Frustrated by persistent conflicts, maintenance issues and unresponsive management, several U of R on-campus residents demand immediate attention to their issues.

Amidst this turmoil, one resident chose to remove herself from housing altogether. “I just didn’t want to live there anymore; it was a mix of personal reasons and the way I felt housing handled certain situations,” said Sydney Bednarski, an ex-resident

Several residents have come forth, highlighting the increasing rift between the residents and the housing department. Issues ranging from apprehension to complaint regarding certain matters, financial account misconduct and feeling blindsided have plagued a majority of the residents who choose to stay on-campus for the academic year.

A general consensus aligned with the thoughts of Anu Balepo, a third-year resident, “I feel like they’re not doing the best they can.” A lot of the residents do feel that there aren’t enough resources they feel comfortable relying on to help with their issues, and they would rather deal with it themselves than make a big deal out of it.

UR Housing is responsible for accommodating approximately 1000 residents across four different residences, with the number growing exponentially as we move further from the pandemic. Whilst the rent ranges from $800 CAD- $1450 CAD, residents feel like the price does not line up with the amenities offered.

“We have just done a restructure with our program this year, as a result, we have significantly more staff than in the past, and we try to stick to a certain ratio of students to staff,” said Bryan Wilson, the manager of housing.

Wilson added that they are usually busy in the weeks leading up to the new semester in addition to the start of the new term.

Addressing the delay in responses, Wilson said, “I would be surprised if the delay is 3-4 weeks. We try to get back to folks within a few days, but it might take us a little longer to follow up since we have due process in situations like these.”

Balepo mentioned the financial discrepancy between the department and how it could create stress and confusion for residents, “Once I rectified the error on my end, even after that, the balance given to me was incorrect and I was being strong-armed into paying this amount without further inspection or would’ve been evicted.”

With a majority of residents being international students who rely on housing for their overall well-being, they often feel stuck when situations like these occur.

“I have no family in Saskatchewan, so things like these really stress me out, and I bet it’s the same for everyone. If they are Canadian or a Saskatchewan native, I would strongly recommend staying off campus.”

“Maybe the housing orientation needs to be pushed harder. I feel like a lot of people do not attend these events and no one cares about the green book and that leads to a lot of confusion and avoidable problems,” was the suggestion of Arnab Aditya, a second-year resident.

Wilson believes that residents underutilize certain resources, which are easily available.

“Just taking advantage of the programming that’s there would certainly solve some issues,” said Wilson, “The residents’ community council has been pushing new reforms, which are very easily available on the housing portal.”