Eroding affordable housing stock a national issue, says consultant
Ready, set, go.
In the coming weeks, candidates will be on your doorstep. It will be your chance to ask them what they plan to do about issues that matter to you.
We asked Ottawa residents what they would like local candidates to address.
STEVE POMEROY, HOUSING CONSULTANT
One of the biggest issues in housing today is the erosion of the affordable housing stock built up in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, said Steve Pomeroy, a housing consultant and senior research fellow at the Centre for Urban Research and Education at Carleton University.
Real estate income trusts have been buying up a lot of these older properties, Pomeroy said.
Rent increases have far exceeded both inflation and Ontario rent guidelines.
“When units turn over, the landlord is not restricted to the guideline and can reset at the current market. The rents in turnover units have been increasing at close to 20 per cent,” he said.
“If they can toss out your mom or her friends who have lived there for 20 years, they can double the rent.”
Between 2011 and 2016, Canada lost 322,000 affordable housing units — about 60,000 a year. In Ottawa, there was a loss of 7,717 units, Pomeroy said.
Over that five years, under cityrun affordable housing programs, Ottawa added 1,033 new units, he said. For every new unit added, seven existing units were lost. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Ottawa stood at $1,517 in 2020, compared to $1,410 in 2019 and $1,301 in 2018.
The National Housing Strategy aims to create 160,000 total affordable units across Canada. But, considering the rate at which units are disappearing, “we're running backwards on the treadmill.”
Pomeroy would like to see three responses discussed by candidates. The first is to provide funding for non-profits to purchase existing rentals and compete against landlords.
The second is to review CMHC mortgage insurance policies that help landlords access lower loan rates to buy existing affordable properties.
The third would be to apply rent guidelines to all properties, including those that are turning over. It would be a controversial move, Pomeroy admits. “The industry will go ballistic and claim this will stall new rental investment.”