Survey aims to capture snapshot of student housing in Nova Scotia

A newly expanded provincial student housing organization is seeking input from current students to better understand the housing challenges facing current post-secondary students across Nova Scotia.

Mitchell Archibald is the executive director of Student Housing Nova Scotia, a not-for-profit that formerly operated as the Halifax Student Housing Society.

Recognizing the widespread housing insecurity among students, the organization decided in March to expand its reach and advocate for student housing rights across the province.

"We know this issue is everywhere else and it's tough to start another small organization in every community," said Archibald. "We understand that we have the capacity and the experience and expertise to be here, provincewide for students."

Student Housing Nova Scotia has opened a survey (https://www.research.net/r/studenthousingoutlook) and it is looking for current post-secondary students to share their experiences to get a picture of the current housing situation.

"There really isn't good data available at a provincial level, or really outside of a campus-specific level, about what the housing situations students are and what the year ahead looks like,” Archibald said.

The survey also asks students if they would support a levy, where a small portion of their tuition fees would go towards creating a student housing fund.

"Even if every student in Nova Scotia paid five dollars per semester, that is half-a-million dollars a year we could put into developing more housing and that could mean hundreds of units, really a short period of time,” Archibald said.

Student Housing Nova Scotia says they plan to complete the housing survey annually so they can gather solid data to bring to the government and advocate for more housing.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.