In the midst of a housing crisis, students connect with potential landlords at a student housing fair.
The AMS Commission of External Affairs (CEA) held its Housing Rights Week which included a Housing Resource Fair on Oct. 29 and 30 in the atrium of the Biosciences Complex. According to CEA Commissioner Dreyden George, Housing Rights Week was created to increase student awareness of their rights as tenants, find roommates, and fundraise for the Housing Resources Centre.
“With less supply of housing amid a housing crisis, the non-guarantee of residence for first-years, there’s some anticipation that people will be looking for this information and needing these resources,” George said in an interview with The Journal.
READ MORE: First-year students scramble for off-campus housing amid residence shortage
The Housing Resource Fair drew over 1,000 students across two days, according to George. Students connected with landlords and property managers to learn about the housing application process and view new listings. Landlords were prohibited from providing leases or legal documents, and students were advised to research the landlords and companies independently.
“I decided to go to the fair because I wanted to learn more about my options for housing in Kingston,” first-year attendee Yusuf Alrawwaf, HealthSci ’28 said in a statement to The Journal. “I learned a lot about the apartments, buildings, and property management companies that exist in Kingston. I would say that I’m much more prepared to enter the Kingston housing market after having gone to the housing fair.”
A key aspect of Housing Rights Week was raising money for the Housing Resources Centre, a resource for students which was created to aid students in finding and maintaining housing, as well as acting as a liaison between the City or Queen’s Legal Aid (QLA), a free legal service for students and the student population, George said.
George explained the AMS had a goal of raising $1,000, but were unable to tell The Journal how much progress they’d made towards this goal.
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