Despite falling rents, some students still struggling to find affordable housing

A higher supply of housing has cooled a once-boiling-hot rental market in the city, but some students still face an uphill battle securing a dignified place to live.

“Cheaper housing may look like housing that is further away from the university or housing that is unsafe,” Mahad Rzain, vice-president external at the University of Calgary’s student union. “We still hear about students that are couch surfing or effectively homeless.”

Rzain’s comments come as post-secondary institutions in the city are poised to welcome thousands of students onto their campuses. Many will seek housing through the institution. The University of Calgary, for instance, will have more than 2,800 students live in its residences from Sunday onwards.

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More than 1,200 of those residents are first-year students. Housing costs for those students at the university range from $9,862 to $17,373, which includes a compulsory meal plan – depending on the size of the unit.

“(Those) rents are often unaffordable for students, and we can see numbers such as $2,000 per month on rents, and of course that varies depending on the exact unit,” Rzain said.

The university’s board of trustees stated in December that the institution will be raising its residence fees by between 2.5 per cent and 4.9 per cent depending on the arrangement. However, a closer look at fees for specific residences, such as International House, Rundle and Kananaskis, shows an increase of approximately five or 10 per cent.

Meanwhile, those unable to secure a spot in the university’s residences are left to secure housing in the city’s rental market, notorious for its lack of rent control. However, rents have eased since 2024 when the city’s vacancy rate plummeted to 1.4 per cent.

A recent report from online rental marketplace Zumper.com stated average rents declined year over year, and remained largely flat since this past June.

Average rent for a one bedroom apartment fell more than five per cent year over year in July to $1,600, making Calgary the 16th costliest rental market out of 22 cities and, as a result, one of the most relatively affordable places to live. The average rent for a two-bedroom also fell in July.

A report by CMHC found that year-over-year asking rents in Calgary dropped from $1,620 to $1,550 for a one-bedroom apartment in the first quarter of 2026, a far cry from its peak of more than $1,800 in 2024, according to a separate estimate.

Economists pin that decrease on a higher vacancy rate among newer purpose-built rental units that are also less desirable than older, more spacious flats.

Nearly 5,500 houses were constructed in Calgary in the first quarter of 2026. More than 3,300 of the units built in 2026 were apartments, 2,635 of which were rental.