People in Ontario are finding it tougher to find affordable housing these days.
County council received a report from its social services committee on Jan. 26 that shows more people in Ontario are finding housing out of their financial reach.
Director of housing Heather Burke said in her report to the county’s social services committee last month that waiting lists are long and have grown. At the beginning of 2011, there were 152,077 households on the waiting lists for financially assisted housing across Ontario. That number increased by 17.7% since 2009.
“Housing affordability is increasingly out of reach for many low and modest income Ontarians, and new data indicate the gap between homeowners and tenants incomes is growing wider,” Burke said in the report.
For example:
– tenants’ incomes are falling behind rent increases. Between 1990 and 2008, the median tenant household income increased by 26.3%, well below the rate of inflation of 44%, and the average rent increase was 61.4% for one bedroom apartments and 54.9% for two bedroom apartments;
– 20% of tenants spend 50% of their income on rent. Paying such a high proportion of income on rent means those households may have to forego other necessities including food, and are considered at risk of homelessness. Lone parent families (24%) and singles (26%) had high incidents of paying 50% or more of their income on rent; and
– energy costs add to the shelter burden. Lower income tenants find it increasingly challenging to pay for their rent and the rising utility bills (electricity, water and gas).
Burke noted vacancy rates have also tightened considerably in Ontario, particularly in larger urban centres.
And, she said, affordable housing remains a small fraction of what is required to meet housing need (estimated at 10,000 new units per year across the province over the next decade).
Burke pointed out single family homes and condominiums account for the majority of Ontario’s housing production, and less than seven per cent of all housing starts in Ontario were rental housing units.
Burke said the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association suggests “There is a desperate need for increased affordable housing supply.”
It also suggested that federal and provincial governments need to commit to a long term fundamental role that affordable housing must play as a foundation in successful anti-poverty initiatives.
The association also suggested affordable housing policies and programs need to be brought back to the top rung of government priorities.
The provincial government has been making overtures along those lines. It has money left over from some projects and has written to service providers such as Wellington County telling those providers of cash availability.
The county is applying for that money. Guelph had asked the county to apply for some cash for social housing in a partnership with a private enterprise, but Warden Chris White said in an interview after the meeting on Jan. 26 the city decided it could not afford its financial commitment for that housing.
One project the county is considering is phase two of Fergusson Place on Gordon Street in Fergus. It would be another 55-unit building that is a partner to the one opened there are few years ago for just under $10 million. The county has money in reserves for the project and White said it will proceed if the provincial grant is approved.
The county has also submitted a $5.4-million plan to the province for funding of three capital options. Those include $743,000 for small, new renal home ownership and Ontario renovates grants and two operating options for $4.67 million over ten years for rent supplement and housing allowance to help people who suddenly are unable to meeting rent costs.
