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Canada is facing a housing crisis. Could it take a page from Europe?

Allan

Allan

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As home prices have skyrocketed due to a shortage rents have also become unaffordable in Canada.

Some European countries have dealt with their own problems with solutions that could work here.

While Europe struggles with similar trends to Canada of rising rents and skyrocketing home prices, experts say social housing models like Austria's are among the best defence against a growing affordability crisis — and are begging governments to continue investing aggressively in such programs.

Could something similar ever come to Canada? It may seem far-fetched, but housing experts across Europe say it's made possible thanks to a few relatively simple interventions.
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Loulit01 said:
"Rent capped at 25% of income."

That's close to what I was told most of my life: Your rent should equal one week's salary."
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The side effects of that: better quality of life and more discretionary income supporting the economy.
 
Loulit01 said:
"Rent capped at 25% of income."

That's close to what I was told most of my life: Your rent should equal one week's salary."
Click to expand...

Our household income is just under $40K/year, thus our rent (under that program) would be about $833/month (I assume utilities are additional). We currently own our (952 sq. ft., 2BR, 2BA) manufactured (mobile) home and rent the 1/2 acre lot it sits on for $600/month.
 
Just make being homeless illegal. MCGA!

/s
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Our household income is just under $40K/year, thus our rent (under that program) would be about $833/month (I assume utilities are additional). We currently own our (952 sq. ft., 2BR, 2BA) manufactured (mobile) home and rent the 1/2 acre lot it sits on for $600/month.
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Keep in mind that's the maximum, not what you will necessarily pay.

For most Canadians living in cities, even this cap will be a considerable reduction in their current rental expense; consider Toronto for example where average rents exceed average incomes (i.e. lots of people are renting rooms, and have roommates to get by): https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-...nto-resident-spends-100-per-cent-income-rent/

As of 2024, rent affordability has only gotten worse: https://rentpanda.ca/january-2024-canadian-monthly-rental-report/
 
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ttwtt78640 said:
Our household income is just under $40K/year, thus our rent (under that program) would be about $833/month (I assume utilities are additional). We currently own our (952 sq. ft., 2BR, 2BA) manufactured (mobile) home and rent the 1/2 acre lot it sits on for $600/month.
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How long have you owned it? And what percent was your down payment?
 
Surrealistik said:
Keep in mind that's the maximum, not what you will necessarily pay.
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Since the housing is subsidized then why wouldn’t they charge the full 25% of one’s (household) income for rent?

Surrealistik said:
For most Canadians living in cities, even this cap will be a considerable reduction in their current rental expense.
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I could see that being a practical housing alternative for those who live in major urban centers. The problem with renting is that one never reaches the point where they live in a paid for home. We also have a 12’ x 20’ shed, 2 dog pens and parking for our tow vehicle & two work trailers.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Since the housing is subsidized then why wouldn’t they charge the full 25% of one’s (household) income for rent?



I could see that being a practical housing alternative for those who live in major urban centers. The problem with renting is that one never reaches the point where they live in a paid for home. We also have a 12’ x 20’ shed, 2 dog pens and parking for our tow vehicle & two work trailers.
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If you pay one week's salary for rent, you can save for owning a home. Or you could before the housing shortage.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Since the housing is subsidized then why wouldn’t they charge the full 25% of one’s (household) income for rent?
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As with many programs like this, it would likely vary with the total income of the individual and how valuable the location of the housing is (for example, a major city like Toronto vs a smaller one like London).

ttwtt78640 said:
I could see that being a practical housing alternative for those who live in major urban centers. The problem with renting is that one never reaches the point where they live in a paid for home. We also have a 12’ x 20’ shed, 2 dog pens and parking for our tow vehicle & two work trailers.
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Honestly, even secondary and tertiary Canadian cities have income/rent ratios well in excess of the recommended 25-30%; such a program is badly and objectively needed by most of Canada's population.
 
Canada has a huge surplus of land and lumber. Nothing stopping them from building more homes.
 
dmpi said:
Canada has a huge surplus of land and lumber. Nothing stopping them from building more homes.
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Hmm…

In Canada, approximately 81.86% of the population lives in urban areas. This means that the majority of Canadians reside in cities and towns, making Canada one of the most urbanized countries in the world, according to Statista. The urban population has been steadily increasing over time, with a notable rise in recent years, according to IBISWorld.
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*quote ^^^^ from Google’s AI Overview*
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Hmm…



*quote ^^^^ from Google’s AI Overview*
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There's this concept of 'Suburbs' and geographically expanding a city. Any issue they have have with housing is self-inflected.
 
dmpi said:
There's this concept of 'Suburbs' and geographically expanding a city. Any issue they have have with housing is self-inflected.
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It’s often a matter of how much commuting (unpaid ‘windshield time’) folks are willing to put up with in order to live further away from a major urban area (where they work). Many also like the perk of having public transportation available.
 
Loulit01 said:
"Rent capped at 25% of income."

That's close to what I was told most of my life: Your rent should equal one week's salary."
Click to expand...
Loulit01:

That went out the door long ago, decades in fact. Today institutional renting (lessor) companies are using AI to determine the highest rents which can be charged in each major urban market and to indirectly collude in maintaining and increasing those rents. This is predation and this indirect collusion should be stopped by both provincial and Federal legislation.


www.ctvnews.ca

Competition Bureau says it's probing whether landlords are using AI to set rents

The Competition Bureau has confirmed it’s investigating the possible use of AI-driven algorithmic pricing in Canadian real estate rental markets.
www.ctvnews.ca www.ctvnews.ca

www.reminetwork.com

Algorithmic rent-setting under scrutiny - REMI Network

The ongoing legal storm around the AI-driven rent-setting software YieldStar could result in the widespread ban of these tools in Canada.
www.reminetwork.com www.reminetwork.com

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.
 
Evilroddy said:
Loulit01:

That went out the door long ago, decades in fact. Today institutional renting (lessor) companies are using AI to determine the highest rents which can be charged in each major urban market and to indirectly collude in maintaining and increasing those rents. This is predation and this indirect collusion should be stopped by both provincial and Federal legislation.


www.ctvnews.ca

Competition Bureau says it's probing whether landlords are using AI to set rents

The Competition Bureau has confirmed it’s investigating the possible use of AI-driven algorithmic pricing in Canadian real estate rental markets.
www.ctvnews.ca www.ctvnews.ca

www.reminetwork.com

Algorithmic rent-setting under scrutiny - REMI Network

The ongoing legal storm around the AI-driven rent-setting software YieldStar could result in the widespread ban of these tools in Canada.
www.reminetwork.com www.reminetwork.com

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.
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And now we have a housing crises. That's progress.
 
I own a corner lot at the intersection of two streets. Out of 44 houses on these two short, intersecting streets, only 10 houses have the owners still living in them as permanent residents. The rest are owned by absentee landlords who charge obscene rents to university students and visiting professors and the absentee landlords make a killing. They are charging about $1,000.00 minimum per bed/student per month for eight months a year and packing in four to eight students per house. That's $4,000.00 to $8,000.00 per house per month or $32,000 - $64,000 for eight months of rent. Then in the off-season they charge even higher rates for holiday and university summer term renters Often these landlords do not maintain these houses well. Ten years ago owner-residents made up over 50% of residents and in 1989 when I bought here, it was well over 80% owner occupied.

It's disgusting in a time when affordable housing is in such short supply.

Be well and be safe.
Evilroddy.
 
Loulit01 said:
And now we have a housing crises. That's progress.
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Loulit01:

In part, the crisis is intentional, as large scale developers refuse to build substantial stocks of affordable housing and refuse to cooperate with provincial and municipal governments in offering low rent apartments and homes. That's not the whole story but it is a major contributor to the problem.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.
 
Evilroddy said:
Loulit01:

In part, the crisis is intentional, as large scale developers refuse to build substantial stocks of affordable housing and refuse to cooperate with provincial and municipal governments in offering low rent apartments and homes. That's not the whole story but it is a major contributor to the problem.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.
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In Vancouver the problem was exacerbated by foreign investors. 500 square foot condos were selling for 750k to people who would rent them out instead of living in them.

The developers were absolutely evil. Condo buyers would pre purchase and when they took possession and got their first strata charge they'd find charges for leased equipment like mail box units and even elevators.
 
Allan said:
In Vancouver the problem was exacerbated by foreign investors. 500 square foot condos were selling for 750k to people who would rent them out instead of living in them.

The developers were absolutely evil. Condo buyers would pre purchase and when they took possession and got their first strata charge they'd find charges for leased equipment like mail box units and even elevators.
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Worse than that; there was even a sizable contingent of absentee Asian owners who bought and didn't even attempt to rent them out. They were just speculating on the meteoric rise of condo values in Vancouver after Hong Kong ceded back to China. Those properties sat vacant for years while the prices went up with no one gaining any equity in Canada at all.
 
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