Affordable student housing for less than the cost of lunch
Non-profit offers solution to students facing overcrowded private market housing
The Dalhousie Student Union plans to launch a campaign to make housing $100 to $400 cheaper for students.
The campaign will include an open letter urging the provincial government to take action on the student housing crisis, according to a Sept. 30 report from Ethan Leckie, DSU academic and external vice-president.
Leckie confirmed the campaign will include multiple external stakeholders. The Dalhousie Gazette requested to speak with Leckie about the campaign, but he declined to comment until more information is available later in the term.
The Developing Affordable Student Housing (DASH) Fund is an external organization working to combat Nova Scotia’s student housing crisis.
Created by Student Housing Nova Scotia, the initiative collects $5 per student, per semester from every participating university’s student union. The fees will be used to create affordable, high-quality housing.
Acadia University became the first university in the province to adopt the fund in February 2025. Saint Mary’s University students soon followed suit, voting in favour of integrating the fund into its annual student fees in March 2025.
In an Oct. 6 email to the Gazette, Leckie confirmed, “The director of the DASH Fund and myself have had communication,” but did not comment further.
“It’s beyond just trying to keep [housing] as affordable as possible,” says Mitchell Archibald, the executive director of Student Housing Nova Scotia. “It’s also looking at the things that students want or need that are not being served in the existing market.”
Archibald says he has been in contact with both the DSU and the University of King’s College Student Union. No agreement has been reached to bring the campaign to a student vote.
“I would 100 per cent spend $5 a year to put towards something like DASH,” says Kaleigh Rayner, a fourth-year community design student at Dalhousie.
Augustina Tucker, president of SMU’s student association, says the DASH Fund will benefit students.
“With rent prices increasing quite rapidly, it’s imperative for the DASH Fund to provide what they have promised students,” says Tucker. “Not just to be a housing resource in the next five years, but something tangible, something immediate that students can actually see the benefit of.”
The non-profit organization does not currently have any units within the HRM after Dalhousie took over Peter Green Hall in 2024. Archibald says Student Housing Nova Scotia is scanning the real estate market for potential property acquisitions and building opportunities to expand its reach in the city.
The DASH Fund also designates up to 10 per cent of contributed funds to scholarships, bursaries and financial aid.
Since July 2024, Student Housing Nova Scotia has owned and operated an 11-unit residential building in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, now offering units to Acadia University students at rates $100 to $400 below market value.
Nova Scotia’s student housing crisis
“It’s expensive, and it’s unattainable for a lot of people,” says Rayner. “You hear about people living in bedrooms with three other people because they’re splitting the rent of one room.”
71 per cent of students spend over 30 per cent of their income on housing, and 48 per cent skip groceries to cover the cost of rent, according to Student Housing Nova Scotia.
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation defines affordability as housing that costs less than 30 per cent of a household’s gross income.
Halifax’s apartment vacancy rate reached 2.1 per cent in 2024, up from 2023’s 1 per cent vacancy rate.
The DASH Fund’s approach to student housing goes beyond affordability. Archibald says the program enriches tenant experience through ethical residential management, responding quickly to unit issues.
“We do what we can to make sure that our tenants are having a good experience, but also so we’re not contributing to stereotypes perpetuated in some of the communities that students live in,” says Archibald.
Student housing is a top priority for SMU’s student association, according to Tucker. She’s looking forward to the fund benefiting students.
“It tackles the student housing issue and wants to build these units to enhance student life and experience.”
