Tenancy and housing rights of racialized international students

Abstract

This thesis examines violations of tenancy and housing rights of racialized international students (RIS) in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. It explores the factors that influence tenancy and housing options available to RIS, such as the internationalization of post-secondary education institutions and financialization of the housing sector in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. It investigates the distinctive relationships between RIS’ experiences of tenancy and housing rights violations and their resilience. The interactions of RIS’ multiple identities such as race, regional origin, nationality, gender, socio-economic status (SES), Canadian citizenship status, age, and education level with external factors are studied to understand RIS’ perceptions of resilience using their own voices. This thesis makes two central arguments. First, RIS preferred social support over institutionalized support services. RIS participants avoided disputing violations of their tenancy and housing rights due to perceived repercussions to their legal status as non-permanent residents in Canada as well as the tangible consequences in their social relations with rental property administrators. Second, participants revealed carefully woven webs of strategies to navigate challenges and to achieve optimum wellness characterized by physical, emotional, and psychological safety. I developed the concept of <i>states of embodied awareness</i> to understand RIS’ self-defined and unique forms of resilience.