The period between May and September typically sees a higher volume of tenant turnover in major cities across Canada. It is also the season when many international students and immigrants arrive in Canada before the academic year in universities and colleges begins, and the school year begins for children.
Against the backdrop of scapegoating international students and new immigrants for housing shortages across Canada, we conducted a research project and interviewed approximately 150 Chinese immigrants and international students in Alberta and British Columbia in the past three years.
We found a different result: they are easy targets of predatory rental practices and often lack the means to fight and claim rights.
Lack of Access to Resources
The lack of access to resources and information available in their languages is among the top reasons international students and new immigrants become easy targets. Meanwhile, when the rental market favours tenants with local connections who can provide references and credit scores, newcomers are far less competitive in the rental market.
This disadvantage pushes many newcomers to rely on social media platforms or online support groups to look for housing. Unfamiliar with the local norms, it is common for newcomers to go without a rental agreement or even sign an agreement that is unfair and against their own interests. It is also easier for landlords to mislead those eager to secure housing before their arrival and skip in-person viewings.
Stories of Exploitation
Yuting Yan, a Chinese immigrant who moved to Calgary with her family in July 2023, signed a rental agreement drafted by her landlord despite her difficulties in understanding the terms due to language barriers. Yan explained during the interview that she had a limited chance to even get a response from landlords, let alone negotiating anything, being a newcomer in the intense competition for rental housing back then.
Yan fell victim to an illegal deduction of deposit when she moved out. Driven by the desire to warn other newcomers, Yan posted her story on a Chinese social media platform, RedNote. To her surprise, more than 50 Chinese immigrants across Canada contacted her within a few weeks and shared similar experiences.
Jun Lin, an international student in his early 20s from mainland China, secured a bedroom on social media and signed a two-year rental agreement before his arrival in August 2023, only to find himself in a house that had been unlawfully subdivided into dozens of rental rooms for international students and new immigrants.
Lin moved out within a year without confronting his landlord, using the law to get back his two-month deposit or reporting it to local authorities. In fact, Lin thought about seeking legal help and had even consulted a lawyer, but the lawyer reminded him that he did voluntarily sign the contract against his own interests. Lin blamed himself for not reviewing the contractual terms carefully.
He also decided the monetary loss was too small to justify hiring a lawyer, while the mental burden of engaging with government officials and the legal system was overwhelming. Lin and his roommates were also not sure about what the law could do for them, as their landlord had been doing this for more than a decade.
