The Numbers
Between the 2011 and 2021 Census, Canada lost 553,000 housing units that rented for less than $750. Rent of $750 is affordable is you earn $30,000 or more.
In the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area that includes Burlington and Grimsby, we lost almost 16,000 of those units. See https://chec-ccrl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Updated-Analysis-on-Housing-Erosion-from-2021-Census-Steve-Pomeroy.pdf Hamilton’s goal is to build 300 new units affordable at that level and we’ve never hit that goal—a goal that is a tiny fraction of what we are losing.
What it means in human terms. Long-time renters, many of them seniors, are among those at risk of eviction
An older man in the Hamilton area is at risk of losing the home he has rented for 21 years. His property owner is selling. He will have nowhere he can afford to move. And his sad story is a common one. https://theconversation.com/amp/long-term-renters-evicted-during-housing-boom-face-homelessness-191316