Correction: An earlier version of this story indicated that Sheryl Ferris was evicted from her past apartment. In fact, Ferris was just not allowed to resign her lease. The Aquinian received inaccurate information for this story initially. We regret this error.
As full-time students who rely on student loan and EI payments, Sheryl Ferris doesn’t know what she and her roommates would do if their rent increased.
The second-year psychology student at St. Thomas University said she lives in a basement apartment on Regent Street, where each of her roommates pay $495 a month for rent without internet and laundry services. She said more than half of her student loan goes towards rent.
Rent prices in New Brunswick are predicted to soar because of a large number of vacancies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CBC News. Ferris said her rent hasn’t increased yet, but she’s worried about the possibility.
“Most of us can’t afford it; none of us have jobs,” said Ferris. “We’re all living off of EI and student loans and half the time student loans and EI can’t even cover our rent.”
The apartment where Ferris lives now is her second apartment since she started studying at STU in 2019. Before, she lived with her sister and another roommate, where they each paid $450 a month for rent.
Ferris said she was not allowed to resign a lease with her last apartment due to noise complaints related to a former roommate and moved into the Regent Street apartment with three other students after a friend offered her a place to stay. Now that she is back in school full-time, Ferris is concerned about this possibly happening again.
“Sometimes we do get emails about noise complaints from the upstairs apartment because they can hear us talk,” she said.
Her upstairs neighbours have said that if Ferris and her roommates don’t quiet down, they’d call the police. One time, they did call the police after Ferris and her roommates were playing Just Dance.
Herb Emery, an economics professor at the University of New Brunswick, said if students are worried about rent increases or possible evictions, they could return to university residences rather than “compete for space” in the community.
“With the ambiguity coming out of universities [because of COVID-19], we have a lot of people who came not knowing if they need to be here or not, probably living in a situation that may not have been as good as if they even stayed home or in other places,” said Emery.
With New Brunswick’s current tax system, Emery said there is more bias against renting apartments in the province in favour of buying a home. He said it is because a credit is given to owner-occupied properties.
“As a consequence, you have this tax system, which has really discouraged the development of what you would call a more up-to-date, nicer and larger stock of rental accommodation,” he said.
The lack of affordable rental prices in Fredericton leaves Denver Gregan, a second-year criminology student, with a lot on her mind. She lives at home with her parents, less than a half-hour drive away from STU, but she was hoping to move out for her third year.
Gregan works full-time at a grocery store while going to school to save enough money for an apartment. Still, she said it can be a struggle with the bills she already has to pay.
“With minimum wage only being $11.70 now, you’re barely making it by,” said Gregan. “I was looking to move out next year to start kind of getting myself prepared for life itself … and it’s kind of hard because I barely make enough to even pay my car insurance.”
Since Gregan would be a first-time renter, she said the risk of large increases worries her because she isn’t as familiar with the subject compared to students who have already moved out.
“I wouldn’t want my rent going up midway and then not being able to pay it and having the possibility of getting kicked out,” she said.
As for Ferris, she plans on looking for a part-time job to help pay for her rent and some of her other bills. Still, she is stressed about it.
“I think it’s going to be harder because of COVID,” said Ferris. “I don’t know if people are still hiring.”
