New app developed by U of A students could help those in university find affordable housing
The app is designed to pair students to the landlords that best fit their needs.
Affordable housing might become easier to access with a new app developed by students from the University of Alberta, which aims to facilitate the process of finding housing outside of residence.
The Elev app will be free for students and is designed to pair students to the landlords that best fit their needs. Students can also choose to be matched with a roommate according to sleep patterns, price range, and whether or not they smoke or drink. The app is planned to launch in spring of 2021.
Kevin Mpunga, CEO and co-founder of Elev and a third-year nursing student, was admitted to the University of Alberta in 2018. Living in Grand Prairie, Mpunga said he initially had difficulty finding a place to live in Edmonton.
“When I started looking at residence options, there were a lot of beautiful places to choose from,” Mpunga said “However, the price tags were not as beautiful, and it donned on me that I couldn’t afford even the cheapest option that was available.”
Mpunga and his friends searched all spring and summer and were finally able to find a house to live in. However, Mpunga said the process was far from easy, especially from the distance of Grand Prairie.
“It was the most painful thing I probably have ever done,” he said. “It was still such a difficult process looking for a house when living five hours away and having no experience.”
Initially, Mpunga said this experience led him to come up with the idea of buying and renovating older houses that students could rent through an app. However, after doing some research on the approximate cost of building a house near the university, he decided it was better to help students find affordable housing by connecting them with landlords across Edmonton.
Mpunga started to design the app with the help of his cousin, a software developer in San Francisco. But after a few months, Mpunga said more help was needed. He created a team of U of A student designers, engineers, marketers, and financial advisors.
Elev is supported by the University of Alberta Students’ Union, and aims to connect with other universities in Alberta such as the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and MacEwan in the future. Within five years, Mpunga and his team plan to reach nationwide coverage.
“This is a huge timesaver for students,” Mpunga said “They see what’s best for them first, and we give them the reasons why this is in comparison to other properties.”
Mpunga highlighted how as a full-time university student, he has had to learn time management and remain dedicated to Elev homes. He said that he encourages other students to take the risk and be the example of the change they want to see in the world.
“They just need to get started one way or another,” Mpunga said. “[Students can] be the ones to take that leap of faith as soon as possible, as in right now.”
