A break for rentals
Almost half of Toronto households rent instead of own their home but construction of purpose-built apartments to serve this burgeoning market is close to non-existent. Excluding replacement of what’s torn down, Toronto has seen no more than 150 apartment units built each year since 2010. That’s a shockingly low number for a city of 2.8 million that is increasing by almost 40,000 people a year.
Not everyone can or wants to own a house. A strong rental component is part of a healthy mix of urban residential dwellings, especially to serve students and new graduates, seniors, low-income families, people relocating for work and recent immigrants. And it’s encouraging that Toronto’s executive committee is at least considering giving developers a break if they build rental units instead of condos.
A rental housing crisis has been averted mainly because booming condominium construction has created a strong secondary rental market, with people who bought condos as an investment making their property available to tenants. But that’s a poor substitute for purpose-built rental housing.
Families have a hard time squeezing into the shoebox dimensions of many newly built condo units. And such rentals tend to be more expensive. A well-researched report released this summer by affordable housing advocates found the average one-bedroom condo in Greater Toronto rents for about $1,430 a month — 43 per cent higher than a purpose-built one-bedroom rental apartment.
Finally, there’s less security for tenants renting a condo, since they can readily be turfed out when owners decide to sell their investment.
A substantial segment of Toronto’s population is ill-served by being pushed into this kind of accommodation. And the answer is to supply more purpose-built rentals.
Toronto’s executive committee has taken a modest step toward doing just that by setting up a working group of city staff and industry representatives to explore giving rental-unit builders a deal. As reported by the Star’s Paul Moloney, it’s proposed that creators of purpose-built rental housing be allowed to delay payment of development charges until after their units are completed and, presumably, generating money.
That’s well and good, but it seems a shame to limit the working group to studying this measure alone. Its members should be encouraged to think about other ways to stimulate construction of rental apartments. The city’s housing stock requires a better balance. Condos aren’t a cure-all for Toronto’s residential needs.
Families have a hard time squeezing into the shoebox dimensions of new condo units