In a knee-jerk reaction, Oshawa politicians are now trying to make up for the fact the municipality was caught flat-footed on the need for more student housing by trying to legislate away a problem that has developed near the college and university. For many years, a special-interest group from the college lobbied the province for funding to create a university,
and finally won that battle a few years ago. They fought to create a new university on the grounds of Durham College and surrounding area. City politicians knew the University of Ontario Institute of Technology was in the works, yet planners dropped the ball on the need for more student housing in the area.

Some on-campus housing was added to make way for the university, but obviously not enough. As it turns out, the city happens to be growing in the north end, near the college and university, as more subdivisions are being created surrounding this sprawling campus, shared by the two post-secondary schools. Some real estate investors seized on an opportunity to make some money by buying up some of these new houses and renting them out to students. Problems developed when the number of students began mushrooming in some houses, and noise complaints and other problems developed in these new residential areas.

It should have been clear to city planners that an influx of thousands more students to a new university would put a strain on local housing needs. It certainly was clear to real estate investors. In a true entrepreneurial spirit, they snapped up some of the new houses being built for rental purposes. Once plans for a new university were announced, city officials should have encouraged more high-density housing in the area through zoning and other measures, to relieve the pressure created by an influx of looking for housing. Sadly, that didn’t happen.

Students filled up on-campus housing and other students spilled out into the nearby area, and rented from these investors, triggering problems with other residents who live in these new subdivisions. Now, some years after the fact, the city is trying to legislate away the problem by passing a bylaw forcing property owners there to register their homes with the municipality, so that they can be inspected. The bylaw also limits the amount of bedrooms to four. These rules and others will most likely be challenged in the courts, and may not stand up at the end of the day.

Students are now worried that they will be evicted soon, prior to the end of this school year. They are protesting on the streets, and pleading with politicians. A mess has been created in local housing, when a little more planning could have avoided these problems