they learned from scaling their family-owned firm and applying the same formula to help others. They believe they've found a way to "get the benefits of being larger without losing your soul". The duo, from Calgary, Alberta, say the key to the concept is support - offering a foundation for like-minded firms to stand on so they can rise higher together. Hai Tran-Viet, CBGF's Co-Managing Partner, and his team are enthusiastic supporters of Litco LSO's bold new vision for the future of law practice. With an exclusive portfolio reserved for Canadian businesses, CBGF is known for investing in people first, but it was also the innovative approach to expansion that brought them to the table. " We were drawn to Litco because of their best-in-class performance metrics," says Tran-Viet, "but what really stood out was Fred and Todd's commitment to helping others grow using a proven playbook, while still respecting each firm's culture and independence. It's a smart, founder-first approach that's well timed for the legal sector." Fred Litwiniuk adds, "Throughout the process of getting to know the CBGF team, we became absolutely convinced that they are perfect partners for us in this exciting phase of our growth." Lawyers and investors who are interested can go to to learn more. About Litco LSO Litco LSO is a legal support organization that provides back-end operations to law firms so they can focus on practicing law at the highest level, while growing their business and protecting their legacy. Litco LSO currently supports Litco Law (Alberta), Valent Legal (Nova Scotia), and Evans & Davis (21 states across America). Their purpose is to give lawyers the freedom to 'balance the power', so they can deliver more justice, fairness, and happier clients.
Global News
4 days ago
- Global News
New Brunswick's 3% rent cap to remain through end of fiscal year: housing minister
New Brunswick's housing minister says the province's three per cent rent cap will remain throughout this fiscal year after going into effect in February. Noting its importance, Minister David Hickey said, 'we're offering that stability for renters, while at the same time committing to review the Residential Tenancies Act.' At an economic policy meeting last December, housing researchers and a tenants' advocate asked for a unit-based cap. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy At the time, Hickey said the province wouldn't have enough time to create unit-based caps before the rent cap took effect. On Wednesday, he clarified that basing the cap on the unit is not a priority at this time. 'It's largely not on the table, and not something we're considering now, as was consistent with what we had said throughout the winter,' he said. Story continues below advertisement It's something Green MLA Megan Mitton wants to see in the future. 'Linking (the rent) to the unit would be a way to again keep rents more affordable,' said Mitton. However, she's praising the continuation of the cap as it is now. 'I'm hoping that it does remain permanent because I think it's still necessary to preserve what affordable housing we do have left,' she said. For more on this story, watch the video above.
Canada Standard
02-06-2025
- Canada Standard
Why Canada should apply labour protections to the rental housing sector
Gregor Robertson, Canada's new housing minister, was likely tapped for the job on the basis of his decade as Vancouver's mayor, where he introduced zoning changes, incentives for rental construction and the country's first empty-homes tax. Those moves nudged supply but fell short: housing designed specifically for renting trickled in slowly and the city's homeless count hit a 13-year high of 2,181 in 2018. Robertson once blamed the housing shortfall on tight-fisted provincial and federal budgets. Now that he controls part of that money, he can test his claim. He can plug a hole his municipal toolkit never could by being, as he vowed in 2018, "more abrasive and more vocal", and by coupling fresh federal dollars with legal protections that empower tenants to bargain collectively. The urgency is clear: one-third of Canadians rent, yet tenant unions, though legal to form, have no right to negotiate. This absence of statutory protection for tenants is often treated as a policy oversight. By withholding legal recognition, lawmakers preserve a model that allows landlords to negotiate from a position of structural dominance as tenants confront systemic harms - rent hikes, unsafe conditions and evictions - all on their own. Soaring rents and evictions have been described as a temporary "housing crisis." But researchers at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives counter that the market is not broken; it works exactly as designed. Calling it a crisis justifies "extraordinary" fixes - most often lower interest rates that lure first time home-buyers to take on debt larger than they should, according to Canadian policy scholar Ricardo Tranjan in his book The Tenant Class . The results are structural, not temporary: median national rent for a one-bedroom dwelling now tops $2,000, vacancy rates sit below two per cent and 33.1 per cent of renters spend more than 30 per cent of income on shelter. That's the rent-burden line - the threshold used to determine if a household is struggling to afford housing - of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC). Since the 1990s, the CMHC has replaced public construction with mortgage-insurance programs that flood markets with credit, kicking the can down the road. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney's choice of Robertson as housing minister has advanced a familiar credit-led package: GST rebates for first-time buyers. When asked whether housing prices should fall, Robertson said "no," arguing that wages will eventually catch up - an adjustment economists project would take roughly 20 years even if prices stopped rising today. Expanding credit under these conditions is more likely to swell asset values than improve affordability, trading a housing emergency for an indebtedness emergency. Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) typifies Canada's token approach to renter power. It affirms tenants' right to form associations but, in the very next clause, excuses landlords from any obligation to meet or negotiate with them. The result is performative legality: tenants can speak but landlords are free to ignore them. The chilling effect resembles pre-industrial labour markets, where organizing invited dismissal. Recent history confirms the weakness. In 2023, the tenants of 33 King Street in northwest Toronto mounted a five-month rent strike and won partial rollbacks, but the tribunal still refused to recognize their union; every renter had to sign a separate settlement. By settling disputes that way, the system drains collective power and drags cases through attritional timelines that encourage capitulation. Canada confronted a parallel power imbalance during industrialization. Early 20th-century governments criminalized picketing and blacklisted organizers. The upheavals of the Great Depression forced Ottawa to adopt the Wartime Labour Relations Regulations (1944) and the Industrial Relations and Disputes Investigation Act (1948). Those statutes codified three enduring principles: Legislators acted not from moral awakening, but to temper exploitation and preserve social stability. Housing now mirrors that earlier asymmetry: corporate landlords command capital, legal expertise and mobility, while tenants have none of that power. Extending labour-style protections to tenant unions would simply apply a proven regulatory formula to rental housing. Landlord associations often voice four main objections to statutory tenant-union rights: the anticipated administrative burden, the spectre of disinvestment, purported constitutional limits and a moral claim that responsible owners don't need to be legally compelled to act in good faith. Labour history suggests these concerns are overstated. As Tranjan recalls, reputable employers already paid decent wages and offered sick leave before such standards were legislated. Regulation merely imposed a baseline on those profiting from exploitation. In housing, conscientious landlords who maintain units, honour rent control and eschew predatory fees wouldn't require mandatory bargaining or anti-retaliation clauses. But those enriching themselves through vacancy decontrol, renovictions or steep rent hikes would. Their resistance to tenant protections underscores their necessity. Empirical evidence further weakens objections. First, administrative overload is improbable: collective bargaining consolidates individual grievances into a single agreement, dramatically reducing repeat hearings, and the system would work the same in landlord-tenant tribunals. Second, claims that stronger tenant rights deter investment clash with comparative experience. In Vienna, where nearly half of all dwellings fall under tenant councils wielding union-like powers and stringent rent regulation, construction activity remains robust and affordability stable; Third, constitutional concerns are overstated. Although landlord-tenant law is chiefly provincial, the federal government already shapes rental markets through CMHC insurance, targeted tax expenditures and the National Housing Strategy Act, which recognizes adequate housing as a human right. Ottawa could condition financing on tenant-union recognition or incentivize provinces to harmonize standards, echoing its mid-20th century push for uniform labour legislation. Historical precedent and evidence across the country make clear that formalizing tenant-union protections is constitutional, would streamline dispute resolution and sustain construction - substantially benefiting the one-third of Canadians who rent without destabilizing the housing market. Read more: How corporate landlords are eroding affordable housing - and prioritizing profits over human rights To make housing genuinely affordable, Robertson must see Canada's rental sector not as a malfunctioning "crisis" but as a lucrative system of organized inequality. Legislators once recognized that individual workers could not bargain fairly with industrial adversaries and created the collective-bargaining framework that undergirds labour relations today. Housing demands the same logic. Tenant unions already operate in neighbourhoods such as Toronto's Thorncliffe Park, Vancouver's Mount Pleasant and Montreal's Rosemont. But without legal status, landlords can simply ignore them. Federal legislation could correct this imbalance. Automatic certification would follow when a simple majority of tenants in a building sign membership cards, triggering a duty for landlords to bargain in good faith over rent increases, maintenance schedules, security of tenure and essential services. Read more: Financial firms are driving up rent in Toronto - and targeting the most vulnerable tenants Anti-retaliation clauses would bar eviction or harassment of organizing tenants, with remedies mirroring labour law: reinstatement, damages and arbitration to deter stalling. Negotiated standards could be applied across neighbourhoods while still allowing investors reasonable but socially responsible returns. Granting labour-style protections to tenant unions is hardly radical; it simply extends a principle Canada embraced nearly a century ago: collective problems require collective rights. Renters cannot wait for market forces to self-correct. Recognizing and regulating tenant unions is the most direct route to balancing power, safeguarding homes and treating housing as a human right rather than an asset class.
