THUNDER BAY — An official with the Lakehead University Student Union is speaking out against what he describes as unscrupulous practices by some local landlords.
Farhan Yousaf, vice-president of operations for LUSU, says more and more international students at Lakehead are being exploited when they rent or try to rent accommodation.
"It's been going on for about a year or so, at least from what I've been hearing about...this is a serious and growing issue," Yousaf told tbnewswatch.com in an interview.
He said some landlords are taking advantage of the fact students from overseas aren't always aware of their rights.
Yousaf cited the recent case of two students whose landlord claimed they had damaged the property, and demanded $600 to avoid being taken to court where "they might end up paying $2,000 or $3,000."
He said the landlord went even farther, threatening to call the police unless his tenants gave him copies of their Social Insurance Numbers and passports.
"The students got scared, and they gave him copies. Two confidential documents that I don't think anyone should have the right" to demand, Yousaf said.
He added that the same landlord will only accept cash for the rent, but provides no receipts, leading him to believe it's to avoid paying income tax.
"This was the last case that I received last week, and it just left me frustrated."
Yousaf said Lakehead is trying to educate international students about their rights, but "it also falls on landlords" not to take advantage of students who are unaware of those rights.
"It's very sad to see this. We have more and more students coming in. Some of them are away from home for the first time. These two were at the point of crying when they were telling me their story."
Other individuals are acting as intermediaries, offering to help students find apartments for a fee, but are also scamming students, Yousaf said.
"They're setting up Facebook pages and telling students 'Hey, you want a house? I can help you, but pay me 50 bucks or 100 bucks.' In a lot of cases, the houses are not up to standard, or in some cases rooms are not even legal rooms."
He cited one situation in which four students each paid $50 to get accommodations that included a basement bedroom with no window for an emergency fire exit.
The situation is exacerbated, Yousaf said, by a shortage of affordable lodging near the university and Confederation College.
"Some students get desperate to get into a house or a place, so that's where I find the exploitation happens."
In addition to informing them of their rights, LUSU is referring students to Legal Aid.
Yousaf hopes to meet soon with mayor-elect Bill Mauro, other members of the new city council, and federal minister Patti Hajdu to discuss the problem.
He feels the issue flies in the face of all the efforts being made to bring "people from all over" to Thunder Bay.
"And then you have cases like these happening. It's not an ideal situation to have newcomers facing this."
