On Oct. 1, 2025, HOUSE York, a chapter of HOUSE Canada, held its AGM in the HNES building. According to the organization’s website, “Housing Our University Students Equitably (HOUSE) is a non-profit housing organization that builds and operates affordable student housing on or near post-secondary campuses across English Canada.” Excalibur connected with board members following the meeting to learn more.
Michael Jodah, the co-executive director and founder of HOUSE York, holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in Environmental Studies and is currently pursuing his doctorate in Education. Jodah’s parents divorced when he was young, leaving him and his single mother in poverty. “Our landlord kept trying to raise the rent,” Jodah explains. “My mom started a tenants’ association, [and] fought against all these rent increases. So it was always very personal to me.”
During his master’s studies, Jodah focused on housing, which inspired him to start the organization. “There was a housing co-op at York, Harry Sherman Crowe. It was started by the unions at York back in the ‘80s, organizing, lobbying York, getting York to give a hundred-year land lease, and getting federal government funding. I asked myself: why can’t we organize to do this again with more of a focus, as well, on student housing? So we went about creating the [Affordable Housing] Committee, getting all the different unions involved, which gave a lot of legitimacy to it. York even helped fund us in our first year.”
Much of HOUSE York’s success is attributed to its Request for Proposal (RFP) Process, which has a success rate of approximately 25 per cent, 10 per cent higher than the industry average. “One challenge with housing is [there aren’t] as many grants,” says Jodah. “So it’s [success depends on] looking at other aligned grants, like wage subsidies for youth…Also, meeting with grant agencies… and getting feedback.”
Zachary Dark, a Ph.D. candidate in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University and a member of CUPE 3903, sits on the board of HOUSE York and has seen the difference that safe, affordable housing makes for the York community. “Since I moved to Toronto, housing has been just an incredibly pressing issue, both personally trying to find an affordable, safe, dignified place to live, and hearing people, friends, and colleagues struggling to find safe, affordable, decent housing. It’s something that hasn’t been prioritized strongly enough by different levels of government.”
“When someone has to live two and a half hours away from York because that’s where they can find somewhere in their budget, that affects education. When someone has to live in a rooming house that doesn’t meet fire code and there [are] safety issues or, God forbid, there’s an accident — that affects their education. When people are unable to leave intimate partner violence or unsafe households because the housing costs are too high, that affects education. These are things that I see with colleagues and as a TA on campus. These are things I see with my students, too, where if housing was cheaper and safer and more accessible, I think lots of people would have a better educational experience here at York. The two go hand in hand,” Dark tells Excalibur.
In the coming years, Jodah would like to see more land and commitments to build, especially as all levels of government are increasingly supportive of building more housing. “We’ve also been exploring other lands, like Downsview Park, the number of government-owned lands there. Canada Lands Corporation in Northcrest, which is a public pension fund, [and] the City of Toronto Housing Now site at Keele and Finch,” says Jodah.
House Canada regularly accepts students for placements, especially from relevant programs like Planning. They also hold workshops focused on common concerns for student renters. You can follow @ahcyorku on Instagram or visit HOUSE to learn more.
