New ‘matchmaking’ service launched for students who need affordable rental housing in Ontario

While exciting, the transition into college or university has never been easy. The uncertainty of a significant life change–even more daunting for people who have left their home countries to seek academic opportunities in Canada–has been compounded more recently by limited on-campus housing and sky-high rental rates in the broader community. 

But while there are no quick fixes to the problems plaguing post-secondary students, one company is working to alleviate some financial pressures by connecting students with homeowners who have rooms available for anywhere from about $500 to $800 a month–rates well below the average asking rent in Ontario of $2,382.

Rylan Kinnon, the CEO of the newly launched SpacesShared platform, says the idea to connect students to older adults with space to spare came about after a student told him that the housing crisis was impacting people’s mental health. 

“I did a consultation for Colleges Ontario on student mental health and one student leader said, ‘You know, when we talk about mental health, we so often talk about therapy, but you can’t counsel me out of food or housing insecurity,’” Kinnon told INsauga.com. 

After that conversation, Kinnon considered the impact the cost-of-living crisis has on students, particularly those with budgets as low as $400 to $600 a month.

After that, SpacesShared, a platform that matches hosts–generally older adults living in communities near colleges and universities–with students based on compatibility, was born. 

“We have an aging population and people looking to stay in their homes,” he says, “[So I thought] there must be a way to apply technology to home sharing to make it sustainable and affordable.” 

SpacesShared, which launched last April, recently partnered with the University of Toronto (including the University of Toronto-Mississauga). It now works with over two dozen post-secondary institutions in Canada, including Seneca College, Humber College, Sheridan College, Niagara College, Brock University, Trent University, Georgian College, Mohawk College, and others. 

Kinnon says the platform operates with safety and compatibility in mind, with a rigorous verification process in place to ensure students and hosts are as perfectly matched as possible and that fraudsters and scammers can’t take advantage of renters. 

“Before anyone can do anything, we verify their identification and address. If they’re a student, we verify that they’re, in fact, a student. You have to be verified; it’s not the Wild West of Facebook or Craigslist or Kijiji,” Kinnon says, adding that background checks on hosts and students are required.  

Prospective hosts and students must fill out biographies and provide the platform with detailed information about themselves, such as their preferred language, how comfortable they are with overnight or daytime guests, preferences surrounding cleanliness and how often they drink or smoke. Platform users are also asked if they can provide safe homes for people in the LGBTQ+ community. 

When a student finds a home they think will be a good fit, they can message the owner–whose address will remain hidden–and if the two agree to talk more, they can arrange a virtual meet-up through the platform.

If the host and student decide to proceed with the “match,” they can enter into a home share agreement created by SpacesShared. After that, the platform manages payments, which is something Kinnon says protects against scams. 

The new platform has generated excitement amongst post-secondary housing administrators, especially since many students want to remain close to campus beyond their first year. 

“We’ve seen a gradual but clear increase in applications for housing,” Brian Cunha, director of student housing and residence life at UTM, told INsauga.com. 

“At UTM, we offer housing for first-year students, upper-year students, grad students and families but it’s mostly geared to first-year students. UTM has a housing guarantee for first-year students coming out of high school, and we can still honour that agreement, but we see demand from upper-year students who want to stay on campus.” 

The increase in housing interest has actually spurred the construction of a new 400-bed residence building that’s slated for completion in 2026. But while the new UTM residence will allow up to 1,900 students to live on campus, the partnership with SpacesShared will, Cunha says, provide students with another option–and one that comes with a reassuring endorsement from the university. 

“Some students are still looking for additional options, and this is one they can explore. It provides opportunities for local folks in Peel to provide their homes if they have extra space and want to earn a bit of income,” Cunha says. 

“We want to make it as easy as possible for students to find housing on and off campus.” 

Lower rental rates

While students have often reported difficulties finding affordable off-campus housing, the situation has become uniquely challenging in Canada and Ontario in particular. Put simply, there’s a raging supply and demand imbalance: many prospective tenants and not enough housing. 

Earlier this year, the federal government announced it was putting a cap on the number of international students coming to study from abroad, a move they said would cut admissions in Ontario by half in 2024. While the move followed a high-profile admissions scandal, it emerged after multiple housing experts sounded the alarm about the lack of proper services for students, particularly those arriving from abroad. 

The federal government also increased the cost-of-living requirement for Canadian study permit applicants to $20,635 and lengthened the time graduating international students could work in Canada without an employment visa after reports emerged that students were using local food banks and living in inadequate housing. 

In Brampton, which is home to a Sheridan College campus, reports suggested that 25 students were living in a basement apartment. Before that incident, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown raised the alarm about international students in the city living in “third-world conditions” and called for changes to Ontario and Canada’s international student regulations, particularly making appropriate and safe housing a requirement for post-secondary acceptance. 

Research from the Smart Prosperity Institute showed there were more than 444,000 international students in Ontario in 2023, with those numbers counting for around 54 per cent of all international students in all of Canada and totalling more than all other provinces and territories combined.

As more and more students have arrived, the cost of living has increased and, so, too, have rental rates. According to a recent report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation, the average asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Mississauga, which is home to U of T and Sheridan College campuses, hit $2,371 in June.

The rent for a two-bedroom unit came in at $2,778 last month. 

The report says Mississauga is the second most expensive city to rent in Ontario, second only to Toronto. Oshawa, a Durham Region city east of Toronto, offers the most affordable rent of the GTA cities listed but still boasts an average price point of over $1,000. According to the report, one-bedroom rents hit $1,946 in June–up over four per cent from June 2023. 

Kinnon says that while rental rates vary, SpacesShared listings over $800 remain rare. 

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen a listing go for more than $800,” he says, adding that he’s also seen a listing for about $425 that included a helper’s discount (meaning lower rent would be offered if the student agreed to help with housework such as shovelling snow or raking leaves).

“In the GTA, there’s more upward price pressure, but I wouldn’t expect a student to pay any more than $1,000. We ask hosts to think about what amount makes sense to them and consider the affordable housing crisis,” he says. 

The loneliness epidemic

Kinnon says that while the platform benefits students looking for affordable accommodations and residents looking to earn extra income, it also comes with a special perk: company and connection. 

“Many older adults are living alone and becoming more isolated and there are physical and mental impacts of loneliness,” Kinnon says.

Although the legally imposed social isolation of the pandemic has ended, a recent report revealed that some of the loneliest people in Canada live in Toronto and the GTA and the health impacts of poor social connections can be severe. 

According to the Toronto Foundation’s recent Vital Signs 2023 Special Report, a 2017 study found that lacking a social network is as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The same study found loneliness more dangerous than alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, obesity and air pollution. The report says isolation can increase one’s risk of developing heart disease by 30 per cent and early dementia by 50 per cent. It also increases a person’s susceptibility to addiction, obesity and suicide. 

Kinnon says some people have told him that the connections they made with students renting rooms in their homes made a huge difference in their happiness and well-being. 

“What’s so awesome is to hear from folks about how these relationships have been transformative,” he says.

Kinnon recounts a time when a prospective host came to a community information session and was initially unsure if she should get on the platform. Now, after a successful match with a student, she has become the equivalent of a SpacesShared “super host.” 

“She absolutely loved the student and they became buddies,” Kinnon says. 

“The age melts away over time. We have a weird view of age as being a differentiator but once you get to know someone and spend time with someone, fundamentally, we’re all human.” 

Students still outnumber hosts on the platform

While SpacesShared offers students another housing option, Kinnon says the company is working to get the word out to potential hosts, as there are about 10 student accounts for every host account on the platform. 

“There are hundreds of hosts and listings but thousands of students,” Kinnon told INsauga.com.

“That speaks to the need from the student side.” 

So, while more hosts are needed, Kinnon says those who are looking for tenants have a lot of choices and can wait for a student they really connect with. 

“Don’t settle for someone you are not comfortable with,” he says, adding that SpacesShared provides after-match support and checks in every month to ask how things are going. The platform also boasts a team of social workers who are there to support hosts and students who have questions or need support. 

“Bad matches are not good for our hosts and students,” he says. 

Ultimately, feedback from hosts has largely been positive, according to Kinnon. 

“We’re seeing a lot of return hosts,” he says, adding that hosts can choose to rent a room for anywhere from one month to an entire academic year. 

“We’ve heard from hosts that it feels like having a roommate or friend, or it’s a game-changer in letting them stay in their house, especially if they have mobility challenges. People also enjoy the company. Fundamentally, we’re not meant to be alone.” 

As for whether he’s seeing enthusiasm in Peel, he says there’s been good engagement, and he’s hoping to spread the word further. 

“There’s always more student demand than host supply, so we’re working hard to raise awareness of [SpacesShared] as an option.” 

As for students, UTM’s Cunha says the platform fills a need for students who want university support living off-campus. 

“Students often tell us that they want resources and they want more clarity on which direction they can possibly go in. SpacesShared has shown U of T that they’re committed to this program and providing students with a safe and affordable place to live. It might not be for everyone, but there’s a demographic of students who will take advantage of this and trust that the platform has done due diligence to assure the space is appropriate.”

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– With files from Ryan Rumbolt, Karen Longwell and The Canadian Press