Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force Coordinator Jill Umbach says the provincial government’s approach to Bill 23 is not taking into consideration the impacts on rental housing.
On Oct. 25 the province introduced Bill 23, otherwise known as the More Homes Built Faster Act, which aims to build 1.5 million homes over the next decade in response to the lack of current housing stock.
“They are really pushing to have more houses built is the bottom line, but how we get there is where the challenge is,” says Umbach. “Where people are feeling that the government’s strategy to build more houses isn’t taking into consideration a wide range factors. Everything from building into the greenbelt, and lack of protection from wetlands, versus the impacts some of the measures will have on rental housing.”
Umbach says one of the things that would happen under the bill, is give more power to cancel rental housing protection.
“Right now we have protections on programs that if a rent is set at an affordable level, it will remain that at an affordable price, that means it is not the market rent, a rate that’s lower than the market rate” says Umbach.
She adds they were able to calculate the 2016 market rent for the region based on the living wage report released by the United Way.
She says the average market price for a one, two and three bedroom in the region starts at about $2,500.
“Somebody on a minimum wage who is making less than $30,000, would struggle to pay all of their shelter costs, their utilities, plus everything else,” says Umbach.
Umbach says the bill would be an issue for the region, as areas like Owen Sound has the largest rental market for the region, making up 40 per cent.
“We already know that it is extremely difficult for renters to afford the current rate, and so other than social housing, we really would be looking at a large private market out of the reach of people,” she says.
Umbach adds one of the most affected demographics if Bill 23 goes forward would be families with children, as rental turnovers would result in higher rent rates. The same would also occur with redeveloped apartment units, as they would no longer need to be affordable under the bill.
“I think there is a lot of people that are currently in areas where the developers are coming in, there is no obligation for them under this new bill to retain those affordable units,” says Umbach.
Umbach clarifies the task force is not against the bill as there is a need to build upon the housing stock. The task force is instead advocating for a slow down and deeper dialogue around the bill’s various aspects.
“We do believe strongly that climate change is a factor, that building into the wetlands, building up the floodplains are going to impact the stability of our lives and our well-being. We do believe there is a need to consider one of the dynamics happening at the local level that is going to protect some of the rental stock, and we definitely do need something going forward that is going to benefit renters,” says Umbach.
She says what would benefit renters is to talk about the incentives around constructing affordable rental housing. She adds the region is seeing developers come in who are not necessarily offering affordable housing, but more market rate.
“Which is fine for a profit, but it isn’t something that’s going to be able to meet the needs of people who, quite frankly, will not be able to afford it if they are on a fixed income or they have got a minimum wage job,” says Umbach.
The bill has been receiving push back from a number of cities and municipalities across Ontario.
The bill was passed on Monday but has yet to receive royal assent.