Over the past decade, the face of the typical post-secondary student has changed immensely. Back in the late 1900's, when I attended the University of Guelph, the majority of my fellow students were white bread, mungee-cake, colonist Canadians. Considering the UofG specializes in agriculture, many of us came to the school as naive tiny-farm-town kids who could specifically name all the non-white people who attended our High School.
Fast forward to 2012, when I became the landlord of a student rental house in Guelph. Even with my Paralegal training and extensive knowledge of The Residential Tenancies Act, never did I anticipate the extent of damage that a group of four male students could do to my property. Although I did take them to Small Claims Court to try to recover my expenses, I was not awarded the amount that I invested into filing the claim. Lesson learned: I should have been more selective with who I rented to, and I should have done thorough background checks on my potential tenants beforehand. Defeated by my frat boy student tenants, I sold that property a few years later and surrendered my landlord status.
Fortunately, the post-secondary student of 2024 looks drastically different than the party kids of yore. With such an expensive modern society and a continually competitive job market, students are taking their post-secondary education more seriously. Nevertheless being forced to work part-time to afford their basic cost of living expenses when not studying.
The Canadian Immigration Lawyer's website, AKCanada (www.akcanada.com), states that in 2011, 28.5% of the population of Ontario were immigrants. This percentage has gone up exponentially over the last thirteen years, as Canada has needed to bring in newcomers to help fill the gap in its economy caused by retiring Baby Boomers and the trend of people having less children.
In reflection of the ever-growing Canadian cultural melting pot, the post-secondary student population is also now encompassed by International students.
According to Statistics Canada, in 2010 only 7% of the entire post-secondary student body were International, at a number of 142,200. By 2019 this amount had doubled to 388,800 or 18%. In 2023, Canada issued 1,040,985 International student study permits, with 526,015 being in Ontario.
The number of International students varies depending on the educational institution. The University of Waterloo, who has an academic focus on engineering, states that 22% of their undergraduate population are comprised of International students, whereas their graduate population numbers over 40%. Their neighbour, Conestoga College, has a whopping 71% of their student population coming from a different country for their education in 2023.
Interestingly, almost 50% of all International students that come to Ontario to study are from India.
Why do International students want to come to Canada?
Primarily through media such as movies, the idea of The American Dream has continually been drilled into the brains of most of the human population. The USA has been advertised as a land of freedom, opportunity and fortune, enticing many to leave their home country and immigrate to America to pursue their fantasy future. However, when potential students try to maneuver through the immigration system of the USA, they quickly discover that it is much more difficult and costly than they first realized. Therefore, Canada being the USA's little sister, is often their 2nd choice.
Not only is it easier for an International Student to obtain a study VISA to come to Canada instead of the USA, but there are also many other enticing factors, such as our health care system, the opportunity to work while studying here, and simply our stellar reputation for offering high-quality education.
Students often believe that once they are in Canada, it may be easier for them to fully immigrate into the country after they have achieved their educational degree. This is sadly a false idea because as an International student, they are only considered a temporary resident, and they would need to obtain a postgraduate work permit to get a job after school. Only with a full-time job can a previous International student apply for Landed Immigrant status, and eventually Canadian citizenship. With the current Canadian economic instability, obtaining full-time employment in a specific field of study that pays enough to support everyday expenses has been extra challenging for newcomers in 2024.
Having been born in this country, I have always been proud of my Canadian culture's reputation of being hospitable and welcoming. Yet the current Canadian government seems to be changing the immigration laws and rules on a monthly basis, forcing many of our newcomers to have to abruptly alter their trajectories and crushing their Canadian dream.
Case study: renting to an Ontario-born student v. an International student from India
As a landlord, if you have the choice of renting to an Ontario-born student or an International student from India, what topics should you consider when selecting your tenant?
The Schedule:
Most post-secondary educational institutions operate on a semester basis. The Fall semester is from September to December, the Winter semester is from January to April, and sometimes schools may offer a Summer semester as an option.
If a student's parents reside in Ontario, they have an option to visit home often during weekends or holidays and may plan to reside at home over the summer. If your renter falls into this category, there are two common potential issues that could arise:
1. They do not want to sign a 12-month lease, but would rather try to get an 8-month lease, from September to April. As a landlord, you would then need to find a different renter for the other four months, or you may not receive rent for that time. A landlord also needs to be conscientious regarding the maintenance of a vacant property. For example, there is a risk of pipes freezing up in the winter if the water is not used regularly during a cold spell. If the lease designates for the tenant to cut the grass, this task may get ignored if they are not physically residing at the property.
2. Your renter may want to sub-let the space for the four summer months of May to August. As per The Residential Tenancies Act, your tenant does have a right to do so, and most leases will include a clause that they require the landlord's specific approval of the specific sub-letter. However, many further potential issues can arise with sub-letting, so it may be beneficial for the landlord to choose not to rent to a student who has the intention of doing so.
The flight duration between Canada and India is a minimum of 13 hours. Therefore, if you lease your space out to an International Indian student, they will likely not be popping home very often. An International student is more likely to sign a full-year lease, and may even rent your property for a long-term duration while attending school. As the Indian culture has an admirable comaraderie, your current tenant may even assist you in finding your next tenant when they vacate your property. By renting out your space to a long-term renter, you will save time and frustration trying to find a new student tenant every September.
The Attitude:
When I was an agricultural student attending the University of Guelph, I was shocked to discover that many of my fellow students were attending post-secondary school not so much with the intention of earning a diploma, but simply to move away from home. Their parents were financially well-off, so would pay their rent and other expenses for them, giving them more free time to host large parties and participate in other questionable activities. Of course, this is not the case for all Ontario born students, but remember that the frat boys have to live somewhere.
Most International students are incredibly serious about their studies and hold themselves to a very high academic standard. Their parents may have invested their entire life savings to send their child to school in Canada, so failure is not an option. Many Indian students will also get part-time jobs to help support themselves while attending school here, so they will not have any free time to be involved in partying or other activities that may cause damage to their rented property.
The Culture:
As all Canadians need to recognize and acknowledge, that many aspects of the Indian culture that is quite different than the ways that we are used to.
For example, I observed last Spring as a neighbouring landlord was teaching his Indian renters how to use a gas-powered push mower. Simply writing in a lease that the tenant is responsible for maintaining the property may not result in the same expectations if the tenant is not explained what may be involved. Bless this neighbour, because he also demonstrated how to shovel snow when we got the first blizzard in November. Many Indians will never have even visited Canada before coming here to study, so our country with its varied geography and weather, is a completely different world to them.
Indian food incorporates exponentially more spices and flavours than bland Canadian palettes are accustomed to. Therefore, strong cooking aromas may waft from a tenant's space, and be noticeable in adjoining areas. If it is the basement of a landlord's property that they are renting out, this should be a factor to take into consideration, for better or worse. (I personally enjoy going for olfactory walks in my multicultural neighbourhood).
Paying rent:
It is generally unpredictable what tenant may be delinquent in paying their rent because life is unpredictable in general. Any tenant could lose a job, get an illness or face an unexpected financial situation. Even an International student could flunk out of school the same as a domestic student could be expelled.
The only difference regarding the reliability of rent payments is the renter's initial intention. A professional renter in Canada (aka a squatter) is someone who knows the system and may move into your space to deliberately take advantage of you by not paying rent. It is assumed that this attitude would not come with an International student. Again, this person has worked really hard and sacrificed a lot to be here so it is doubtful they would ever rent with the intention of not paying, as this would risk them being deported.
Background Check:
Many property owners may be hesitant to rent to an International student because they do not have an established record in Canada. If they do have a credit report to show, it may only have the purchase of a cell phone or the opening of a bank account, as they have not spent enough time in Canada yet to have the opportunity to build up credit or connections.
In our modern online world, a landlord should not be hesitant to rent to an International student, as there are now resources available to verify if they would be a good tenant.
A Global Perspective:
Canada is a continually evolving multi-cultural country, with a strong reputation for being welcoming to newcomers. If you are a landlord who rents out your space to an International student, thankyou for demonstrating our Canadian hospitality and helping that student to achieve their dreams.
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Having a variety of International connections, Agent K Private Investigations Inc. offers a special background check for landlords on potential tenants who have come to Canada as an International Student. When Agent K communicates directly with your potential tenant, they will request the names of three references to contact, regardless if these people are located within or outside of Canada. www.agentkpi.ca
