About

About us

The Popular University Student Housing (PUSH) Fund was founded in 2015 to transform how student housing is financed, developed and managed in Québec. We aim to empower Québec students to develop their own affordable housing, and to create quality living environments run by and for students. The PUSH Fund was cofounded by the Concordia Student Union (CSU), UTILE and the Chantier de l’économie sociale. In 2020, they were joined by the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU).

Our principles

Positive community impact

By seizing the favorable circumstance of financially affordable resources under the control of the PUSH Fund, students can have a positive impact in the development of neighbourhood communities. Besides the traditional displacement and upward pressure student-tenants have exerted on the rental market, this new alternative of independently constructing student housing solutions reverse the unfortunate trend of gentrification and studentification. Through the creation of permanently affordable housing for students, these projects can take students out of the house hunting equation while leaving more rental housing stock for less ephemeral neighbourhood residents such as families. Additionally, the construction of perpetually non-profit student housing holds the capacity to establish meaningful relationships with neighbourhood community institutions over the course of time.

Geographical and financial expansion

Next, students have demonstrated that typical university residence halls are inadequate to match the number of students who are no longer living in their familial household. Given the aggregate number of students who would greatly benefit from having access to quality affordable housing, the types of non-profit student housing projects supported by the PUSH fund face an overabundance of demand. Therefore we are committed to continuously propagating the finance and developing model used by the PUSH fund and its partners to tackle student housing headon.

Network effect

Ultimately the PUSH fund is seeking to create an ecosystem of affordable student housing projects throughout the province in coordination with our partner organizations. With each project that gets completed more physical assets (the buildings) become part of the alternative economic model to meet the basic need of housing for students. As the number of projects supported by the PUSH fund and its partner organizations expand, they can be leveraged to amplify and accelerate the total number of project being developed. Our long-term goal is to create 10,000 student housing dwellings across Quebec. Without compromising housing quality and while maximising affordability, the PUSH Fund serves the purpose of addressing an unmet demand by allowing the student movement to take matters into their own hands. Non-profit housing solutions for students, by student-created tools and expertise!