Affordable Housing

Once again, the Ontario government has produced a provincial budget that will do little to tackle the crisis of unaffordable housing in this province. The budget will see spending for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing drop from the $2.14 billion estimated for 2025-26 to $1.79 billion for the coming year. That’s a 16 … Read more

The federal and Ontario governments committed this week to reduce taxes and development fees on newly-constructed homes. Sadly, these sizable investments don’t include any help targeted at the millions of Canadian households most affected by the affordability crisis.  The governments have chosen measures aimed at lowering the cost of building and buying newly built homes, … Read more

You are invited to fill out a survey about your experience. ACORN Hamilton is conducting a survey of tenants in Hamilton to learn about their experiences with rent increases, the city housing emergency fund and landlord applications for rent increases above the annual provincial guidelines. The survey data will help ACORN plan for its next … Read more

Maclean’s magazine has a really interesting article this week on what it’s like to be a renter today—and about a third of Canadian households (34.3 per cent in Hamilton) rent their homes. From cockroaches to high rents and a constant search for a stable affordable apartment, with all the stress involved, today’s renters are forced … Read more

Denise Browne almost faced eviction after police removed her husband for domestic violence from the unit they had rented and lived in for 13 years. When he was removed by police, he gave the landlord notice to end his responsibility for rent payments but didn’t intend to force his wife to leave. Unfortunately, only his … Read more