Affordable Housing and Rent Control

❖ 1. What’s Happening Now

The crisis is multifaceted:

• Rents have outpaced wages by double digits in many cities
• Vacancy rates are below 2% in numerous urban centres
• Waitlists for social housing can exceed 5–10 years
• “Affordable housing” often isn’t—priced at 80% of market value, still out of reach
• Renters face no-fault evictions, renovictions, and speculative flipping
• People are pushed into substandard housing or into homelessness itself

The market is doing what it was designed to do.
That’s why it’s not the solution—it’s the system that needs redesign.

❖ 2. Why Rent Control Matters

Rent control doesn’t solve everything, but it:

• Prevents sudden displacement of tenants
• Stabilizes neighbourhoods and protects community bonds
• Keeps seniors, students, and low-income earners in their homes
• Helps close racial and gendered gaps in housing security
• Reduces speculation pressure from investors treating housing as a stock, not shelter

Critics say rent control reduces supply—but evidence is mixed.
Poorly designed rent control can harm long-term affordability.
But strong, transparent, tenant-centered policies? They save lives.

❖ 3. What “Affordable” Should Really Mean

Let’s be clear:

• “Affordable” doesn’t mean 80% of luxury condos
• It means no more than 30% of a household’s income
• It must include deep subsidies for those with little or no income
• And it must account for transportation, childcare, and food costs to avoid isolating low-income families

True affordability = dignity, choice, and access to opportunity.

❖ 4. What Must Be Done

Canada—and every province—can take action by:

• Building non-market housing: cooperatives, land trusts, and public units
• Expanding rent-geared-to-income programs
• Limiting rent increases on vacant and occupied units alike
• Funding retrofits, not just new builds, to preserve existing affordable stock
• Creating legal protections against renovictions and demovictions
• Supporting tenant unions and rent boards with real teeth

Housing shouldn’t be a ladder people keep falling off.
It should be a platform we all stand on together.

❖ Final Thought

You can’t talk about homelessness without talking about rent.
You can’t talk about justice without talking about shelter.

If we want a society where everyone can thrive,
we must start with a place to live that doesn’t bankrupt, evict, or endanger.

Let’s talk.
Let’s build.
Let’s stay.