International students say rent increases challenge their stay with new regulations 

Esmeralda Garcia, 24, says she was shocked when hearing her rent would increase 30 per cent from September 2022 to December 2023.

 “When I first came to Toronto I rented a one-bedroom apartment in a building near High Park built in 2019. I was paying $1,900 per month, and by the end of next year my rent had increased to $2,500,” she says.   

Garcia is originally from Mexico, Puerto Vallarta, and is enrolled in the advertising and marketing communication diploma program.

According to data from Rentals.ca, rents across Canada have risen by 22 per cent in the last two years. The same study reveals the average rent for a residential property was $2187 last month. 

The rent percentage increase includes both rent-controlled and non-rent controlled new buildings, additions to existing buildings and most new basement apartments that were built after Nov. 15, 2018. 

According to Ontario.ca, the rent increase guideline for 2025 is 2.5 per cent, but does not apply to the establishments mentioned, occupied for the first time for residential purposes.

Garcia moved last February to the Broadview North neighborhood in a building built before 2018, not exempt to the 2006 Residential Tenancies Act guidelines. She pays $2,200, a cost split with her boyfriend. 

Garcia says although she was able to improve her living situation, the 24-hour cap on international students working off-campus hours could make things difficult to sustain herself. 

“We come to Canada and pay all this money as international students to receive a certain level of education, and some of us need to put that extra effort to make ends meet. Reducing the amount of hours we can work, more so than positively affecting our school performance, negatively impacts our overall livelihood in Canada,” she says. 

Federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Marc Miller announced this new government rule in Ottawa last April, and it will be implemented later this fall.

Garcia pays her tuition out-of- pocket, works part-time as a server, and in Humber’s marketing department. She is in charge of running social media for Humber’s Hispanoamerica Group, and recruiting Hispanic students. 

Garcia says facing challenges like these as international students is a learning experience. 

“If you’re able to push through this, you can do anything. People underestimate the amount of effort and the amount of sacrifices it takes to be out of your home country, speak a different language, and all while leaving your support system behind,” she says. 

Iuiza Iusupova, 20, is originally from Russia and currently is in her fourth and final year of a bachelor’s in digital communications.

Similar to Garcia, Iusupova’s rent approximately escalates between $2,000 to $2,250. She has been living for over a year in downtown Toronto near the Fashion District, splitting a two -bedroom apartment with a fellow program colleague. 

Iusupova completed her internship at Humber International throughout the summer working as a student ambassador, and now is working in their marketing department. 

Iusupova says she feels lucky to be living in a rent-controlled apartment, but fears how the 24-hour cap might affect secondary household costs. 

“I hope for the better, I want to feel confident about my presence here. I don’t want to constantly have this feeling of uncertainty, but I do feel unease,” she says.