Ontario Student Housing Deliveries Set to Reach Record in 2026

Urbanation releases Canada’s first comprehensive study of Ontario’s purpose-built student accommodation market

TORONTO – June 23, 2026: Urbanation Inc., the leading source of data and analysis on the Canadian condominium and rental apartment markets since 1981, today released its Spring Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) Report for Ontario, the first comprehensive study of the province’s student housing market.

Ontario is on track to deliver 6,313 student housing beds in 2026, the largest year on record and about two and a half times the 2015 to 2025 annual average of 2,526 beds. The Greater Toronto Area leads with 2,734 beds projected for completion this year, or 43% of the provincial total, as several multi-phase projects reach occupancy.

A total of 70,450 student housing beds are under construction or proposed across the province, 2.5 times the total delivered since 2015. Of that, 10,080 beds are under construction across 25 projects, and 60,370 beds are proposed across 60 projects. PBSA accounts for 41,298 of the proposed beds, so most of the planned growth is coming from privately owned projects rather than universities. Deliveries are expected to slow in 2027 and 2028 as tighter financing conditions since 2024 work through the pipeline.

Urbanation’s survey covers 133 operating PBSA properties and 43,411 purpose-built beds across 28 submarkets and five regions in Ontario, alongside about 82,049 on-campus residence beds at 66 institutions. Waterloo/Kitchener is the most concentrated PBSA market in the province, with 66 properties.

Demand sits at a turning point. National post-secondary enrolment peaked at 2.34 million in 2023-24 and slipped to an estimated 2.30 million in 2024-25 as federal study permit limits took hold. The pullback has fallen mainly on colleges, where study permits issued dropped 73% between 2023-24 and 2025-26. University permits fell 38% over the same period. Ontario universities have held up better, with domestic enrolment rising 3.6% in 2024-25 and largely offsetting the international decline.

Across the province, student housing supply equals 20.6% of university enrolment when on-campus and PBSA beds are combined. The Western Greater Golden Horseshoe carries the highest provision rate at 31.8%, while the GTA sits lowest at 11.8%, a market where students have long relied on the secondary condo rental sector. Provincial Bill 185, passed in 2024, streamlines planning approvals for housing on institutional land and is expected to move more on-campus supply forward, increasingly through partnerships with private developers.

Purpose-built rental near campuses is emerging as a latent source of student supply. Within Ontario’s 28 student submarkets, the proposed purpose-built rental pipeline totals 377,989 units, of which 238,037 are approved, against 26,344 units of identified student housing. PBSA commands a clear rent premium per square foot, averaging $8.09 in Downtown Toronto against $4.47 for post-2000 purpose-built rental. Premiums above 70% were also recorded in Guelph, Kingston and London, giving developers a direct incentive to orient new rental toward students.

Investment activity is building from a small base. Urbanation tracked eight PBSA transactions worth $475 million and totalling 2,552 beds across four Ontario markets between May 2024 and May 2026.

“A record number of student housing beds will open across Ontario in 2026, even as federal study permit policy reshapes demand. Colleges are absorbing most of that pullback, while universities have held steady on domestic enrolment. For developers and institutions, the question is whether demand will stay durable enough to support new supply.”

Sally Turner, Senior Director, Consulting at Urbanation

ABOUT THE ONTARIO STUDENT HOUSING MARKET REPORT

Urbanation’s Ontario Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) Report is the first comprehensive study of Ontario’s student housing market. It surveys 133 operating PBSA properties and 43,411 purpose-built beds across 28 submarkets and five regions, covering rents, occupancy, amenities and absorption through direct operator cooperation and field research. The report also tracks on-campus residence supply at 66 institutions, the under-construction and proposed development pipeline, enrolment and study permit trends, and student housing investment transactions across the province.

ABOUT URBANATION

Urbanation is a real estate consulting firm that has been providing market research, in-depth market analysis and consulting services to the real estate industry since 1981. Urbanation offers subscription services and custom market studies covering the new construction condominium and purpose-built rental apartment markets in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, Ottawa-Gatineau, and Montreal regions.

For subscription and report access, contact Stephanie Grall at [email protected].  www.urbanation.ca · +1.416.922.2200