UTM Students’ Social Enterprise Launches Student Housing Research Initiative
June 17 2025
By Yatin Vij
Building Better Housing Solutions Through Research
Housing Our University Students Equitably, HOUSE’s chapter at the University of Toronto Mississauga Campus (UTM) launched a critical research initiative to address the lack of data on student housing in the City of Mississauga. The summer-long initiative, supported by UTM’s Students Union (UTMSU), HOUSE, and UTM student-volunteers, gathered core housing data to help shape the municipality’s future housing policies and guide the City’s housing policy decisions to the benefit of its student renters.
Data Collection and Student Engagement
From April to May 2025, the project’s field research team conducted in-person surveys and data collection on-campus at UTM, with the goal of canvassing neighbourhoods where multi-tenant/rooming house listings are available on listing sites like Places4Students, Kijiji, or Facebook Marketplace. The findings from these surveys and web reviews will be analyzed and used to develop policy-based recommendations to the City of Mississauga that improve housing accessibility, and promotes the development of a better regulatory framework to support the City’s student renters While the team’s current focus is on UTM students, the insights gathered in this research initiative can also be applied to students attending other local campuses, like Sheridan College’s Hazel McCallion Campus.
Responding to the Acute Housing Crisis Faced by Mississauga Students
With housing costs on the rise and affordability options increasingly scarce in the City of Mississauga, over 23,000 postsecondary students – roughly 3% of the City’s population – are struggling to find suitable, affordable, and accessible housing over the course of their studies. Most (72%) of those students study at UTM, which is located in the Mississauga Centre Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). With City-wide rents averaging $1,877/month, and median rents following closely behind at $1,786/month; housing affordability is increasingly a far-off dream for most Mississauga students. In Mississauga Centre, high competition and a relatively stagnant supply of student housing has pushed both average and median rents in the CMA above the City-wide rates for the studio/bachelor apartments.
Students impact local rental markets, but there is little data available explaining how; HOUSE aims to capture this data. From insights into the range of challenges UTM students encounter in terms of safety and housing affordability, to identifying regulatory gaps lodging house and accessory unit policies; understanding these challenges is critical for developing solutions which make housing safer, more affordable, and more accessible for Mississauga’s renters, and by consequence, homeowners.
Early Research Findings
Preliminary survey data highlights some of the housing challenges faced by students:
Most (59%) students agree that housing costs significantly impact on their work/life balance;
Most (55%) students agree that housing costs significantly impact their academic success;
Most (57%) UTM students are unemployed; almost half (46%) reported no income last year;
Many (40%) students reported their one-way commute time is longer than 30 minutes;
1-in-5 (22%) students received no financial aid from family members;
1-in-3 (32%) students received no financial aid from grants, scholarships, bursaries, or awards;
Qualitatively, students indicated that there is a shortage of housing both on & off-campus, emphasizing that “...post-secondary schools should offer more support for off-campus housing, since there isn’t enough space on campus to accommodate all upper-year students at UTM…” (R.25). Others echoed this sentiment, requesting “...more upper-year residence accommodations…” (R.280), while some called for more affordability, stating a need for “...residences that are cheaper and more well-maintained…” (R.421). Housing affordability concerns extended to issues with mandatory meal plans for undergraduates, as it presents an additional upfront housing costs and financial burden, as noted by one student: “...more affordable meal plan options are needed as not all students require or can afford to spend $5,000 on campus food…” (R.2).
For some, the search for housing amidst a lack of institutional housing navigation supports forced them into high-cost short term rentals despite financial barriers:
“I initially applied for residence but was put on a waitlist and got off the waitlist in around December/January at the same time [I] was exploring options of renting with a roommate. This experience was really stressful as I also have financial difficulties and couldn’t afford deposits while also being close to campus. For the first couple of weeks when I came back to Canada, I didn’t have any housing and resorted to staying in a hotel and Airbnbs till I found stable accommodation. I also reached out to residents for help and additional support but unfortunately they were unable to help.” (R.3)
Another major area of concern is the transportation infrastructure around Mississauga. Due to the limited availability of on-campus housing, many students must look to off-campus options. However, not all of these areas are easily accessible by public transit, which can significantly limit housing choices, as indicated by one student: “....MiWay should consider providing bus access to more streets like Mississauga Road between Dundas and Lakeshore, so students have more flexibility in choosing where to live” (R.96). In addition to improved transit, students expressed a desire for “...easier connections between the city for walking…” (R.297).
Housing Landscape At/Near UTM
Despite UTM’s continued growth, the surrounding housing landscape remains ill-equipped to meet the needs of its student population. One of the most significant gaps is the lack of affordable, purpose-built rental housing within walking distance of campus. Many students are left to compete in a strained rental market dominated by single family homes that are not designed or zoned for shared occupancy.
Zoning regulations further complicate housing challenges in Mississauga. Low-density residential zones around UTM strictly regulate what can be built, often limiting density, restricting multi-tenant use, and capping the buildable area on a lot. Moreover, Mississauga's lodging house policy by-law restricts shared housing to detached dwellings, limits units to four per home, prohibits basement lodgings, and limits rental space to 40% of the home. While Additional Residential Units (ARUs) are permitted in the form of garden suites and basement apartments, it is limited to detached, semi-detached, or freehold townhomes, excluding condominium townhomes and other common housing forms in high density areas such as Cooksville, Erin mills, and Meadowvale. As a result, Mississauga is missing opportunities to utilize significant portions of its existing housing stock, severely limiting the supply of legal shared housing options near campus.
UTM is currently adding 400 new on-campus housing units, which will bring the total number of students housed on campus to approximately 1900, which is just 12% of the university’s 16,000+ students. While this expansion is a positive step, it falls short of meeting current and future demand. More critically, there is no formal commitment to ensuring long-term affordability or to housing solutions that are aligned with enrollment growth, leaving the majority of students dependent on off-campus housing.
The Broader Goal: Driving Policy Change
The Research on Student Housing in Mississauga is a vital component of HOUSE’s nation-wide mandate to provide equitable housing solutions for postsecondary students across Canada. By collecting data which centres students’ lived experience in the housing market, HOUSE aims to develop evidence-based policy recommendations to shape Mississauga’s housing policy to the benefit of its student population and their neighbouring residents, ensuring the City addresses the housing needs of all of its residents. Research findings, reports, and recommendations will be made publicly available, and will be shared with community stakeholders and government officials in Fall 2025 to drive real, measurable change in how student housing is developed and supported.
HOUSE’s Mission & Mandate
HOUSE is a federally incorporated non-profit social enterprise committed to delivering safe and affordable housing on or near post-secondary campuses which prioritizes students and young adults. Founded by student advocates and governed through local student union chapters, HOUSE works to address the student housing crisis through research, advocacy, education, and by working with students unions and higher education institutions to raise capital required to create housing solutions by & for postsecondary students. Email us at info@housecanada.org to learn more about our work or to get involved.