Increasingly expensive and less expensive rents in Canada

According to the Rental Housing Index (ILL), a database compiled from the most recent census in 2021, in collaboration with housing associations and municipal associations across the country, rental prices jumped an average of 21% in Canada between 2016 and 2021.

an increase of 30% in British Columbia, 27% in Ontario, and 24% in Yukon over the period studied. In Quebec, the average increase in rents was 14%.

” This is a big plus. Unfortunately, income and wages are not linked to the rise in rent increases. »

Only three provinces recorded average increases below the 10% mark: Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

More rare than ever, and more expensive than ever

In addition to having to pay much larger sums for housing, renting families are finding it increasingly difficult to find affordable housing, if not housing at all. Gold, which is more rare, also says that it is more expensive.

In fact, 1.6 million (33%) of the 4.9 million renting households in Canada spent more than 30% of their income on housing in 2016 and 2021.

Most important of all, you have to set aside an increasingly high percentage of your income for paying rent, leaving less room for other necessary expenses as well.André Castonguay explains.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), a household that spends 30% or more of its gross income on housing is considered to have affordability issues.

When this percentage increases to more than 50%, these families are considered to be in crisis and at risk of homelessness.

However, there were more than 620,000 families in this situation in Canada between 2016 and 2021.

In Quebec, where 40% of households rent – the highest proportion among the provinces – one in four (25%) renting households spends more than 30% of their gross income on housing.

This proportion rises to more than 50% of income in at least 128,800 households (9%) in the county.

For André Castonguay, Executive Director of Quebec Network V NPO Housing, and the fact that 40% of households in Quebec rent makes the province particularly vulnerable to housing affordability and scarcity problems.

Currently, only Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have higher rates of renting households than Quebec with 81% and 46% of renting households respectively.

More lonely people

Another interesting data is the percentage of people who live alone, notes André Castonguay. Just before the pandemic, we were about 30% of people living alone. With the pandemic, it only got worse. There are many couples who have broken up.

Mass immigration is also a major challenge in Canada, recalls Mr. Castongway. While the federal government encourages the arrival of an increasing number of immigrants, the latter generally have an immediate need to rent housing when they arrive in the country.

There is a widespread idea that living with a roommate allows you to make significant savings; However, this is no longer true as it once was, researchers have confirmed will who state that 42% of non-family renting households (1.2 million) must now allocate more than 30% of their income to housing.

Housing quality

In addition to prices and the scarcity of housing in Canada, 11% of renting households (500,000) live in housing that is overcrowded or deemed inadequate.

Between 2016 and 2021, at least 7% of households lived in housing in need of major renovations.

In Quebec, 107,535 households live in housing that needs major renovations.

More difficulty for women

When we examine the data, we immediately notice that female-headed households are experiencing increased access difficulties.

Actually, explain my responsibilitywillAnd Female-headed tenant households paid similar rents as those headed by men, but earned an average of $9,000 less per year..

In Canada, 36% of tenant households headed by women set aside more than 30% of their income to pay rent and utilities, compared to 31% of tenant households headed by men.

Indigenous and racial communities are overrepresented

Difficulties are also increasing in indigenous communities as well as among people who experience racism, data fromwill.

Overcrowding in housing is a well-known disaster in northern latitudes. In 2016, Statistics Canada revealed that 51.7% of the Inuit population in the north of the country lived in overcrowded housing, compared to 8.5% among the non-Inuit population. In this photo: the Inuit community of Coguarabeque in northern Quebec.

Photo: Radio-Canada/Mattiss Harvey

In fact, with the exception of Alberta, tenant households headed by ethnic people paid the most for housing in all of the provinces. These families pay an average of $200 more per month than other families.

Also, no less than 23% of these families live in overcrowded housing, compared to 5% in other categories of rented families.

In indigenous communities, housing needs are also evident.

Native-led tenant households earned an average of $4,450 less per year than non-Native households, but paid marginally less rent (averaging $200 less per month).emphasizewill.

And at least 13% of Aboriginal renting households also live in housing with significant work needs, according to data from 2016 to 2021. For Nonprofit Housing BC.

Expensive and extremely scarce housing is forcing more and more people to live in precarious conditions in the country.

See also  Hexo shuts down three facilities and cuts 155 jobs

Photo: Radio Canada/Raphael Tremblay

” ILL data released today highlights the collective failure of rental home investment over the past 25 years. »

Avis que partage André Castonguay who en appelle à une mobilization des gouvernements dans un marché immobilier où les logements private locatifs sont transformes à toute vitesse in condos ou en logements locatifs of type AirBnB, rendant toujours more rares and donc more les logements locatifs de good quality.

Rising construction costs and rising interest rates aren’t really helping us. […] It has been worse for a year since the Bank of Canada decided to tackle inflation by raising interest rates. It takes a contribution from the government to build truly affordable housing. We have no choiceAndre Castonguay insists.

The Canadian Rental Housing Index (ILL) was established by the not-for-profit Housing Association of British Columbia in association withIndigenous Housing Management AssociationI’Alberta Seniors and Community Housing Associationthere BC Transitional Homes Associationthere British Columbia Cooperative Housing FederationThe Canadian Housing and Renovation AssociationUniversity of British Columbia Housing Research Collaborativethere Manitoba Nonprofit Housing AssociationNon-Profit Housing Association of New Brunswick Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association Quebec Housing Network NPO dwelling.