tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/housing-insecurity-34031/articlesHousing insecurity – The Conversation2023-09-27T12:23:12Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2133092023-09-27T12:23:12Z2023-09-27T12:23:12ZPhiladelphia undercounts students who are homeless – here’s what parents need to know to advocate for their child<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550461/original/file-20230926-27-j1f2e6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Philly schools counted 4,675 homeless children in the 2021-22 school year – but the numbers are likely higher.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/two-friends-walking-in-new-york-at-the-village-royalty-free-image/1457991066">Leo Patrizi/E+ Collection/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For thousands of Philadelphia kids, the return to school this fall was made more difficult because they don’t have a secure place to call home.</p>
<p>During the 2021-2022 school year, the most recent data available, the School District of Philadelphia identified <a href="https://www.philasd.org/research/wp-content/uploads/sites/90/2023/02/Education-of-Children-and-Youth-Experience-Homelessness-Analysis-of-2021-22-Data-February-2023.pdf">4,675 children</a> as homeless. </p>
<p>Counting students was difficult during the COVID pandemic, making year-over-year comparisons difficult, but the most recent numbers are up 9.7% compared to <a href="https://www.philasd.org/research/wp-content/uploads/sites/90/2023/02/Education-of-Children-and-Youth-Experience-Homelessness-Analysis-of-2021-22-Data-February-2023.pdf">the 2018-2019 school year</a>, when the count was 4,261. </p>
<p>In Pennsylvania, <a href="https://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/Homeless%20Education/Pages/20212022CountsbyCounty.aspx">the 2021-2022 count was 41,126</a>, <a href="https://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/Homeless%20Education/Pages/20202021ECYEHCountsbyCounty.aspx">up nearly 24%</a> from the year before.</p>
<p>Research suggests the actual numbers are even higher. Pennsylvania lags other states in identifying youth who are homeless, and data collected for the 2018-2019 school year suggests Philadelphia in particular <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED611597.pdf">underreports</a>. This is particularly true for students who attend charter schools. </p>
<p>Schools struggle to identify students who are homeless for a variety of reasons, as a <a href="https://detroitpeer.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/HomelessIdentificationJuneFinal.pdf">recent study in Detroit</a> makes clear. The study highlights parent and guardian lack of awareness about resources available, limited trust from parents in sharing their housing circumstances and insufficient support from schools when parents do share this information. </p>
<p>As a professor of counseling <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jb6uAUkAAAAJ&hl=en">who researches homelessness</a>, and a former school counselor who has examined the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916668954">challenges educators face</a> in supporting homeless youth, I know it is critical that parents and guardians understand their children’s rights at school to ensure their kids get the support they need.</p>
<h2>Know your rights</h2>
<p>Living on the streets is only one of many ways kids experience housing loss. </p>
<p>In Pennsylvania, <a href="https://www.education.pa.gov/Documents/K-12/Homeless%20Education/Reports/2020-21%20ECYEH%20State%20Evaluation%20Report.pdf">65% of students experiencing homelessness</a> live in doubled-up situations – sharing housing temporarily with other people. This includes living in cramped apartments with other families, or regularly moving between friends’ or relatives’ houses. About 22% live in shelters or transitional housing. Others live in hotels or motels, and about 2% are unsheltered.</p>
<p>Given this complexity, some families may not understand <a href="http://doi.org/10.5330/1096-2409-21.1.47">they qualify</a> for resources available to the homeless. Educators may also be unsure.</p>
<p>When students without stable housing are not properly identified, they miss out on support under the <a href="https://nche.ed.gov/legislation/mckinney-vento/">McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act</a>, a federal law that is designed to provide protection and assistance for students experiencing homelessness who attend public schools, and <a href="https://www.education.pa.gov/Policy-Funding/BECS/uscode/Pages/EducationforHomelessYouth.aspx">Pennsylvania’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth State plan</a>. </p>
<p>These services are designed to <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/programs/homeless/legislation.html">remove barriers to their enrollment, attendance and success</a> in school. </p>
<p>For example, students who are identified as homeless can enroll in schools even when they lack immediate access to paperwork such as educational records, immunization records and proof of residency within the school district. They can receive free transportation to and from their current school even if they move out of the district. They can also receive support from a <a href="https://homeless.center-school.org/more-about-homeless-liaisons/">“homeless liaison,”</a> a person who ensures the school is meeting the McKinney-Vento requirements, and they qualify for free <a href="https://nche.ed.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/identification.pdf">school breakfast and lunch</a>. </p>
<p>The Philadelphia school district has an <a href="https://www.philasd.org/studentrights/#homeless">Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities</a> specifically designed to help students understand their rights, including supporting students experiencing homelessness. Homeless liaisons and other staff work with the office to identify students. According to its website, the office provides tutoring, supports student enrollment and transfers, offers school supplies and uniforms, and hosts a teen program with an array of services, including college preparation. </p>
<h2>What parents can do</h2>
<p>Facing housing insecurity is stressful for parents, guardians and kids. To increase the likelihood for a successful school year, parents can take these steps:</p>
<p><strong>1. Learn your child’s rights:</strong> Parents can ensure their children are getting the services and supports they are afforded under McKinney-Vento, such as transportation to their current school if they move temporarily out of the district. Reviewing these <a href="https://nche.ed.gov/parent-resources/">parent resources</a> is a good place to start.</p>
<p><strong>2. Contact the school’s homeless liaison:</strong> It’s important for parents to inform the school’s liaison of their family’s housing status and if they have moved. Liaisons can provide information about what happens next and what resources are available. This <a href="https://ecyeh.center-school.org/about/homeless-liaisons/">directory lists all of the liaisons</a> in Pennsylvania.</p>
<p><strong>3. Decide who else should know:</strong> Liaisons will keep information about students’ housing status confidential unless parents want them to inform the child’s teachers or other school personnel. Sharing that information can be helpful. For instance, if inconsistent housing will impact the child’s ability to complete homework or attend school regularly, their teachers can, for example, support the child by being more flexible with deadlines. </p>
<p><strong>4. Connect with the school counselor and social worker:</strong> These are trusted adults within the school system who are trained to provide families with the support they need in a safe and confidential space. They can connect parents and students with the homeless liaison and resources within the school and in the community. </p>
<p><strong>5. Request electronic records:</strong> Parents should try to save all emails that contain educational records from any school their child attended each year. Should housing circumstances lead families to move quickly, these records will be easy to transfer to the new school. While previous schools should eventually transfer records, having a record of grades and coursework helps ensure that a student is placed in the appropriate courses as soon as they start at a new school.</p>
<p><strong>6. Notify the school of any move:</strong> If families need to move outside of their current school district, they should notify their child’s school as soon as possible. Students may be able to continue at their current school despite their new address. Research shows that feeling connected to friend groups as well as teachers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085919877928">improves high school graduation rates</a>. Maintaining these relationships over time can benefit students experiencing homelessness.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213309/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stacey Havlik consults to the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) as a member of their Higher Education Committee. She is affiliated with NAEHCY. </span></em></p>A professor of counseling who researches homelessness offers tips so parents can make sure their child gets the school support and accommodations they are entitled to.Stacey Havlik, Associate Professor of Education and Counseling, Villanova UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2092372023-08-10T02:20:28Z2023-08-10T02:20:28ZAgeing in a housing crisis: growing numbers of older Australians are facing a bleak future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541828/original/file-20230808-30403-q9ved7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C7360%2C4891&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image courtesy of the Housing for the Aged Action Group</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The collision between an ageing population and a housing crisis has left more older people in Australia enduring housing insecurity and homelessness. Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.26185/87bq-4190">research</a>, released today, explores how the scale of these problems among older people has grown over the past decade. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.26185/87bq-4190">Our report</a>, Ageing in a Housing Crisis, shows safe, secure and affordable housing is increasingly beyond the reach of older people. This growing housing insecurity is system-wide. It’s affecting hundreds of thousands of people across all tenures, including home owners and renters. </p>
<p>The federal government released Australia’s first national wellbeing framework,
<a href="https://treasury.gov.au/policy-topics/measuring-what-matters">Measuring What Matters</a> last month. It recognises “financial security and access to housing” as essential for a secure, inclusive and fair society. However, urgent policy action is needed to reshape the Australian housing system so all older people have secure, affordable housing. </p>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.26185/87bq-4190">Authors & Housing for the Aged Action Group</a></span>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/weve-all-done-the-right-things-in-under-cover-older-women-tell-their-stories-of-becoming-homeless-188356">'We've all done the right things': in Under Cover, older women tell their stories of becoming homeless</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Older people are increasingly at risk</h2>
<p>We analysed the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/tags/2021-census-articles">census data</a> and <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/estimating-homelessness-census/latest-release">homelessness estimates</a>. More older people lived in <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/census/guide-census-data/census-dictionary/2021/variables-topic/housing/homelessness-operational-groups-opgp">marginal housing</a> – defined by the ABS as including crowding (less severe), improvised dwellings and caravans – and more were homeless in 2021 than a decade earlier. </p>
<h3>Older people experiencing homelessness by gender and category in 2011, 2016 and 2021</h3>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541594/original/file-20230808-17-p5ddl5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541594/original/file-20230808-17-p5ddl5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541594/original/file-20230808-17-p5ddl5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541594/original/file-20230808-17-p5ddl5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541594/original/file-20230808-17-p5ddl5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541594/original/file-20230808-17-p5ddl5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541594/original/file-20230808-17-p5ddl5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541594/original/file-20230808-17-p5ddl5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541670/original/file-20230808-24-9qgvng.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic showing increasing proportion of older people living in private rental housing" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541670/original/file-20230808-24-9qgvng.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541670/original/file-20230808-24-9qgvng.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541670/original/file-20230808-24-9qgvng.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541670/original/file-20230808-24-9qgvng.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541670/original/file-20230808-24-9qgvng.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541670/original/file-20230808-24-9qgvng.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541670/original/file-20230808-24-9qgvng.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.26185/87bq-4190">Authors & Housing for the Aged Action Group. (Click on graphics to enlarge.)</a></span>
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<p>The proportion of older people in private rental housing has also increased. This means more older people are exposed to the <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters">insecurity of renting</a> and <a href="https://news.anz.com/posts/2023/05/anz-news-corelogic-housing-affordability-report-2023?pid=bln-link-td-bln-03-23-tsk-corelogic-har23">rising rents</a>. Our work shows they are struggling to afford private rental housing.</p>
<p>The lowest-income households are the hardest hit. The private rental market is <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/publications/2023-rental-affordability-snapshot/">failing to supply</a> housing they can afford. The shortfall in subsidised social housing is huge. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-soul-destroying-how-people-on-a-housing-wait-list-of-175-000-describe-their-years-of-waiting-210705">'It's soul-destroying': how people on a housing wait list of 175,000 describe their years of waiting</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Older people who receive government benefits and allowances are at most risk because their incomes are not keeping up with housing costs. </p>
<p>In 2019-20 only 19% of older people on very low incomes (the lowest 20% of household incomes) lived in households whose rent was affordable. This means four out of five were spending more than 30% of their income on rent (the affordability benchmark for low-income households). Two in five were paying severely unaffordable rents – more than 50% of their income.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541659/original/file-20230808-23-rzkgxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic showing 73% increase in the total number of older private renters in a decade" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541659/original/file-20230808-23-rzkgxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541659/original/file-20230808-23-rzkgxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=626&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541659/original/file-20230808-23-rzkgxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=626&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541659/original/file-20230808-23-rzkgxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=626&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541659/original/file-20230808-23-rzkgxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=787&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541659/original/file-20230808-23-rzkgxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=787&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541659/original/file-20230808-23-rzkgxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=787&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.26185/87bq-4190">Authors & Housing for the Aged Action Group</a></span>
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<p>For older people who don’t own their homes, rising housing prices create <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/373">financial risk rather than windfall</a>. At the same time, more older people have mortgages. This increases their risk of housing insecurity or financial stress in retirement. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fall-in-ageing-australians-home-ownership-rates-looms-as-seismic-shock-for-housing-policy-120651">Fall in ageing Australians' home-ownership rates looms as seismic shock for housing policy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Ageing magnifies unaffordable housing impacts</h2>
<p>Rising housing costs, falling home ownership rates, mortgage debt carried into retirement, insecure private rental tenures and the worsening shortage of social housing are markers of system-wide housing insecurity. </p>
<p>Insecure or marginal housing affects all generations. However, for older people the risks are made worse by limited income-earning ability, increasing frailty, illness and/or caring responsibilities, growing need for at-home support, and age-based discrimination. These factors make it even harder to meet rising housing costs. </p>
<p>Housing insecurity widens the gap between the housing older people have and the housing they need to live safe, secure and dignified lives as they age. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541665/original/file-20230808-21-l54cpd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic showing breakdown of 270,000 older people who are homeless, marginally housed or renting a home they can't afford" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541665/original/file-20230808-21-l54cpd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541665/original/file-20230808-21-l54cpd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541665/original/file-20230808-21-l54cpd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541665/original/file-20230808-21-l54cpd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541665/original/file-20230808-21-l54cpd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541665/original/file-20230808-21-l54cpd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541665/original/file-20230808-21-l54cpd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.26185/87bq-4190">Authors & Housing for the Aged Action Group</a></span>
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<h2>System-wide risks demand system-wide action</h2>
<p>Growing housing insecurity among older people is a result of system-wide problems. This means system-wide solutions are needed. </p>
<p>We call for: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>adequate social housing supply that reflects population growth and ensures it’s available for older people across all states and territories, including by increasing aged-specific options and reducing the age at which social housing applicants are given priority to 45-55 </p></li>
<li><p>stronger national <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-5-key-tenancy-reforms-are-affecting-renters-and-landlords-around-australia-187779">tenancy regulations</a> that prioritise homes over profit </p></li>
<li><p>dedicated marginal and specialist homelessness services that are well designed with and for older people who have experienced housing insecurity and support systems </p></li>
<li><p>support for people to remain in their own homes, across all tenures. </p></li>
</ul>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-5-key-tenancy-reforms-are-affecting-renters-and-landlords-around-australia-187779">How 5 key tenancy reforms are affecting renters and landlords around Australia</a>
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<p>Responses and assistance models must allow for gender diversity, income difference, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people’s cultural needs, as well as those of other culturally and linguistically diverse older people. Disability, caring responsibilities, history of trauma, and individuals’ unique housing pathways and experiences must all be considered. </p>
<p>Older people must have a say in reshaping the housing system. The Albanese government is developing a <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support-programs-services-housing/developing-the-national-housing-and-homelessness-plan">National Housing and Homelessness Plan</a>. It’s essential that this plan, along with state, territory and local government implementation plans, consider the voices, experiences, concerns and aspirations of older people. </p>
<h2>Housing reform is good for everyone</h2>
<p>Older people are only one part of the population facing housing insecurity and homelessness. A comprehensive national housing plan must respond to all generational needs. Housing solutions for older people must not come at the expense of – or compete with – the needs of other generations. </p>
<p>Housing insecurity and homelessness in childhood, younger years and early adult life all warrant meaningful and urgent housing solutions. Making sure all people have lifelong access to secure housing will begin to reverse the growing problems identified by our report. Otherwise, Australia faces a future where more and more older people struggle with inadequate and unaffordable housing. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/efforts-to-find-safe-housing-for-homeless-youth-have-gone-backwards-heres-what-the-new-national-plan-must-do-differently-210704">Efforts to find safe housing for homeless youth have gone backwards. Here's what the new national plan must do differently</a>
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<p>National reform that includes a focus on generational needs can deliver a housing system that provides affordable homes for everyone. This will ensure everyone is able to maintain community connections, which for older people means being able to age in safe, secure and affordable homes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209237/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Power receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Housing for the Aged Action Group. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amity James receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Housing for the Aged Action Group.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Francesca Perugia receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Housing for the Aged Action Group.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margaret Reynolds receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Housing for the Aged Action Group</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Piret Veeroja receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, the Housing for the Aged Action Group and Kids Under Cover.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Stone receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, the Housing for the Aged Action Group and Kids Under Cover. </span></em></p>An ageing population is caught in a perfect storm of rising house prices and rents, falling home ownership rates, mortgage debt carried into retirement, insecure rentals and a lack of social housing.Emma Power, Associate Professor, Geography and Urban Studies, Western Sydney UniversityAmity James, Associate Professor and Discipline Lead Property, Curtin UniversityFrancesca Perugia, Senior Lecturer, School of Design and the Built Environment, Curtin UniversityMargaret Reynolds, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyPiret Veeroja, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyWendy Stone, Professor of Housing & Social Policy, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2009082023-03-22T19:42:37Z2023-03-22T19:42:37ZYes, the 1.5 million Australians getting rent assistance need an increase, but more public housing is the lasting fix for the crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514083/original/file-20230307-20-qfgkut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=301%2C0%2C2933%2C1960&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image: David Kelly</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia is in the grip of a housing crisis, with low-income households hit hardest by <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-11/australian-rental-vacancy-rates-lowest-since-before-pandemic/102079318">rising rents and falling vacancy rates</a>.</p>
<p>Social housing tenants were insulated from the <a href="https://www.corelogic.com.au/news-research/reports/quarterly-rental-review">10.2% jump in advertised private rental prices</a> in 2022. However, the proportion of people in social housing (an umbrella term covering <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/brief/what-difference-between-social-housing-and-affordable-housing-and-why-do-they-matter">public and community housing</a>) fell by a fifth, from 4.6% to 3.7%, over the past decade. The Productivity Commission <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2023/housing-and-homelessness/housing">reports</a> social housing waiting lists grew by over 17% in just three years, from 148,520 in 2019 to 174,624 in 2022. </p>
<p>The Albanese government has tabled a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/HousingPackageofBills">legislative package</a> to address the housing crisis. The flagship $10 billion <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/senate-crossbench-demanding-more-homes-to-pass-10b-housing-fund-20230222-p5cmrt.html">Housing Australia Future Fund</a> is intended to help pay for 30,000 social and affordable housing units to be built in its first five years. That’s far less than the <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/brief/what-difference-between-social-housing-and-affordable-housing-and-why-do-they-matter">estimated 216,000-dwelling gap</a> between the level of need for social housing and the current supply.</p>
<p>In the lead-up to the federal budget in May, advocates are pushing for other measures to provide faster relief for low-income households in housing stress. At the forefront are <a href="https://everybodyshome.com.au/new-data-shows-that-its-time-to-fix-rent-assistance/">calls</a> to increase <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support/programmes-services/commonwealth-rent-assistance">Commonwealth Rent Assistance</a> (CRA). Some academics have made the case for <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rent-crisis-is-set-to-spread-heres-the-case-for-doubling-rent-assistance-196810">doubling rent assistance</a>, as have <a href="https://greens.org.au/housing">the Greens</a>.</p>
<p>However, primarily advocating for an increase in rent assistance risks prioritising short-term and partial relief over much-needed systemic change in how Australia delivers affordable housing. Social housing is a more cost-effective and lasting way of ensuring low-income households have affordable and secure housing.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rent-crisis-is-set-to-spread-heres-the-case-for-doubling-rent-assistance-196810">The rent crisis is set to spread: here's the case for doubling rent assistance</a>
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<h2>Subsidies reflect state shift away from providing housing</h2>
<p>The Commonwealth provides financial assistance to eligible individuals or families in private rentals or community housing (where rents are generally <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/brief/what-difference-between-social-housing-and-affordable-housing-and-why-do-they-matter">set below 30% of income</a>). The payment is meant to help people on low to moderate incomes meet the cost of renting a home in the private market.</p>
<p>To be <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/who-can-get-rent-assistance?context=22206">eligible for the program</a>, an individual or family must be receiving a qualifying social security payment and paying rent to a private landlord or community housing provider. The amount of rent assistance <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/how-much-rent-assistance-you-can-get?context=22206">depends on</a> their income, rent and household circumstances.</p>
<p>The program plays a similar role to rental assistance overseas. These programs include the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/housing-benefit/what-youll-get">Housing Benefit in the United Kingdom</a>, the <a href="https://www.gov.ie/en/service/fb3b13-rent-supplement/">Rent Supplement in Ireland</a> and the <a href="https://www.caf.fr/allocataires/aides-et-demarches/droits-et-prestations/logement/les-aides-personnelles-au-logement">Housing Allowance in France</a>. All provide assistance directly to people on low incomes in private rental housing. <a href="https://www.hud.gov/programdescription/cert8">Section 8 in the United States</a> and the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/housing.html">Housing Benefit in Canada</a> differ in paying a portion of low-income households’ rent directly to landlords.</p>
<p>These programs are part of a sustained trend away from governments directly providing housing and towards subsidising market participation.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-market-has-failed-to-give-australians-affordable-housing-so-dont-expect-it-to-solve-the-crisis-192177">The market has failed to give Australians affordable housing, so don't expect it to solve the crisis</a>
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<h2>Can increasing rent assistance solve housing insecurity?</h2>
<p>Commonwealth Rent Assistance cost the government <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2023/housing-and-homelessness/rogs-2023-partg-overview-and-sections.pdf">about A$4.9 billion</a> in 2021–22. Since eligibility was broadened in 1985, the amount has increased from <a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1665769466/view?partId=nla.obj-1671556748#page/n38/mode/1up">$250 million a year, paid to roughly 500,000 people</a>, to nearly $5 billion paid to roughly 1.5 million people today.</p>
<p>By comparison, the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement provides <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2023/housing-and-homelessness">$1.7 billion</a> to the state housing authorities and community housing organisations that provided <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2023/housing-and-homelessness/housing">439,386 tenancies across Australia</a> in 2022. </p>
<p>Despite rent assistance increasing over time, <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2023/housing-and-homelessness">43.9% of recipients</a> are paying more than 30% of their income in rent – the benchmark for <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/housing-affordability">housing stress</a>. So, while government CRA spending is similar to what it spends on social housing on a per-dwelling basis, rent assistance is not as effective at ensuring low-income households have access to affordable and secure housing. This indicates a need to fix the structural problems that are worsening the housing crisis.</p>
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<p>Australia’s rental housing system has issues that increases in rent assistance cannot fix. Most CRA recipients rent in the tightening private market. With so few vacancies and rents soaring, finding a new private rental is <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/publications/rental-affordability-snapshot-2022/">near-impossible</a> for low-income households. </p>
<p>Adding to their difficulties are tenancy laws that fail to offer long-term tenant security. Some states and territories have ended “no grounds” or “no fault” evictions. Even so, renters can still face housing uncertainty <a href="https://www.tenants.org.au/blog/end-fixed-term-evictions-are-unfair-no-grounds-evictions-part-2">when a lease ends</a>.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-5-key-tenancy-reforms-are-affecting-renters-and-landlords-around-australia-187779">How 5 key tenancy reforms are affecting renters and landlords around Australia</a>
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<p>Issues with housing quality in lower-cost private rentals are also widespread. In a recent <a href="https://www.acoss.org.au/media-releases/?media_release=new-report-shows-that-action-is-needed-to-protect-those-on-the-lowest-incomes-from-summer-heat">ACOSS survey</a>, 89% of Centrelink recipients said they couldn’t keep their homes cool in summer and sometimes or always felt unwell as a result. </p>
<p>Renters also often fear eviction or rent increases in response to asking for repairs. As a result, <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/housing-affordability">51% live in homes in need of repairs</a>. </p>
<p>Rent assistance also does little to reduce the <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/sites/default/files/migration/documents/AHURI_Research_Paper_Spatial-disadvantage-why-is-Australia-different.pdf">concentration of disadvantage</a> in certain areas, as shown below. Lower-income households are increasingly pushed to seek housing in cheaper areas, which have poorer access to infrastructure, services and amenities.</p>
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<h2>Lasting solution is to rebuild public housing stock</h2>
<p>A 2020 Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/sites/default/files/migration/documents/Executive-Summary-FR342-Demand-side-assistance-in-Australias-rental-housing-market-exploring-reform-option.pdf">study</a> modelled the effects of increasing the maximum rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 30%. It found this would “improve affordability outcomes” for 623,800 private renters, but at a cost of $1 billion to the federal budget. </p>
<p>No doubt a supplementary housing payment akin to rent assistance will be a useful interim measure. Expanding eligibility and a higher rate would both help struggling households. </p>
<p>However, this should be considered a temporary step towards easing housing stress. It needs to be implemented alongside long-term measures that tackle the root causes of the housing crisis. The best systemic solution is a sustained reinvestment in public housing on a scale that matches the hundreds of thousands who need it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200908/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liam Davies receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. He is a member of the Planning Institute of Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alistair Sisson has received funding from the Australian Council of Social Services, Shelter NSW, QShelter, National Shelter, Mission Australia and Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. He is a member of Shelter NSW. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Kelly receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Priya Kunjan receives funding from the Australian Research Council. They are a member of the Antipoverty Centre. </span></em></p>Rent assistance can ease rental stress, but it won’t help low-income earners find secure and affordable housing when it’s in such short supply, nor stop disadvantage being concentrated in some areas.Liam Davies, PhD Candidate, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT UniversityAlistair Sisson, Macquarie University Research Fellow, School of Social Sciences, Macquarie UniversityDavid Kelly, Vice Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, RMIT UniversityPriya Kunjan, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1987132023-02-20T13:19:59Z2023-02-20T13:19:59Z3 things the pandemic taught us about inequality in college — and why they matter today<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509519/original/file-20230210-16-k7jjvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C5800%2C2552&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Low-income college students often face financial pressures and family obligations that their instructors cannot see. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/tired-college-student-studies-late-at-night-royalty-free-image/677955278">SDI Productions/E+ Collection/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Elise, a nursing student at an elite U.S. university in the Northeast, found herself back home and sleeping on the floor of her parents’ one-bedroom apartment after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020. </p>
<p>It was tough to get a good night’s sleep as family members passed through to the kitchen or the front door. Such interruptions also made it difficult to concentrate during lectures and exams. Sometimes, limited internet bandwidth made it impossible for Elise to attend class at all. She couldn’t ask her parents to buy her a new computer to replace the one that was breaking down, she explained, because she knew they couldn’t afford it.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Elise’s classmate, Bella, a business student and the daughter of two Ivy League-educated professionals, had two empty bedrooms at her parents’ home. She used one for sleep, the other for schoolwork. Her parents had purchased “a monitor and all these other accessories to help make studying easier.”</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.elenavanstee.com/">doctoral candidate in sociology</a>, I study inequality among young adults. Elise and Bella are two of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12895">48 undergraduates I interviewed</a> to understand how college students from different socioeconomic backgrounds dealt with COVID-19 campus closings. Although all attended the same elite university, upper-middle class students like Bella often enjoyed academic and financial benefits from parents that their less affluent peers like Elise did not.</p>
<p>Just because most college students have gone back to in-person classes doesn’t mean these <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X20954263">disparities</a> have gone away. Here are three lessons from the pandemic that can help colleges better address <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13021">student inequality</a> going forward: </p>
<h2>1. The digital divide disrupts learning</h2>
<p>Elise wasn’t the only student in my study who didn’t have the learning technology she needed. “It was a solid two and a half weeks where I didn’t have a laptop,” said Shelton, a social sciences major, describing how he wrote a four-page research paper on his phone. Although Shelton had secured a laptop by the time I interviewed him in June 2020, he still didn’t have Wi-Fi in his off-campus apartment. </p>
<p>Before the pandemic, college students could typically use their school’s computer labs and internet hot spots on campus. During remote instruction, however, many had to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/us/covid-poor-college-students.html">join classes from smartphones</a> or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/technology/parking-lots-wifi-coronavirus.html">park outside stores</a> to access free Wi-Fi.</p>
<p>Although most undergraduates <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2011/07/19/college-students-and-technology/">own a cellphone and laptop</a>, the functionality of these devices and their ability to stay connected to the internet <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650218796366">are not equal</a>. </p>
<h2>2. Living conditions are learning conditions</h2>
<p>When residential universities sent undergraduates home in March 2020, some students <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/03/12/colleges-confronting-coronavirus-tell-students-move-out-many-urge-attention-needs">did not have a home they could safely return to</a>. Others, including some in my study, feared exposing parents to COVID-19 or being a financial burden. Still others had concerns about space, privacy, internet access or disruptions from family members. </p>
<p>“I didn’t even have a desk at home,” recalled Jennifer, a STEM major who stayed in a friend’s living room before moving to her grandparents’ house.</p>
<p>Even before the pandemic, students living in dormitories were in the <a href="https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=23137">minority</a>. Far more undergraduates <a href="https://robertkelchen.com/2018/05/28/a-look-at-college-students-living-arrangements/#_ftn1">live off campus</a>, many with their parents. In a fall 2019 survey, 35% of four-year college students and half of community college students reported <a href="https://agency.foodbankccs.org/agency/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/02/2019_RealCollege_Survey_Report.pdf">housing challenges</a>, which included being unable to pay rent and leaving a household because they felt unsafe.</p>
<p>The struggles of students like Jennifer call attention to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13021">socioeconomic divides</a> among students who were living off campus all along. These include inequalities in space, quiet and furniture for studying. </p>
<h2>3. Many students are family caregivers, too</h2>
<p>Finally, the pandemic increased many students’ <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7h06q880">caregiving responsibilities</a>, which sometimes limited the time they could spend on schoolwork.</p>
<p>For example, Ashley, a social sciences major, described how she shopped, cooked and managed her younger siblings’ remote schooling while her mom worked a retail job. “It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that I was [home] to help, but it definitely impaired my studies,” she told me. </p>
<p>Before the pandemic, Ashley had helped support her family financially from a distance. But her responsibilities grew when she returned home and was the only adult available to help her younger siblings. </p>
<p>Contrary to the popular idea of college as a time of self-focused exploration, recent studies describe ways that some students — often from low-income, minority or immigrant families — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X211064867">support their families</a>. These include <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/07311214221134808">sending money home</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2020.1801439">helping siblings with homework</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558418788402">assisting parents with digital technology</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798410372624">chaperoning medical appointments</a>. Such responsibilities are often invisible to university instructors and administrators.</p>
<p>Students are members of families and communities, and they enter the classroom with different resources and responsibilities. Inclusive classrooms require instructors to demonstrate awareness, empathy and flexibility around these differences.</p>
<p>But empathy won’t fix students’ laptops or pay their rent. The pandemic highlighted inequalities that are reinforced by universities designed for so-called <a href="https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=23137">“traditional” college students</a> — fresh out of high school, living on campus, financially supported by their parents, and having few caregiving responsibilities. Yet <a href="https://www.npr.org/2010/08/24/129402669/typical-college-student-no-longer-so-typical">such students are a privileged minority</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198713/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences Predoctoral Training Fellowship Program under award #3505B200035 to the University of Pennsylvania. The opinions expressed are my own and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education. I am also grateful for support from Penn’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity, Race, and Immigration and Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences Student Government.</span></em></p>The pandemic put a spotlight on inequalities among college students. But students’ resources were unequal all along.Elena G. van Stee, Doctoral candidate in sociology, University of PennsylvaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1956242022-12-22T20:01:28Z2022-12-22T20:01:28ZUniversities and colleges want to enrol more students. But where are they supposed to live?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501396/original/file-20221215-14-4mhmoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=125%2C62%2C5856%2C3062&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Universities and colleges that seek to grow their student enrolments have an obligation to address student housing. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/universities-and-colleges-want-to-enrol-more-students--but-where-are-they-supposed-to-live" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The <em>Toronto Star</em> reported recently that American real estate giant Blackstone Inc., with a global real estate portfolio worth about US$514 billion, plans to expand its Canadian operations, including via <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2022/06/29/blackstone-worlds-largest-real-estate-investor-sees-significant-opportunities-in-canadian-student-housing-multi-family-rentals-and-more.html">student housing</a>.</p>
<p>The shift from “houses as dwellings” <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-housing/financialization-housing">to pure market investment</a> is a challenge for university and college students and for cities around the world. It’s part of a larger challenge revealed in <a href="https://www.tvo.org/video/documentaries/push">the documentary <em>Push</em></a> where Leilani Farha, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, travels the globe, trying to understand who’s being pushed out of the city and why.</p>
<p>Awareness, policy and regulatory solutions <a href="https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2022/09/25/some-students-knocking-on-doors-to-find-housing-in-waterloo.html">are urgently needed</a> to improve student housing.</p>
<h2>Student solutions</h2>
<p>I teach communication courses. One is a business communication for a <a href="https://future.uwindsor.ca/master-applied-economics-policy?elqTrackId=53c0e1a7aa3a4fec9ff3a969584eb962&elq=00000000000000000000000000000000&elqaid=581&elqat=2&elqCampaignId=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItP6LutH--wIVF6jICh0qag2GEAAYASAAEgJWf_D_BwE">master of applied economics and policy</a> program and another is a general elective course for undergraduate students <a href="https://www.uwindsor.ca/fahss/1139/ways-knowing-gartsosc-2100">about well-being</a>. In both courses, students examine a current societal challenge and pitch solutions.</p>
<p>In this endeavour, students use what’s known as the <a href="https://hd-ca.org/">Human Development and Capability approach</a> — the underpinning <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/capability-approach">framework for</a> the <a href="https://hdr.undp.org/">United Nations Human Development Report</a> and <a href="https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/human-development-index#/indicies/HDI">Human Development Index</a>. </p>
<p>The approach puts <a href="https://www.idrc.ca/en/book/introduction-human-development-and-capability-approach-freedom-and-agency">people at the centre of policy decisions</a> and provides a multidimensional framework for what people are able to do and be.</p>
<p>Students rely on this framework to think about social challenges like housing as a human right and to develop solutions. </p>
<h2>Complex challenges for higher education</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/en/resources/canadian-human-rights-commission-welcomes-canadas-first-federal-housing-advocate">Canadian government</a>, the <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/policy-human-rights-and-rental-housing">Ontario government</a>, the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-housing/human-right-adequate-housing">United Nations</a>, the United Nations Declaration <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf">on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a> and the <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/infographic/2016/05/13/housing-for-all-by-2030">World Bank</a> all say housing is a human right. Yet many people lack decent housing.</p>
<p>Institutional investors, not only governments — including post-secondary institutions — have a role to play to address the housing crisis.</p>
<p>Student housing intersects with many complex challenges for higher education <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgqI7CIfwMg&t=2810s">like the increasingly complex accountability frameworks</a> that universities must navigate.</p>
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<img alt="A person seen walking down a city street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501393/original/file-20221215-23-x1e5by.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501393/original/file-20221215-23-x1e5by.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501393/original/file-20221215-23-x1e5by.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501393/original/file-20221215-23-x1e5by.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501393/original/file-20221215-23-x1e5by.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501393/original/file-20221215-23-x1e5by.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501393/original/file-20221215-23-x1e5by.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Growing student enrolment has to go hand-in-hand with growing student housing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>‘Economic citizens’</h2>
<p>The Ontario government’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373720953128">performance-based funding</a> requires universities and colleges to set and report on goals. <a href="https://higheredstrategy.com/ontarios-pbf-system-much-ado-about-nothing">Some provincial funding</a> is affected by their performance.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-reveals-the-folly-of-performance-based-funding-for-universities-138575">COVID-19 reveals the folly of performance-based funding for universities</a>
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<p>Agreements <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/all-college-and-university-strategic-mandate-agreements">between the province and higher education institutions</a> focus on students as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRZRNb_wUs4">economic citizens</a>, which means institutions identify narrow goals like feeding the labour market and increasing enrolments. </p>
<p>But the goal of growing student enrolment creates an additional challenge to the housing market. </p>
<p>Canada tripled the population of <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2022003/article/00001-eng.htm">international students between 2009 and 2021</a>. According to UNESCO, the rate of <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000266196#">internationally mobile students tripled globally between 2000 to 2019</a>. It’s now just above six million students.</p>
<p>All these factors point to the reality that <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-universities-student-housing-shortage">student housing</a> is a complex problem that requires dynamic solutions.</p>
<h2>Students pitch their solutions</h2>
<p>In my classes, students participate in active debates about housing and the <a href="https://ophi.org.uk/multidimensional-poverty-index/">global multidimensional poverty index</a>. They propose how our society could regulate accumulating wealth and establish a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt85heTDii4&feature=youtu.be">“riches line</a>” that determines <a href="https://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/case/_new/research/Riches_Line/default.asp">how much money is too much and if the government should intervene in markets and democratic processes</a>.</p>
<p>Students pitch solutions to the housing crisis. One group might suggest “Instaglam” solutions (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIb6kmokXO4">like van living</a>), or creating innovative <a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2018/01/16/opod-james-law-cybertecture-hong-kong-micro-apartments-concrete-pipes-low-cost-housing-crisis/">“micro-apartments</a>.”</p>
<p>Typically, students review philosopher Martha Nussbaum’s persuasive list of human rights (known as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYfFGDhbHUk">central capabilities</a>) to frame housing as a human right.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-campus-co-operatives-universities-could-model-new-ways-of-living-after-covid-19-139022">With campus co-operatives, universities could model new ways of living after COVID-19</a>
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<p>Economics students have suggested an investment scheme: Part of the cost of student housing becomes a tax-free savings plan for their future housing investments in the local community. Nussbaum’s central capabilities lists suggests that people should have opportunities to “hold property.” </p>
<p>Currently, universities may not track international students who graduated to know where they settled <a href="https://windsor.ctvnews.ca/uwindsor-aims-to-diversify-international-student-enrollment-following-provincial-audit-1.6183283">and whether they contribute to the local Canadian economy</a>. </p>
<p>The investment idea came to students after exploring the <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/">Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)</a> website. No international students knew about CMHC until they took my course.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People seen at a housing protest." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501394/original/file-20221215-24-dlalv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501394/original/file-20221215-24-dlalv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501394/original/file-20221215-24-dlalv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501394/original/file-20221215-24-dlalv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501394/original/file-20221215-24-dlalv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501394/original/file-20221215-24-dlalv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501394/original/file-20221215-24-dlalv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In a course dedicated to developing innovative solutions to the housing crisis, students learn about not-for-profit and supportive approaches to housing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Students also learned from guest speakers about specific issues: <a href="https://windsorlawcities.ca/clts-part-1/">Community Land Trusts</a>, where non-profit corporations take a human rights-based approach to housing by purchasing land or facilitating donations to <a href="https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2022/11/18/permanent-affordable-housing-this-grassroots-co-operative-just-bought-58-units-in-kitchener.html">create housing that serves the community</a>; “housing first” approaches for <a href="https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/i-wish-i-wasnt-homeless-taking-homelessness-fight-to-the-streets">people experiencing homelessness who also need support with addictions</a>; and the complexity of developing interconnected international, national, provincial and municipal government policy. </p>
<h2>Precarious work, gig economy</h2>
<p>Alex Usher at Higher Education Strategy Associates estimates that by 2025, universities and colleges will take in <a href="https://higheredstrategy.com/core-funding-versus-the-hustle/">more than 50 per cent of tuition fees from international student enrolments</a>. The Canadian and Ontario governments hope to generate new revenue while bringing in highly qualified students to prepare for a modern labour market. </p>
<p>The housing crisis demonstrates that focusing higher education planning on unpredictable labour markets and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00742-3">precarious work in a gig economy</a> is narrow and misconceived.</p>
<p><a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221122/dq221122e-eng.htm">Statistics Canada reported</a> that in the 2019-20 academic year, there were 2.2 million students in public colleges and universities in Canada. </p>
<p>Canada’s current immigration plan will add nearly <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/notices/supplementary-immigration-levels-2023-2025.html">1.5 million immigrants</a> by the year 2025, and many immigrants will land in cities with universities and colleges. </p>
<h2>Partnerships, support needed</h2>
<p>Post-secondary institutions need to ensure they are connecting their recruitment strategies with local housing market data. </p>
<p>Hints of this are happening — <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-upei-student-housing-problems-o-laney-1.6556777">such as at the University of Prince Edward Island, where housing precarity was circumvented by asking students to stay home for an additional semester</a>. But there is much work to do. </p>
<p>Institutions should be educating campus advisers about <a href="https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/en/resources/canadian-human-rights-commission-welcomes-canadas-first-federal-housing-advocate">housing advocacy for students</a> and cultural training for their communities, for neighbours, landlords and community professionals. Advisers need to identify solutions for students who know nothing about leases, bus routes, neighbourhood safety and negotiation with landlords and roommates. </p>
<h2>On-campus solutions</h2>
<p>Institutions need adaptive on-campus housing solutions for the most vulnerable populations. They need to do this rather than seeking to profit from student rents or mandated meal plans as a result of <a href="https://theconversation.com/low-funding-for-universities-puts-students-at-risk-for-cycles-of-poverty-especially-in-the-wake-of-covid-19-131363">post-secondary underfunding</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People seen in front of a university dorm." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501409/original/file-20221215-22-kx6996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501409/original/file-20221215-22-kx6996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501409/original/file-20221215-22-kx6996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501409/original/file-20221215-22-kx6996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501409/original/file-20221215-22-kx6996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501409/original/file-20221215-22-kx6996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501409/original/file-20221215-22-kx6996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Students who opt out of residence live with little to no support from post-secondary institutions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>When students opt out of residence because it’s too expensive, they live with little to no support from post-secondary institutions in homes that are relatively unregulated for student living.</p>
<p>Offering housing as a human right means providing shelter where students are safe from mould, fire hazards and maintenance issues. Students should have freedom of movement and be safe from assault, harrassment or <a href="https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/ntnl-ctn-pln-cmbt-prgrss-2015/index-en.aspx">human trafficking</a>. </p>
<p>Student housing should connect to economic opportunities rather than a future of crippling debt. Housing should be culturally supportive to provide students opportunities to be among colleagues, mentors and friends as they wade through critically important developmental opportunities to become engaged citizens. </p>
<h2>Accessibility, affordability</h2>
<p>Student housing needs to be more accessible and more affordable. </p>
<p>Whether the solutions are dormitories, partnerships with private investors with specifically designed regulations and inspections, government-run housing or a combination of these strategies, student housing needs more policy and more planning. </p>
<p>We need specific policies and regulations for student rentals that are based on housing as a human right.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195624/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Brunet is affiliated with the Human Development and Capability Association. He is a member.</span></em></p>Governments and universities have failed to prepare for an increase in housing demand amid planned enrolment growth in higher education and a crisis driven by treating housing as an investment.Timothy A. Brunet, Sessional Instructor Economics, University of WindsorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1883422022-08-30T19:12:15Z2022-08-30T19:12:15ZMore housing supply isn’t a cure-all for the housing crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481913/original/file-20220830-33800-i4wrpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C0%2C5429%2C3502&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Housing policy-makers should pay attention not only to how much housing is available and how often rental units turn over, but to residential stability and the quality of life that homes and neighbourhoods provide.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/more-housing-supply-isn-t-a-cure-all-for-the-housing-crisis" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Canada needs to build more homes, faster, according to a <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/professionals/housing-markets-data-and-research/housing-research/research-reports/accelerate-supply/housing-shortages-canada-solving-affordability-crisis">recent report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation</a>. The report estimates that British Columbia alone will need <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/blog/2022/canadas-housing-supply-shortage-restoring-affordability-2030">570,000 new units</a> by 2030 to meet a moderate affordability level of 44 per cent. </p>
<p>Not coincidentally, building more housing has gained steam among policy-makers, <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/eby-says-top-priority-bc-premier-housing">including David Eby</a>, B.C.’s minister of housing and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/david-eby-ndp-leader-1.6525622">frontrunner candidate to replace John Horgan</a> as NDP party leader and premier of the province.</p>
<p>While it’s important to recognize the lack of affordable housing as part of the housing crisis, the problem with our housing system isn’t as simple as the disequilibrium between supply and demand. Increasing market housing supply will not end the housing crisis on its own. </p>
<p>Drawing on a B.C.-wide survey of 1,004 residents conducted from March to April 2021, <a href="https://summit.sfu.ca/item/31490">our recent study</a> shows that unaffordability is only one type of housing vulnerability that has taken its toll on British Columbians during the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<h2>Market rental tenants hit hardest</h2>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20200609.53823/">second pandemic of social isolation</a> through the public health measures put in place to combat the spread of the disease. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/guidance-documents/summary-evidence-supporting-covid-19-public-health-measures.html">necessary and largely effective</a>, these restrictions took their toll on well-being: between 40 and 50 per cent of respondents reported physical and mental health declines one year into the pandemic. </p>
<p>However, these negative secondary effects of the pandemic did not impact everyone equally. Our study found that homeowners fared the best in mental and social well-being, while market rental tenants fared the worst. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481179/original/file-20220825-18-79i9zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A line graph illustrating the mental well-being of survey respondents" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481179/original/file-20220825-18-79i9zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481179/original/file-20220825-18-79i9zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481179/original/file-20220825-18-79i9zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481179/original/file-20220825-18-79i9zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481179/original/file-20220825-18-79i9zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481179/original/file-20220825-18-79i9zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481179/original/file-20220825-18-79i9zy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changes in mental well-being by housing tenure during the COVID-19 pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Community Housing Canada)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most surprisingly, community housing tenants (those living in subsidized, non-profit or co-op housing) reported the same level of mental well-being as those who owned a mortgage. </p>
<p>Community housing tenants also appeared less restricted in their social interactions — 43 per cent of this group reported reduced social interactions during the pandemic, compared to over 60 per cent of market housing tenants and homeowners with a mortgage.</p>
<p>The disparity in well-being outcomes demonstrates that policy that only addresses housing affordability fails to take the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic about well-being into account. </p>
<h2>Housing vulnerability more than ‘core housing needs’</h2>
<p>The official <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/professionals/housing-markets-data-and-research/housing-research/core-housing-need">core housing needs indicators</a> used to assess housing vulnerability in Canada are unaffordability, overcrowding and poor dwelling quality. We argue that Canadian housing policy needs to go beyond them. </p>
<p>We found that market housing tenants were more likely to live in inadequate housing that was too expensive, in ill repair or inadequate in size. In comparison, only 11 per cent of community housing tenants were dissatisfied with housing adequacy, giving high ratings to housing affordability in particular. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481175/original/file-20220825-831-nu0g4m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A bar graph measuring how satisfied or dissatisfied survey respondents were about their housing situation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481175/original/file-20220825-831-nu0g4m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481175/original/file-20220825-831-nu0g4m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481175/original/file-20220825-831-nu0g4m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481175/original/file-20220825-831-nu0g4m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481175/original/file-20220825-831-nu0g4m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481175/original/file-20220825-831-nu0g4m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481175/original/file-20220825-831-nu0g4m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Housing inadequacy by tenure. Respondents were asked whether they were satisfied or dissatisfied about the space, affordability and condition of their residency. Overall dissatisfaction was defined by an average score below three, out of five.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Community Housing Canada)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, our research shows the pandemic has brought to light forms of housing vulnerability beyond inadequacy, such as housing instability, the ability to stay safe and healthy at home and reduced access to neighbourhood amenities and resources.</p>
<h2>Housing instability</h2>
<p>A small proportion of survey respondents expressed a sense of residential instability, meaning they felt they were unable to stay in their dwelling without interruptions or complications. Our study found that 15 per cent of market housing tenants experienced housing instability, compared to 11 per cent of community housing tenants.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481177/original/file-20220825-739-c8lzgc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A bar graph measuring how stable survey respondents felt their housing situation was" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481177/original/file-20220825-739-c8lzgc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481177/original/file-20220825-739-c8lzgc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481177/original/file-20220825-739-c8lzgc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481177/original/file-20220825-739-c8lzgc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481177/original/file-20220825-739-c8lzgc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481177/original/file-20220825-739-c8lzgc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481177/original/file-20220825-739-c8lzgc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Housing stability by tenure. Survey respondents were asked how stable they felt their housing situation was.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Community Housing Canada)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Limited housing affordances</h2>
<p>Housing affordances are housing features or functions that improve people’s everyday lives. In the context of the pandemic, this meant how dwelling spaces allowed residents to practice physical distancing and cope with <a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/05ec1a9375684ecabd551c137f4ccefb">secondary effects of the pandemic</a>. </p>
<p>Nearly a quarter of respondents found it difficult to host occasional visits from family members and friends during the pandemic, while 19 per cent had trouble working or studying from home and 18 per cent had difficulty exercising at home. Some also reported difficulty maintaining physical distances with non-family members.</p>
<p>Market housing tenants faced above-average challenges in all aspects. Community housing tenants fared better, reporting less-than-average constraints for all activities except hosting visits from family and friends.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481178/original/file-20220825-16-h7l55q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A bar graph measuring how how difficult survey respondents found accessing certain activities and resources, like exercise and the internet, where they live" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481178/original/file-20220825-16-h7l55q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481178/original/file-20220825-16-h7l55q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481178/original/file-20220825-16-h7l55q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481178/original/file-20220825-16-h7l55q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481178/original/file-20220825-16-h7l55q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481178/original/file-20220825-16-h7l55q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481178/original/file-20220825-16-h7l55q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Limited housing affordances by tenure. Respondents were asked about how difficult (very, difficult, easy, very easy, not applicable) it was to access certain activities and resources where they live.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Community Housing Canada)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Neighbourhood inaccessibility</h2>
<p>Neighbourhood accessibility is how satisfied respondents were with access to neighbourhood amenities and facilities, such as public transit, stores, private and public open spaces and community programs.</p>
<p>Most respondents were satisfied with neighborhood accessibility. Homeowners were less satisfied than renters with their access to public transit, likely due to the lack of public transit in certain parts of the province.</p>
<p>Both renter groups — 25 per cent of market housing and 15 per cent of community housing tenants — were unhappy with access to private outdoor spaces. This could be because <a href="https://ncceh.ca/documents/evidence-review/canadian-green-spaces-during-covid-19-public-health-benefits-and-planning">access to parks and public spaces was restricted</a> during the pandemic and more renters tend to live in apartments without balconies.</p>
<h2>A window to better social policy</h2>
<p><a href="https://summit.sfu.ca/item/31641">Housing vulnerability</a> means more than the lack of affordable housing — it also means housing instability, lack of housing affordances and access to neighbourhood amenities. Renters in the private market demonstrated unexpected housing vulnerability, faring worse than community housing tenants in important ways. </p>
<p>It’s clear the market alone doesn’t deliver housing as a social good; more extensive solutions to the housing crisis will come from understanding the <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003172949-24/social-sustainability-social-affordable-housing-meryn-severson-esther-de-vos">social role of housing in building household and community resilience</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A cyclist and two people make their way down a tree-lined outdoor path" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480938/original/file-20220824-4398-vx3nli.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480938/original/file-20220824-4398-vx3nli.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480938/original/file-20220824-4398-vx3nli.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480938/original/file-20220824-4398-vx3nli.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480938/original/file-20220824-4398-vx3nli.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480938/original/file-20220824-4398-vx3nli.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480938/original/file-20220824-4398-vx3nli.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Addressing housing vulnerability also means addressing housing instability, lack of housing affordances or lack of access to neighbourhood amenities, like access to public outdoor spaces.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Here, community housing models offer some evident clues, such as the ways in which <a href="https://theprovince.com/opinion/marc-lee-to-build-affordable-rental-housing-lets-change-the-game">housing is supplied and operated</a> and the efforts to <a href="https://www.heyneighbourcollective.ca/2022/08/mainstreaming-sociable-design-for-multi-unit-housing-mapping-the-path-forward/">foster social connections and support</a> in these communities.</p>
<p>While increasing the housing supply may moderate the affordability problem, policy-makers should be wary of vulnerabilities introduced by the market system beyond core housing needs, as our study reveals, especially for those who cannot afford home ownership. </p>
<p>To build long-term community resilience, public policies should pay attention not only to housing adequacy, but also to <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-housing/security-tenure-cornerstone-right-adequate-housing">residential stability</a> and the quality of life that homes and neighbourhoods provide. </p>
<p>Without a holistic understanding of the lived and social realities of what it means to be safe and sound at home, we lose crucial opportunities to meet important social policy goals through our housing plans and policy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188342/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Our work is supported by the Partnership Engage Grants COVID-19 Special Initiative
sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. This
partnership is led by Dr. Yushu Zhu and Dr. Meg Holden at Simon Fraser University, in collaboration with Brightside
Community Homes Foundation.
This project also receives support from and contributes to the work of “Community Housing Canada: Partners in
Resilience” (CHC), a 5-year academic-community partnership supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council. The CHC project is directed by Dr. Damian Collins at the
University of Alberta (host institution), in collaboration with Civida. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dorin Vaez Mahdavi and Meg Holden do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Unaffordability is only one type of housing vulnerability that has taken its toll on British Columbians during the COVID-19 pandemic.Yushu Zhu, Assistant Professor, Urban Studies and Public Policy, Simon Fraser UniversityDorin Vaez Mahdavi, Master's Student, Urban Studies Program, Simon Fraser UniversityMeg Holden, Professor, Urban Studies and Professor of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1883562022-08-19T02:08:57Z2022-08-19T02:08:57Z‘We’ve all done the right things’: in Under Cover, older women tell their stories of becoming homeless<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479786/original/file-20220818-18-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=38%2C0%2C803%2C527&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.undercoverdocumentary.com/">Under Cover/SA Films</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Australian documentary Under Cover, premiering at the <a href="https://miff.com.au/program/film/under-cover">Melbourne International Film Festival</a>, presents the voices and faces of older women’s housing insecurity. Many of us would have seen the figures: the number of homeless people aged 55 years or above <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/census-population-and-housing-estimating-homelessness/latest-release">increased</a> 28% between 2011 and 2016. And single women of that age are the <a href="https://www.oldertenants.org.au/content/women-over-55-are-australias-fastest-growing-group-homeless">fastest-growing</a> homeless group in Australia. </p>
<p>But knowing the statistics is different from witnessing the reality. In Under Cover, filmmaker Sue Thomson depicts the stories of ten older women who have experienced housing insecurity and homelessness. They live in hostels, community housing, their cars, vans, caravan parks. </p>
<p>All have travelled different routes, but leading to each individual experience is a chain of similar factors: taking time off work to care for children, having little or no superannuation, experiencing relationship breakdown that leaves them without money or assets, eviction. For some, additional factors include family violence and the enduring impacts of colonisation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-left-with-the-kids-and-ended-up-homeless-with-them-the-nightmare-of-housing-wait-lists-for-people-fleeing-domestic-violence-187687">'I left with the kids and ended up homeless with them': the nightmare of housing wait lists for people fleeing domestic violence</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These women filled the role in society that women are expected to, caring for husbands, elderly parents and children. As one of them points out:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’ve all done the right things, you know. We got married, we stayed at home, we’ve raised our children. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>They feel shock, grief and frustration that, in return for their service, they have ended up here, beyond the edge of poverty. For many, the routine acts of waking and washing, food preparation, seeking an income, maintaining precious belongings, sleeping and staying safe take place in spaces of transience and mobility.</p>
<p>Many of the women say they never thought they would end up homeless; it was something that happened to other people. They are articulate, reflective, everyday women who were blindsided. As one of them says: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I had never ever considered that I would be homeless. Never.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Indeed, in advocating for political change, the film powerfully presents the idea that homelessness can happen to anyone.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bq0SJbia8g4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Margot Robbie–narrated documentary Under Cover gives voice to older women who are facing homelessness.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Risks are rising with rental and living costs</h2>
<p>The pressures that lead to people becoming homeless are increasing. Rental and living costs are soaring.</p>
<p>Anglicare’s <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/publications/rental-affordability-snapshot-2022/">Rental Affordability Snapshot</a> shows rents are more unaffordable than ever before, especially for people on low incomes. Nationally, only 0.7% of listed private rental homes were affordable for a single adult on the aged pension. Only 1.4% were affordable for couples on the aged pension. </p>
<p>An Australian property market geared to make profits, rather than provide housing as a basic human right, is having stark long-term impacts. When the next Census <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/census-population-and-housing-estimating-homelessness">homelessness estimates</a> are released in 2023, it’s likely we will see more older women are at risk of homelessness – and more Australians across all age groups and genders with first-hand experience of not having a home.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Older women looking pensive" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many of the women in Under Cover never thought they would end up being homeless.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.undercoverdocumentary.com/">Under Cover/SA Films</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-affordable-housing-with-less-homelessness-is-possible-if-only-australia-would-learn-from-nordic-nations-182049">More affordable housing with less homelessness is possible – if only Australia would learn from Nordic nations</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Solutions must include more affordable housing</h2>
<p>The film highlights some important <a href="https://housingallaustralians.org.au/about-us/">programs</a> and <a href="https://www.womenscommunityshelters.org.au/">organisations</a> that are helping homeless women. But, as Margot Robbie’s narration makes clear, non-government organisations cannot do the work without government support. </p>
<p>Currently available social or affordable housing may be located far from women’s social networks and community. They may be given a stable home but at the cost of their sense of belonging. </p>
<p>Significantly more social and affordable housing is needed. This will ensure people have suitable options and don’t have to move long distances to receive shelter. Temporary housing is also necessary but insufficient. </p>
<p>Recent research also <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/378">assesses</a> innovative housing models for older people. Suggested solutions include <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-affordable-housing-with-less-homelessness-is-possible-if-only-australia-would-learn-from-nordic-nations-182049">co-operative living</a> and shared-equity schemes. These are consistent with the <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/317">reported aspirations</a> of older Australians who require safe, secure housing to age well. Options include <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/325">downsizing</a> or “rightsizing” in later life. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-sort-of-housing-do-older-australians-want-and-where-do-they-want-to-live-120987">What sort of housing do older Australians want and where do they want to live?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Having stable, alternative housing available will help older people who cannot stay in the family home, whether because their relationship breaks down or they never owned property. </p>
<p>More broadly, Australian housing policy needs to understand housing as a human right that is fundamental to people’s wellbeing. Housing should be safeguarded as <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-social-housing-essential-infrastructure-how-we-think-about-it-does-matter-110777">essential social infrastructure</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Older woman cuddles a cat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Housing needs to be recognised as a human right that is fundamental to people’s wellbeing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.undercoverdocumentary.com/">Under Cover/SA Films</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-social-housing-essential-infrastructure-how-we-think-about-it-does-matter-110777">Is social housing essential infrastructure? How we think about it does matter</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Broader social policy changes are essential too</h2>
<p>Other measures to prevent older women from becoming homeless will require policy beyond housing: better parental leave schemes, pay equality, domestic violence responses, closing the superannuation gender gap. In short, it depends on overcoming gender inequality on all levels and scales. These are big tasks, but they must be undertaken for a fair and just society. </p>
<p>Under Cover makes it clear we cannot continue the way we are, or these problems will continue through to the next generations. Today’s young women will be tomorrow’s older homeless women, wondering how on Earth they ended up here. As one woman in the film says: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I couldn’t believe this was me. I couldn’t believe after all these years that I would be in this situation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The need for both <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research-in-progress/Gendered-housing-opportunities-pathways-assistance-and-impacts">gender-focused</a> and <a href="https://www.oldertenants.org.au/publications">age-focused</a> housing solutions is urgent.</p>
<p>People experiencing homelessness are often regarded as invisible, as are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/dec/30/women-and-ageing-ive-developed-the-courage-to-live-my-own-truth-picture-essay">older</a> <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/any-woman-above-a-certain-age-can-tell-you-what-it-s-like-to-become-invisible-20201008-p5638g.html">women</a>. Homeless older women may be doubly invisible. But by getting into the specifics of their homelessness, Under Cover brings their experiences into the light. </p>
<p>You can’t make policy about something you can’t (or don’t want to) see. With the federal government’s commitment to national <a href="https://twitter.com/JulieCollinsMP/status/1547811749516443648">co-ordinated housing policy</a>, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s open discussion of being raised by a single mother in public housing, perhaps there is a fairer Australian housing landscape on the horizon. </p>
<p>A sequel to Under Cover that focuses on “how older women’s housing insecurity and homelessness was solved” would be welcome. In the meantime, government action, supported by research that increases understanding of age, gender and other intertwined vulnerabilities, is badly needed. Also critical are the conversations at kitchen tables, in local neighbourhoods, in workplaces, among friends and in news media that Under Cover will provoke.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><a href="https://miff.com.au/program/film/under-cover">Under Cover</a> is screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival until August 20 and is streaming at <a href="https://play.miff.com.au/film/under-cover/">MIFF Play</a> until August 28.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188356/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zoe Goodall has received funding from the Victorian Government and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) and receives an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margaret Reynolds receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) and Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Piret Veeroja receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG), Kids Under Cover (KUC) and has previously received funding from Victorian Government. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Stone receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG), Kids Under Cover (KUC) and has previously received research funding from the Victorian Government. </span></em></p>A new Australian documentary gives voice to the women in urgent need of policy action on housing insecurity and homelessness.Zoe Goodall, Research Associate, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyMargaret Reynolds, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyPiret Veeroja, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyWendy Stone, Professor of Housing & Social Policy, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1881142022-08-15T17:50:52Z2022-08-15T17:50:52ZMultigenerational living: A strategy to cope with unaffordable housing?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478139/original/file-20220808-22-4wrly6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5848%2C3904&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Multiple generations living under one roof is becoming increasingly common.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/multigenerational-living--a-strategy-to-cope-with-unaffordable-housing" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Over the past 20 years, <a href="https://data.oecd.org/price/housing-prices.htm">housing prices in Canada have increased at double the rate of income growth</a>. As a result, a growing number of Canadian households are grappling with housing affordability. </p>
<p>Today, <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/professionals/housing-markets-data-and-research/housing-data/data-tables/household-characteristics/characteristics-households-core-housing-need-canada-pt-cmas">10 per cent of Canadian households are spending at least 30 per cent of their pretax income on housing</a>. </p>
<p>At the same time, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220713/dq220713a-eng.pdf">the share of multigenerational households has also increased by 45 per cent</a> — <a href="https://vanierinstitute.ca/sharing-a-roof-multigenerational-homes-in-canada-2021-census-update/">more than any other family living arrangement</a>. Most of these <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220713/dq220713a-eng.pdf">multigenerational households include grandparents and young children</a>. </p>
<p>The simultaneous rise in housing prices and share of multigenerational households raises the following questions: First, is moving in with aging parents a strategy adopted by young families to reduce their housing vulnerability? Second, who benefits the most by moving in with grandparents?</p>
<p>Our <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/t657q">study addressed these questions</a> and examined whether moving in with grandparents may be a solution to unaffordable housing. </p>
<p>Living with grandparents may offer young families a way to reduce their housing costs, decrease their housing vulnerability, and free up resources for food, medical care and education. </p>
<p>By moving in with grandparents, young families can avoid a host of negative outcomes associated with housing vulnerability, including children’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2005.9521542">poorer academic outcomes</a>, <a href="https://housingmatters.urban.org/articles/how-housing-affects-childrens-outcomes">behavioural problems</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2010.08.002">poorer health</a>. </p>
<h2>Unequal distribution of benefits</h2>
<p>The benefits of living in multigenerational households are unevenly distributed. We found that children whose mothers had lower income benefited more from living with their grandparents than those whose mothers had higher income. Similarly, children growing up in single-mother households benefited more from living with their grandparents than those growing up in two-parent households. </p>
<p>Conversely, children with grandparents who had higher income benefited more from living with their grandparents. And those living with grandmothers benefited more than children living solely with their grandfathers. Prior research shows <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbw208">grandmothers usually provide more financial and emotional support to their adult children and grandchildren than grandfathers</a>. </p>
<p>Our findings suggest that multigenerational living is usually a way for grandparents to offer housing assistance and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278435302_Coresidence_between_unmarried_aging_parents_and_their_adult_children_-_Who_moved_in_with_whom_and_why">transfer material resources to their adult children</a>. The implication is that young families generally benefit more financially from this living situation than aging parents. </p>
<p>Low-income grandparents are an exception. By moving in with their adult children, they can receive financial help, emotional support and care, and may benefit more from multigenerational living than young families. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A grandmother is hugged by her granddaugher." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478141/original/file-20220808-20-cnvglr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478141/original/file-20220808-20-cnvglr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478141/original/file-20220808-20-cnvglr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478141/original/file-20220808-20-cnvglr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478141/original/file-20220808-20-cnvglr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478141/original/file-20220808-20-cnvglr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478141/original/file-20220808-20-cnvglr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children living with grandmothers benefited more than children living solely with their grandfathers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Ekaterina Shakharova/Unsplash)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Adverse effects of multigenerational living</h2>
<p>The benefits of multigenerational living, however, may come at the expense of sufficient space and privacy. These living arrangements were more likely than two-generation households to be overcrowded. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.92.5.758">Living in overcrowded housing is associated with poorer health outcomes</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00324720127685">poorer relationship quality</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK535289/">more stress</a> for all household members. It can also have a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2011.09.012">negative impact on academic outcomes and increase behavioural problems for children</a>. </p>
<p>Multigenerational living may also negatively impact the financial well-being of grandparents. Some older adults may be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2019.1653360">paying for their adult children’s expenses as well as their own</a>. This may place a strain on their finances or generate a need for them to delay retirement. </p>
<h2>Policy implications</h2>
<p>Some families and older adults may <em>prefer</em> to live in multigenerational households. However, for others, a shortage of affordable housing may be creating conditions that <em>force</em> them to move in with their aging parents. </p>
<p>So, what can the government do to eliminate the conditions that force some families into multigenerational households?</p>
<p>The Canadian government must increase housing supply. Increasing interest rates can temporarily decrease pressures in the housing market by reducing demand. However, <a href="https://economics.cibccm.com/cds?id=2584c18b-2e87-4a1c-83c8-17bb64d8bb4d&flag=E">it can also exacerbate the housing shortage and affordability crisis over the long run through cancellations in housing construction projects</a>. </p>
<p>According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, <a href="https://assets.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/sites/cmhc/professional/housing-markets-data-and-research/housing-research/research-reports/2022/housing-shortages-canada-solving-affordability-crisis-en.pdf?rev=88308aef-f14a-4dbb-b692-6ebbddcd79a0">Canada needs 3.5 million new homes to reach affordability</a>.</p>
<p>The government must also produce estimates of unmet housing demands that go beyond projecting the quantity of the housing shortage. It must forecast the <em>quantity</em> and <em>types</em> of housing for which there is unmet demand and meet it. For example, the shortage of large housing units may be part of the reason why multigenerational households have a higher risk of living in overcrowded housing.</p>
<p>Overall, our study reveals that the housing affordability crisis is having a pervasive impact on Canadian society. It is imposing constraints that alter the structure and composition of Canadian families. It is also forcing many families to absorb some of the effects of a social problem: the shortage of affordable housing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Choi receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sagi Ramaj receives Doctoral funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>Our study reveals that the housing affordability crisis is having a pervasive impact on Canadian society. It is imposing constraints that alter the structure and composition of Canadian families.Kate Choi, Associate Professor, Sociology, Western UniversitySagi Ramaj, PhD Student, Department of Sociology, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1865112022-07-19T15:33:53Z2022-07-19T15:33:53ZBetter emergency preparedness can protect older adults from climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474924/original/file-20220719-14-yk22a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=43%2C12%2C4133%2C2749&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Older adults experiencing homelessness and housing insecurities are some of those most impacted by climate change.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Luca Bruno)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last summer brought <a href="https://oceans.ubc.ca/heatwave">scorching hot temperatures and record-breaking heatwaves</a> to British Columbia. Unfortunately, the heat was not the only record that skyrocketed — what followed was <a href="https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/bc-news/bc-dominates-list-of-top-10-weather-events-in-canada-for-2021-4872233">a chain of extreme weather events</a>. </p>
<p>British Columbia saw unprecedented rainfall and flooding that forced nearly <a href="https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/bc-flooding-2021-timeline-how-once-in-a-century-flooding-unfolded">20,000</a> people from their homes, blocked essential highways and impeded necessary travel and resource distribution. </p>
<p>All of this is a result of climate change, which hasn’t impacted everyone equally. Older adults experiencing homelessness and housing insecurities <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11524-009-9354-7">are some of those most impacted</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-rely-on-older-adults-especially-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-143346">How we rely on older adults, especially during the coronavirus pandemic</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>As Vancouver is currently predicted <a href="https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2022/07/01/fraser-river-flood-fears-weekend/">to experience flooding in the coming weeks</a>, followed by possible heat domes throughout the summer, governments and organizations need to <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/homelessness-101/what-needs-be-done-end-homelessness">allocate their time and resources to prioritize the needs of the older adults experiencing homelessness and housing issues</a>. </p>
<h2>Without warning</h2>
<p>In B.C., more than <a href="https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021PSSG0062-001295%20%20%20">700 deaths</a> were <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/hundreds-who-died-from-heat-exposure-in-b-c-were-mostly-seniors-found-alone-in-unventilated-suites-says-coroner">reported during the extreme Pacific Northwest heat wave</a>.</p>
<p>The majority were older adults living alone without adequate housing, ventilation or protection. Like the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11687-8">COVID-19 pandemic</a>, severe and deadly weather conditions exposed yet another layer of inequity that needs to be addressed. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A paramedic in a mask bending down to talk to a seated man pressing a hand to his head. The paramedic is pointing to the screen of a small laptop he is holding." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472881/original/file-20220706-4568-5bbj7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472881/original/file-20220706-4568-5bbj7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472881/original/file-20220706-4568-5bbj7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472881/original/file-20220706-4568-5bbj7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472881/original/file-20220706-4568-5bbj7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472881/original/file-20220706-4568-5bbj7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472881/original/file-20220706-4568-5bbj7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A paramedic treats a man experiencing heat exposure during the Pacific Northwest heat wave in June 2021 in Salem, Ore.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Nathan Howard)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During last year’s record breaking heat, formal supports like <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/05/canada-disastrous-impact-extreme-heat">emergency health services were limited by long wait times, specifically impacting those with chronic conditions</a>. In Vancouver, for example, an older person had to wait <a href="https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/bc-news/bc-heat-wave-leads-to-11-hour-ambulance-wait-time-spike-in-sudden-deaths-3918823">11 hours</a> before receiving treatment for heat exhaustion.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-need-to-embrace-green-innovation-now-to-cut-heat-deaths-in-the-future-185101">Cities need to embrace green innovation now to cut heat deaths in the future</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Although services and resources like cooling centres, with air-conditioned public spaces were made temporarily available, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/27/one-year-deadly-heatwave-canada-protections-still-needed">there was a lack of consideration for senior-specific accessible supports that accommodated those with assistive devices or mobility aids</a>. </p>
<p>Without warning and with little time for preparation, older adults without access to the internet or electronic devices, community or family support were left to overcome wide-ranging obstacles on their own.</p>
<h2>Emergency preparedness</h2>
<p>For most people, extreme heat or wildfire smoke may mean a night of tossing and turning and increased indoor time. <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2013/03/natural-disasters-are-especially-hard-seniors">For older adults experiencing homelessness or housing issues, it could mean life or death</a>.</p>
<p>So, how can solutions that consider these folks be implemented? </p>
<p>Emergency preparedness is one step. For example, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/28/world/canada/canada-heat-wave-record.html">municipalities across the country organized public cooling centres during the heatwave</a>. And ensuring these resources are accessible to all is critical, but it doesn’t always happen. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/worried-about-high-energy-bills-some-canadians-risk-discomfort-illness-and-even-death-186371">Worried about high energy bills, some Canadians risk discomfort, illness and even death</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Solutions need to account for everyone and establish ways to reduce mobility, language and technological barriers. Increased relevant outreach and transportation to nearby cooling centres could be one way municipalities address these barriers and increase accessibility to necessary resources during a heat wave.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man unfolds a blanket above a mattress lying on the floor of a large room. There are several identical mattresses lying on the floor nearby." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472883/original/file-20220706-160-7idlvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472883/original/file-20220706-160-7idlvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472883/original/file-20220706-160-7idlvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472883/original/file-20220706-160-7idlvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472883/original/file-20220706-160-7idlvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472883/original/file-20220706-160-7idlvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472883/original/file-20220706-160-7idlvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A man prepares his bed at a cooling shelter run by the Salvation Army at the Seattle Center during the Pacific Northwest heat wave in June 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/John Froschauer)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bolstering emergency services like paramedics and the number of health care professionals <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/Climate%20Change%20and%20Homelessness_Exposure_Jun_8.pdf">working during these times is also essential</a>. In addition, by providing them <a href="http://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/abc/Pages/homeless-trauma-informed.aspx">with trauma informed resources</a> they’ll be better able to support and meet the unique needs of older homeless and housing insecure adults during an emergency. </p>
<p>In the long term, city planning can also support the homeless community by <a href="https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/urban-forest-strategy.pdf">increasing tree canopy and shade opportunities</a> that are located near benches, to provide cooler resting areas.</p>
<h2>Understanding lived experiences</h2>
<p>Beyond these immediate measures, the impacts of extreme climate conditions on older adults should be explored through research to inform policies and programs. More importantly, understanding the <a href="https://doi.org/10.5206/ijoh.2021.1.13651">lived experiences of those impacted is necessary for identifying barriers and implementing appropriate solutions</a>. </p>
<p>As researchers working for the <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/airp.html">Aging in the Right Place Partnership</a> project — which explores housing related practices that support older adults experiencing homelessness — we hope to capture the lived experiences of those facing housing insecurities, as well as advocate and make essential changes in the way research, policy and programs related to housing issues are developed and implemented.</p>
<p>Climate change will continue to impact our communities and serve as a danger to older adults who are experiencing housing insecurities. By connecting and amplifying their voices, we can inform research and policy innovation that focuses on accessible emergency preparedness and safety measures. </p>
<p><em>Juanita Mora and Emily Lam, undergraduate research assistants, co-authored this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186511/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Atiya Mahmood receives partnership grant funding from Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for the Aging in the Right Place (AIRP) project. This Op Ed was developed as a part of the research and knowledge mobilization work in that project.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gracen Bookmyer receives funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in affiliation with the AIRP project, which is in association with this piece. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachelle Patille receives funding Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in affiliation with the AIRP Project which this piece is linked to. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The AIRP project receives funding from Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). </span></em></p>Governments and organizations must listen to older adults’ experiences with extreme heat, flooding and wildfire smoke to create effective policies and programsAtiya Mahmood, Associate professor, Gerontology Department, Simon Fraser UniversityGracen Bookmyer, Research Assistant, Aging In The Right Place | MA student, Simon Fraser UniversityRachelle Patille, Researcher, Aging In the Right Place | M.A. in Gerontology, Simon Fraser University, Simon Fraser UniversityShreemouna Gurung, Researcher, Aging In the Right Place | PhD Candidate, Gerontology, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1844202022-07-03T13:24:33Z2022-07-03T13:24:33ZCanada needs to build more affordable housing for newcomers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470660/original/file-20220623-51687-zqrr9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5559%2C3242&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marco Mendicino holds a press conference in Ottawa in November 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The relationship between newcomers and the Canadian economy involves three key pillars: job availability, a sufficient population of working age and affordable housing. All three pillars must be supported by the government — if one is missing, the entire system collapses.</p>
<p>While Canada has always <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/low-fertility-rates-mean-canadian-growth-relies-on-immigration/">relied on newcomers for population growth because of its low birth rate</a>, both housing affordability and job availability tend to fluctuate much more drastically. </p>
<p>In the past, Canadian newcomers have struggled to <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/foreign-credential-recognition/consultations/emp-challenges.html">find quality employment</a> because of tight job markets and credential recognition barriers. As such, many newcomers have <a href="https://newcanadianmedia.ca/gig-economy-continues-to-push-immigrants-into-unstable-jobs">found themselves underemployed</a> in gig jobs and part-time minimum wage positions.</p>
<p>However, the recent <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220427/dq220427a-eng.htm">labour shortage, precipitated by the retirement</a> of the baby boomers and <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-just-that-canadian-restaurant-workers-have-left-many-have-yet-to-arrive-178593">compounded by the pandemic</a>, has resulted in a <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canadian-job-vacancies-hit-quarterly-record-high-in-q1-led-by-demand-in-health-sector-1.5956443">boon of available jobs</a> for newcomers.</p>
<p>With a <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210928/dq210928d-eng.htm">low national birth rate</a> and a <a href="https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/immigration-key-to-make-up-for-impact-of-low-birth-rates-on-vancouver-island-1.5892391">high labour demand</a>, immigration is more important than ever to <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2022/02/infographic-immigration-and-canadas-economic-recovery.html">sustain and grow the Canadian economy</a>. </p>
<p>To accomplish such a goal, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/transparency/committees/cimm-nov-25-2020/cimm-2021-2023-multi-year-levels-plan-nov-25-2020.html">Canada’s department of immigration has set a target</a> to admit between 950,000 and 1,260,000 new permanent residents over the next few years. Canada needs to ensure these new residents have safe, secure and affordable places to call home when they arrive.</p>
<h2>Housing pillar still unsupported</h2>
<p>While <a href="https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/news/pivot-magazine/2022-02-16-housing-market">Canada now has jobs available</a> for newcomers, and the immigration policies needed to fill those job vacancies, immigrants and migrants are still struggling with finding places to live. Rapidly escalating housing costs and low housing availability are <a href="https://www.tvo.org/article/a-very-long-journey-another-challenge-for-newcomers-finding-affordable-housing">a lethal combination for newcomers</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman walking past a row of real estate listing signs on a lawn" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470663/original/file-20220623-51187-nql5ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470663/original/file-20220623-51187-nql5ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470663/original/file-20220623-51187-nql5ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470663/original/file-20220623-51187-nql5ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470663/original/file-20220623-51187-nql5ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470663/original/file-20220623-51187-nql5ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470663/original/file-20220623-51187-nql5ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The deadly combination of housing being used as an investment tool, coupled with increased housing demand, has led to sky-rocketing real estate prices.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In spite of more <a href="https://www.userwalls.news/n/canada-construction-market-industry-report-2022-annual-growth-real-terms-2021-expected-3259171/?page=2">new units being built</a> than ever before, as household size continues to shrink, more units are needed to house the same population size. Ontario needs to build <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-one-million-homes-1.6204829">one million homes</a>, and <a href="https://vancouversun.com/business/real-estate/many-new-homes-are-needed-in-metro-vancouver">Vancouver 156,000,</a> over the next decade to address the housing gap and accommodate families who are struggling with housing stability.</p>
<p>The combination of modest population growth, <a href="https://theconversation.com/ontario-must-commit-to-affordable-housing-for-all-not-attainable-housing-184103">housing financialization</a> and increased housing demand is <a href="https://www.crea.ca/housing-market-stats/national-price-map/">rapidly driving prices up</a>. These factors have led to housing becoming deeply <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4497208-canadas-unaffordable-housing-comes-with-long-term-financial-drag">unaffordable</a> for many. Without affordable housing, newcomers will go elsewhere, our labour shortage will continue and Canada will struggle to sustain economic growth.</p>
<h2>The myth of the Canadian dream</h2>
<p>Over the past five years, we have conducted research on the long-term housing outcomes of Syrian government-assisted refugees <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/welcome-syrian-refugees/key-figures.html">who settled in Canada from 2015-16</a>. We have met with these families regularly to assess their housing quality and progress towards achieving <a href="https://doi.org/10.26522/ssj.v16i1.2669">housing stability</a>.</p>
<p>Throughout the course of our research, we have witnessed how frustrated many refugees are with being unable to achieve housing stability. Initially under-housed in small apartments, most refugee families aim to gain employment so they can eventually purchase <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/syrian-refugees-halifax-housing-families-1.3413716">larger homes to suit their families</a>. </p>
<p>But no matter how quickly they improve their economic condition, housing quickly moves out of reach with the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/gas-prices-explained-2022-1.6460817">rising costs</a> of fuel and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/food-affordability-saskatchewan-coupon-farm-1.6465299">on food</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A congregation of people reciting an oath and holding their right hands up" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470662/original/file-20220623-50671-d5y9nh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470662/original/file-20220623-50671-d5y9nh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470662/original/file-20220623-50671-d5y9nh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470662/original/file-20220623-50671-d5y9nh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470662/original/file-20220623-50671-d5y9nh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470662/original/file-20220623-50671-d5y9nh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470662/original/file-20220623-50671-d5y9nh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New Canadians swear allegiance at an Oath of Citizenship ceremony at The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax in January 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Riley Smith</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With home prices surging and the rental market escalating, newcomer families find themselves locked into their current rental units, unable to buy a home or even rent a larger place. The only option left for them is to remain under-housed and disappointed at having been oversold on what Canada offers. </p>
<h2>Better policies needed</h2>
<p>Ultimately, ensuring Canada’s economic growth will require policies that both increase housing supply and ensure affordability of this supply. If housing affordability stalls population growth, the labour shortage will become <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/job-skills-shortage-1.6409237">even more of a crisis than it already is</a>.</p>
<p>All levels of government must take immediate action to improve housing supply and affordability, including by increasing the supply of affordable housing. Government intervention has to be better co-ordinated and should reduce the amount of administrative red tape faced by community-based organizations trying to lead affordable housing projects. </p>
<p>This includes, but should not be limited to, implementing the recent recommendations proposed by <a href="https://files.ontario.ca/mmah-housing-affordability-task-force-report-en-2022-02-07-v2.pdf">Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force</a> that focuses on increasing housing density, for example.</p>
<p>To make the housing market responsive to newcomers’ needs, this should include the development of larger housing units to accommodate families. This is especially relevant because the children of newcomers will eventually participate in the Canadian labour market. </p>
<p>Housing, immigration and the economy must work together. Currently, it seems like housing is not working for anyone except investors. Addressing the housing issue by adopting <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2019/06/canada-new-rights-focused-housing-policy-shows-way-other-countries-says-un">a human rights framework</a> put us on an accelerated path to meet newcomer families’ housing needs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184420/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fawziah Rabiah-Mohammed receives funding from SSHRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Abe Oudshoorn receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cindy Brown receives funding from SSHRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luc Theriault receives funding from SSHRC. He is affiliated with CCPA-NS.</span></em></p>Addressing the housing issue by adopting a human right framework put Canada on an accelerated path to meet newcomer families’ housing needs.Fawziah Rabiah-Mohammed, PhD Candidate, Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western UniversityAbe Oudshoorn, Associate Professor, The Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western UniversityCindy Brown, Research Associate, Department of History, University of New BrunswickLuc Theriault, Professor of Sociology, University of New BrunswickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1854792022-06-27T17:15:52Z2022-06-27T17:15:52ZEthno-racial minorities in Canada have less access to affordable housing than white people<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470692/original/file-20220624-52323-vqtddy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C3986%2C2653&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new study on Canada's affordability crisis has found that visible minorities have less access to affordable housing than whites in Canada.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canada is grappling with a <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-study-reveals-intensified-housing-inequality-in-canada-from-1981-to-2016-173633">housing affordability crisis</a>. Housing prices and rent have increased dramatically over the past few years. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0267303042000204296">Families are increasingly spending 30 per cent or more</a> of their pre-tax income on housing costs. </p>
<p>High housing costs <a href="https://www.irp.wisc.edu/resource/unaffordable-america-poverty-housing-and-eviction/">leave families little money for other necessities</a> like food or health care. They also prevent them from saving for future emergencies. Because of this, limited access to affordable housing is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01849-1">linked with lower life satisfaction and poor mental health</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A man in a suit gesturing with his hands as he speaks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470681/original/file-20220623-53892-kllxyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470681/original/file-20220623-53892-kllxyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470681/original/file-20220623-53892-kllxyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470681/original/file-20220623-53892-kllxyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470681/original/file-20220623-53892-kllxyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470681/original/file-20220623-53892-kllxyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470681/original/file-20220623-53892-kllxyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos is in charge of Canada’s decade-long national housing strategy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To address the housing affordability crisis, the Canadian government launched the <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/nhs/guidepage-strategy">National Housing Strategy in 2017,</a> which sought to invest $72 billion to increase housing supply. </p>
<p>For this policy to be successful, the government must accurately assess <em>which groups</em> have the most barriers to affordable housing and <em>why</em> they are vulnerable.</p>
<h2>Filling the research gap</h2>
<p>Prior work has shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0267303042000204296">recent immigrants, single mothers and residents of large cities are less likely to live in affordable housing in Canada</a>. Researchers rarely examine whether visible minorities are less likely than white people to live in affordable housing in Canada.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/s32x7">Our new study</a> on Canada’s affordability crisis partially closes this knowledge gap. We used data from the 2016 Canadian Census to document ethno-racial variations in access to affordable housing. Once these patterns were established, we identified why certain ethno-racial groups have less access to affordable housing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman standing in front of a house" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470686/original/file-20220623-13-3c4h0r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470686/original/file-20220623-13-3c4h0r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470686/original/file-20220623-13-3c4h0r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470686/original/file-20220623-13-3c4h0r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470686/original/file-20220623-13-3c4h0r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470686/original/file-20220623-13-3c4h0r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470686/original/file-20220623-13-3c4h0r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A resident is pictured outside their housing co-operative in Sherwood Park, Alta., in April 2022. Co-operative housing is one way for people to find affordable housing in Canada’s big cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found that <a href="https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3Var.pl?Function=DECI&Id=257515">visible minorities</a> have less access to affordable housing than white people in Canada. Unaffordable housing rates were especially high among Middle Easterns, North Africans, East Asians and South Asians.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, there are different reasons why specific ethno-racial groups struggle with housing affordability. Middle Eastern and North Africans have limited access to affordable housing primarily due to their high unemployment rates. In contrast, rates of unaffordable housing are high for East and South Asians largely because they tend to reside in large urban cities, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/these-are-the-most-expensive-canadian-cities-to-rent-a-home-1.5956534">where housing prices are high</a>. </p>
<h2>Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic</h2>
<p>Many visible minority groups in Canada <a href="https://theconversation.com/data-linking-race-and-health-predicts-new-covid-19-hotspots-138579">have had disproportionately high COVID-19 infection rates</a> compared to the rest of the population. One reason for this was because <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-data-show-poverty-overcrowded-housing-connected-to-covid-19-rates/">visible minorities were more likely to live in overcrowded housing</a> than white people and other minority groups. </p>
<p>These findings suggest that some visible minorities may be grappling with housing affordability problems. To pay the mortgage or rent, <a href="https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/5h73q012r">they may have to “double up” by moving in with other families</a>. They may also have to live in inadequate housing <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75f0002m/75f0002m2020003-eng.htm">without necessary amenities like proper ventilation</a>. </p>
<h2>Housing vulnerability across immigrant generations</h2>
<p>Our study also showed that immigrants were generally more likely than Canadian-born members of their own ethno-racial group to live in unaffordable housing. </p>
<p>Black Canadians, however, were the exception. The unaffordable housing rates of Canadian-born Black people differed little from those of foreign-born Black people. Among the Canadian-born, Black people had the highest unaffordable housing rates, along with Middle Eastern and North Africans.</p>
<p>These findings suggest that most immigrant groups in Canada are able to achieve the socioeconomic mobility necessary to meet their housing needs over time. Black Canadians, however, encounter persistent barriers in access to affordable housing, including racial discrimination <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-008-9118-9">in the rental market</a> and <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2022001/article/00002-eng.htm">in financial institutions</a>.</p>
<h2>Policy implications</h2>
<p>Four lessons emerge from our study. First, policymakers should increase the housing supply in large cities — like <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/these-are-the-most-expensive-canadian-cities-to-rent-a-home-1.5956534">Toronto and Vancouver</a> — where housing prices have increased the most in recent years. These cities are also home to many visible minorities, immigrants and young families, who are struggling with housing affordability. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A construction worker standing on the balcony of a building under construction" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470690/original/file-20220624-51579-jofxes.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470690/original/file-20220624-51579-jofxes.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470690/original/file-20220624-51579-jofxes.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470690/original/file-20220624-51579-jofxes.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470690/original/file-20220624-51579-jofxes.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470690/original/file-20220624-51579-jofxes.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470690/original/file-20220624-51579-jofxes.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A condo tower under construction in Burnaby, B.C. Vancouver is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Second, we need to <a href="https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/social-innovation/Programs/Affordable_Housing_Visual_Systems_Map_Oxford.pdf">increase the wages of Canadian workers</a>. Increasing wages offers an alternate solution to the unaffordable housing crisis. This would be a solution for many groups in Canada, including Middle Eastern and North Africans. </p>
<p>Third, greater efforts must be made to remove barriers to accessing affordable housing among Black Canadians. </p>
<p>Lastly, Canadian immigration policies should aim to increase recent immigrants’ access to affordable housing, since they are more likely to live in unaffordable housing. If the federal government plans to <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2022/02/new-immigration-plan-to-fill-labour-market-shortages-and-grow-canadas-economy.html">welcome 430,000 permanent residents per year over the next three years</a>, it must ensure these residents can afford housing, if they are able to become productive and thriving members of Canadian society.</p>
<p>The National Housing Strategy’s goal is to <a href="https://www.placetocallhome.ca/">make affordable housing available to all Canadians</a>. Ensuring that visible minorities have greater and equitable access to affordable housing is an important step in fulfilling that goal.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185479/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Choi receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sagi Ramaj receives Doctoral funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.</span></em></p>Ensuring visible minorities have equitable access to affordable housing is an important step in fulfilling the National Housing Strategy’s goal to make affordable housing available to all Canadians.Kate Choi, Associate Professor, Sociology, Western UniversitySagi Ramaj, PhD Student, Department of Sociology, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1824872022-06-20T15:08:50Z2022-06-20T15:08:50ZHow the slow-burning housing crisis is driving hunger in Canada<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467850/original/file-20220608-4949-g5rezw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C12%2C8614%2C5729&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Produce vegetables are displayed for sale at a grocery store in Aylmer, Que. in May 2022. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canada’s housing crisis is constantly in the news: <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/06/09/air-starts-to-seep-out-of-the-bubbly-canadian-property-market">sky-high prices</a>, mixed with high levels of inflation and household debt, is a recipe for disaster. <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8899130/canada-food-banks-inflation/">Inflation is also impacting food prices</a>, and as wages remain stagnant food insecurity appears to be <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6478695">on the rise</a>. </p>
<p>While both <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/05/21/1100562882/how-much-will-canadas-block-on-foreign-buyers-help-its-housing-crisis">housing affordability</a> and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-hunger-and-food-insecurity-increasing-across-canada-as-prices-soar/">food insecurity</a> are spoken about often, we rarely hear about whether, and how, they are connected. </p>
<p>One of us (Charlotte), was recently part of a team that conducted a <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/wd87b">review of research</a> exploring the “housing-food insecurity nexus” in Canada. It asked whether considering housing and food together could yield more comprehensive solutions than simply <a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-housing-crisis-will-not-be-solved-by-building-more-of-the-same-175221">building more housing</a>, or <a href="https://theconversation.com/holiday-food-drives-tossing-a-can-of-beans-into-a-donation-bin-is-hardly-enough-151185">increasing food charity supplies</a>.</p>
<h2>The ‘housing-food insecurity nexus’</h2>
<p>The team reviewed research addressing relationships between housing and food insecurity between 2000 and 2020. This helped <a href="https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/wd87b">define the housing-food insecurity nexus as</a> the “co-occurrence of housing and food insecurity, often resulting from unaffordable housing costs (and the relative flexibility of food expenditure) in the context of neoliberal housing policy and market conditions where living costs outstrip incomes for many.” </p>
<p>We found that due to the fixed pressure of housing costs and relative flexibility of food spending, many low-income people choose to go hungry rather than risk eviction. </p>
<p>This has followed funding cuts for non-market housing, prioritization of homeownership at the expense of renters, <a href="https://theconversation.com/housing-is-both-a-human-right-and-a-profitable-asset-and-thats-the-problem-172846">financialization</a> and incomes that fail to meet basic living costs. </p>
<p>And while <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09224-0">access to decent housing</a> and <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/bank-mergers/food-security-more-than-a-determinant-of-health">food are fundamental human rights and key social determinants of health</a>, they are more often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00245-5">framed and treated as commodities</a>.</p>
<h2>Demographic risk factors</h2>
<p>Throughout our review, we found research that consistently identified particular groups to be at greater vulnerability to both housing and food insecurity. These include <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-study-reveals-intensified-housing-inequality-in-canada-from-1981-to-2016-173633">renters</a>, people living with disabilities or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2017.1394435">HIV</a>, youth, students, women — especially single mothers — and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-018-2119-0">racialized people</a>.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159334">2016 Vancouver study</a> showed that 64 per cent of unhoused people were experiencing food insecurity. Negative health outcomes were compounded by mental health struggles, substance misuse and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00079-X">risky behaviours to acquire food</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A sign that reads 'sold over asking' is plastered in front of a home" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467851/original/file-20220608-22-mq5vmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467851/original/file-20220608-22-mq5vmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467851/original/file-20220608-22-mq5vmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467851/original/file-20220608-22-mq5vmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467851/original/file-20220608-22-mq5vmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467851/original/file-20220608-22-mq5vmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467851/original/file-20220608-22-mq5vmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Houses are currently selling for well over list price.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Demographic risk factors as well as marginalization often overlap and intersect, making problems worse. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112683">Some scholars</a> describe this as “multiple material needs insecurities” that combine with societal stigma to produce variable experiences and vulnerability to the housing-food insecurity nexus as disadvantages related to gender, race, sexuality and other social categories accumulate over the course of one’s life. </p>
<p>Housing and food insecurity often manifest in old age, despite the <a href="https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/sppp/article/view/42452/30344">protections of universal pension payments</a>. This is a time when individuals are least capable of participating in the labour market and navigating welfare and food services, yet <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffmed.2018.00203">remain overlooked by policymakers and service providers</a>.</p>
<p>But are there solutions to the housing-food insecurity nexus? </p>
<h2>Short-, medium- and long-term solutions</h2>
<p>In the short-term, community-based initiatives can bring food and housing provisioning together. They can facilitate food growing, or spatial access to affordable food in temporary accommodation or social housing. For example, FoodShare Toronto partners with housing agencies to <a href="https://foodshare.net/program/goodfoodbox/">provide healthy and affordable food</a> to low-income neighbourhoods.</p>
<p>And in the medium-term, better effort can be made to address intersecting policy drivers of the housing-food insecurity nexus through more collaborative governance. For example, a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.1771.0803">study in Peterborough, Ont.,</a> suggested how different levels of government can collaborate with housing providers, activists, researchers and community members to develop policy targeting housing and food together. </p>
<p>This can occur through food access planning in affordable housing developments (or, as in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/28/suppl_4/cky213.300/5191892">this Vancouver trial</a>, in rapid housing initiatives that try to move unhoused people into permanent homes). Even within transitional and subsidized housing services, food and housing supports often fail to meet the diverse needs of residents, especially those who are most vulnerable.</p>
<p>In the long-term, prevention of the housing-food insecurity nexus requires more fundamental changes in the ways that basic needs, such as housing and food, are framed (as rights rather than commodities) and provided, by targeting both incomes and supply. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People queue up for a pop up foodbank" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469341/original/file-20220616-20-8hk1wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469341/original/file-20220616-20-8hk1wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469341/original/file-20220616-20-8hk1wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469341/original/file-20220616-20-8hk1wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469341/original/file-20220616-20-8hk1wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469341/original/file-20220616-20-8hk1wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469341/original/file-20220616-20-8hk1wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Emergency housing and food provisions often fail to meet the needs of diverse people in vulnerable situations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This involves first tackling the low wealth and inadequate incomes that result in people being unable to meet all of their basic needs. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-019-1114-z">Benefits</a> must meet rising rental costs and housing costs can’t rise above 30 per cent of incomes, as <a href="https://www.dailybread.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Whos-Hungry-Report-2020.pdf">advocated by some food banks</a>. </p>
<p>Additionally, policy can target supply-side proposals that might decommodify housing, protecting it from the financialization that is helping drive housing insecurity. <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/igp/sites/bartlett/files/universal_basic_services_-_the_institute_for_global_prosperity_.pdf">Universal Basic Services</a>, a policy concept originating in the United Kingdom, suggests that rather than targeting income alone, policies should ensure that everyone can access basic requirements, from housing to food, based not on their ability to pay, but on our shared universal need. </p>
<p>Although the pandemic has triggered historic <a href="https://pub-calgary.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=145297">federal</a>, <a href="https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022AG0012-000369">provincial</a> and <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/federal-provincial-municipal-governments-support-rapid-housing-projects-in-vancouver-872604331.html">municipal</a> re-investments in social programs (including affordable housing), it remains to be seen whether these interventions will reach people who are most vulnerable, and whether they will truly reverse a longstanding political climate of <a href="https://monitormag.ca/articles/austerity-is-no-solution-for-inflation">austerity</a>. </p>
<p>Political will is the key ingredient to ensuring that secure housing and good food is something guaranteed to all.</p>
<p><em>Marit Rosol of the University of Calgary co-authored the <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/wd87b">housing-food insecurity nexus report</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182487/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlotte Spring is affiliated with the Global Alliance for Food, Health and Social Justice, and co-organizes the podcast Rights Not Charity </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Audrey Tung is affiliated with the Global Alliance for Food, Health, and Social Justice and is a co-contributor to the podcast Rights Not Charity.</span></em></p>While decent housing and food are fundamental human rights, they are often treated separately, and primarily as commodities. How can we tackle housing and food insecurity together, and better?Charlotte Spring, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, Wilfrid Laurier UniversityAudrey Tung, PhD Student, Geography, University of VictoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1794812022-03-23T19:06:28Z2022-03-23T19:06:28ZStability and security: the keys to closing the mental health gap between renters and home owners<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453481/original/file-20220322-23-t1sjez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C875%2C3859%2C1948&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>That renters have poorer mental health than home owners is well-documented. But how much of this is due to being in rental accommodation itself, rather than other factors such as lower incomes?</p>
<p>Our research quantifies this, showing housing insecurity has a clear impost on renters’ mental health. The good news is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114778">our results</a> show the gap between renters and home owners can be closed through longer rental tenure. </p>
<p>Controlling for other factors, once renters have lived in the same property for six years, their mental health is, on average, the same as homeowners. </p>
<p>This shows the importance of a sense of stability and continuity to personal well-being. Policies to promote stable housing are therefore an essential part of efforts to tackle our mental health crisis.</p>
<h2>How we did our research</h2>
<p>Age, relationship status, income and preexisting health conditions all help to explain the significant difference in mental health between owner-occupiers, private renters and those in social housing. </p>
<p>This is shown in the following graph, tracking the average mental health outcomes for owner occupiers, private rental tenants and social housing tenants in Australia over the past two decades.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453744/original/file-20220323-17-rqr1mu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453744/original/file-20220323-17-rqr1mu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453744/original/file-20220323-17-rqr1mu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453744/original/file-20220323-17-rqr1mu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453744/original/file-20220323-17-rqr1mu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453744/original/file-20220323-17-rqr1mu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453744/original/file-20220323-17-rqr1mu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453744/original/file-20220323-17-rqr1mu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<hr>
<p>This data comes from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, a nationally representative sample of about 18,000 Australians every year. It is a longitudinal study, meaning it surveys the same people each year on things including income, employment, housing, health and well-being. This enables researchers to use it to understand influences that change people’s lives over time. </p>
<p>HILDA enables mental health outcomes to be quantified and compared using two well-established scales. </p>
<p>One is known as <a href="https://www.rand.org/health-care/surveys_tools/mos/36-item-short-form.html">the 36-item Short Form Survey (SF-36)</a>. This include questions about anxiety, depression, and loss of behavioural or emotional control. The other is <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4363.0%7E2017-18%7EMain%20Features%7EKessler%20Psychological%20Distress%20Scale%20-10%20(K10)%7E35">the Kessler Psychological Distress scale questionnaire (K10)</a>. This asks questions about levels of nervousness, agitation, psychological fatigue and depression. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/poor-housing-leaves-its-mark-on-our-mental-health-for-years-to-come-120595">Poor housing leaves its mark on our mental health for years to come</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We used both scales to measure the effects of tenure stability – being stably housed without frequent forced moves – to ensure the validity of our results.</p>
<p>Our analysis focused on working aged people (25-65 years of age) living in low to middle income households, using a final sample of 7,060 people. </p>
<p>We then created comparable groups of owners and renters by matching people by their health and sociodemographic (income, education, employment, age, household characteristics, etc). This allowed us to control for other factors affecting mental health and isolate the effect of tenure stability.</p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>Our results show the mental health gap between private renters and home owners is greatest in the first year and declines the longer someone lives in the same home. </p>
<p>The next graph shows the results from the SF-36 mental health scale. The shaded bars indicates the range of values that we can be 95% confident will contain the true value. The dotted lines show average predicted values of mental health outcomes. </p>
<p>By the sixth year the difference between home owners and renters is slight and statistically insignificant.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453740/original/file-20220323-21-12dsbnq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453740/original/file-20220323-21-12dsbnq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453740/original/file-20220323-21-12dsbnq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453740/original/file-20220323-21-12dsbnq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453740/original/file-20220323-21-12dsbnq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453740/original/file-20220323-21-12dsbnq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453740/original/file-20220323-21-12dsbnq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453740/original/file-20220323-21-12dsbnq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<hr>
<p>It’s important to not interpret this as suggesting that renters will have better mental health after ten years. We don’t know that. There is less data available to make confident predictions after a decade.</p>
<p>The next graph shows our results using the Kessler scale of psychological well-being. These results are slightly different but broadly consistent with the previous chart.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453741/original/file-20220323-21-7pjvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453741/original/file-20220323-21-7pjvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453741/original/file-20220323-21-7pjvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453741/original/file-20220323-21-7pjvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453741/original/file-20220323-21-7pjvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453741/original/file-20220323-21-7pjvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453741/original/file-20220323-21-7pjvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453741/original/file-20220323-21-7pjvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<hr>
<p>These results suggest home ownership itself is not essential to mental health of well-being. The more important factor is security and stability.</p>
<p>Studies overseas have found similar results. A 2019 study covering <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2020.1823332">25 European countries</a>, for example, found that while homeowners tend to have better health and well-being outcomes than renters, the smaller the difference in outcome the smaller the tenure gap. </p>
<p>This may be due to stable tenancy increasing people’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09224-0">sense of control and safety</a>, enabling <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23361126">social connection and community participation</a>, and benefits for <a href="https://www.urban.org/research/publication/negative-effects-instability-child-development-research-synthesis">childhood development</a>. </p>
<p>This is likely why our research shows stability is particularly beneficial for private renters in the 35-44 age bracket – the cohort most likely to have young children. Their improvement with stability is larger than renters in other age groups and they become similar to homeowners in the level of well-being faster, reaching parity at three to four years.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/private-renters-are-doing-it-tough-in-outer-suburbs-of-sydney-and-melbourne-120427">Private renters are doing it tough in outer suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne</a>
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<h2>Stronger rental protection is needed</h2>
<p>With the high costs of housing in Australia meaning an increasing proportion of the population are being shut out of home ownership, our results point to the importance of stronger tenant rights and improved minimum standards for rental housing conditions. </p>
<p>Most renters have little security, with lease length in Australia typically lasting one year, sometimes just six months. </p>
<p>One reform to give renters more security is to end no-grounds eviction – by which landlords can evict tenants on a fixed-term lease if they wish. The Victorian government did so <a href="https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/renting/changes-to-renting-laws/guide-to-rental-law-changes">in 2021</a>. Queensland will do so <a href="https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/94557#:%7E:text=A%20rental%20property%20owner%20will,this%20request%20within%2014%20days">in October</a>. The other states and territories should follow suit.</p>
<p>Ending the merry-go-round of short, unstable leases means people can live better, healthier lives. That’s good not just for renters but society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179481/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ang Li receives funding from the University of Melbourne Early Career Researcher Grant Scheme and funding support from the National Health and Medical Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Baker receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), and The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI). She is currently board member of Habitat for Humanity (SA). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Bentley receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Controlling for other factors, the mental health cost of renting can be eliminated through longer tenure and greater security.Ang Li, Research Fellow, NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Housing, Centre for Health Policy, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of MelbourneEmma Baker, Professor of Housing Research and Deputy Director of the NHMRC Centre of Excellence for Healthy Housing, University of AdelaideRebecca Bentley, Professor of Social Epidemiology, Principal Research Fellow in Social Epidemiology and Director of the Centre for Research Excellence in Healthy Housing in Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1752212022-02-23T16:44:50Z2022-02-23T16:44:50ZCanada’s housing crisis will not be solved by building more of the same<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444892/original/file-20220207-127289-c6kl53.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C0%2C3000%2C1967&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Are building booms helping address the housing crisis? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canada’s “housing bubble,” along with increasing sale and rental prices, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-canada-needs-to-build-a-lot-more-housing-there-are-finally-plans-to/">has led to calls</a> for building more housing. </p>
<p>However, the housing crisis will not be solved by building more of the same like condos and suburban homes for single families. But alternatives to <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2111-in-defense-of-housing">housing-as-commodity</a> could offer a partial solution to the bubble, and housing inequality more broadly. </p>
<p>One underlying reason for calls for more housing supply is <a href="https://theconversation.com/home-sweet-home-is-a-dying-dream-federal-election-promises-wont-solve-affordable-housing-crisis-166300">the notion of private property</a> and its historical connection to citizenship. Early Canadian legislation divided and <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/colonial-lives-of-property">granted land to white settlers as private property to encourage occupation</a>.</p>
<p>Another reason is financial; home ownership is seen as a means of wealth accumulation, and government policies and actions — like low mortgage interest rates — <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-election-2021-more-supply-wont-solve-canadas-housing-affordability-crisis-167620">fuel this vision</a>. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/housing-is-both-a-human-right-and-a-profitable-asset-and-thats-the-problem-172846">Housing is both a human right and a profitable asset, and that's the problem</a>
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<p><a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/neoliberalism.asp">Neoliberalization since the 1980s</a> <a href="https://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp_525.pdf">and financialization since the 2000s</a> have created the <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-study-reveals-intensified-housing-inequality-in-canada-from-1981-to-2016-173633">current conditions of housing inequality</a> in Canadian cities and beyond. </p>
<h2>Spotlight on housing inequality</h2>
<p>People lacking intergenerational wealth are more likely to be <a href="https://betterdwelling.com/canadas-recent-immigrants-are-unhappy-with-housing-after-real-estate-prices-soar/">newcomers, racialized or marginalized</a> — making accessing housing even more difficult. </p>
<p>Along with issues of race, the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-cities-across-canada-grapple-with-how-to-respond-to-growing-homeless/">pandemic has spotlighted</a> another crucial housing inequality issue, homelessness. The issue has been exacerbated by the pandemic <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-transit-shelters-homelessness-1.6310355">as people experiencing homelessness avoided shelters</a> because of overcrowding and fears of contracting the virus. </p>
<p>The summers of 2020 and 2021 were marked not only by outcries about housing prices, but also by the struggles of homeless people who claimed their rights to be housed on public spaces through <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-solution-to-homeless-encampments-is-making-them-unnecessary-not-illegal-167166">tent encampments</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two people hugging each other. In the background, tents, crates, sleeping bags, coolers, shoes and other personal belongings can be seen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444884/original/file-20220207-1085-ozen2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444884/original/file-20220207-1085-ozen2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444884/original/file-20220207-1085-ozen2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444884/original/file-20220207-1085-ozen2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444884/original/file-20220207-1085-ozen2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444884/original/file-20220207-1085-ozen2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444884/original/file-20220207-1085-ozen2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Two friends embrace at a homeless encampment at Strathcona Park in Vancouver, B.C., after a 10 a.m. deadline was given for people to vacate the park on April 31, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
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<p>The housing crisis is affecting Canadians across the income spectrum, driving up costs and making it out of reach for some and more difficult for others. I experienced the heated market first-hand last summer when I was outbid on multiple homes. I have moved five times in the past decade. Even while having steady and secure employment as a professor, and being part of a dual-income family, housing cost me not only a good portion of my income but also considerable time.</p>
<p>This is a standard story — but why should it be?</p>
<h2>Architecture and decommodified housing</h2>
<p>My experiences with the housing market motivated me to study the architectural history of a number of decommodified housing options conceived <a href="https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315712697-14">at the end of the 1970s</a> that are still in operation in Providence, R.I., and in Montréal. (My paper on Montréal cases called “Empowerment through Design? Housing Cooperatives for Women in Montreal” will be published in May.) </p>
<p>The projects I studied had benefited from a shift in national housing policy around 1973 when governments moved from direct supply in the form of public housing projects, to funding non-profit and for-profit suppliers <a href="https://cornellpress.manifoldapp.org/read/public-housing-myths/section/f03e4235-b970-48d7-a46b-82a7c295b3bd#PrintPage_Ch5_121">of low-income housing in the United States</a> and <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/schl-cmhc/nh15/NH15-566-1992-eng.pdf">non-profits and co-ops in Canada</a>. </p>
<p>In both contexts, I noted that having access to affordable housing, adequate space, public services and schools allowed residents to invest in other areas of their lives and in their families. It helped a lot if the architectural designs were attuned to the residents’ lives and needs. </p>
<p>In apartment layouts, the Providence-based Women’s Development Corporation provided eat-in kitchens comfortably large enough for children to study and play in while working parents prepare dinner, in addition to a separate, more formal living room, along with lots of storage space. The plans came about after participatory design workshops with future users who were single mothers.</p>
<h2>The history of co-op housing</h2>
<p>Canada has had many experiments in collective ownership and decommodified housing. Co-op housing is one of the better know experiments. </p>
<p>The first-generation of co-ops were intended for private property acquisition. Members of these “building co-operatives” would not only contribute payments, but also <a href="https://memorialuniversitypress.ca/Books/S/Sweat-Equity">sweat equity</a> where households would provide construction labour to bring down the costs. </p>
<p>The building co-op would typically dissolve once the buildings were ready for occupation, and titles were distributed to the owners. In denser urban areas, such as Montréal, higher land prices and the inability of families to contribute sweat equity made such projects more difficult to realize. </p>
<p>Through the 1960s, the co-op sector moved away from a model of private property to one of social property, to “continuing co-operatives.” Continuing co-operatives offered their members control over their living conditions and environments. In dense areas such as in Montréal’s urban core, <a href="https://www.miltonparc.org/about-us/">co-ops such as Milton Park</a> — which remains one of the largest renovated housing co-op developments in North America with 616 co-op units organized in 15 distinct co-ops — have helped renovate existing housing stock and contributed to historic preservation and inner-city regeneration. </p>
<p>Through collective ownership, such co-ops helped curb appreciation of property values. </p>
<p>From the mid-1980s, the Canadian government started withdrawing its support, and by 1992 had <a href="http://www.borealispress.com/underconstruction.html">cancelled its co-op housing programs</a>. Yet, co-ops are still being built with provincial and municipal funding schemes and new challenges, like increased inner-city land prices.</p>
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<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/33722124" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Information on scattered-site housing for low-income families with children and a variety of other households.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Alternative housing solutions</h2>
<p>From the transformation of single room occupancy (SRO) hotels <a href="https://www.bchousing.org/projects-partners/development-projects/sro-renewal">into affordable apartments for young people (SRO Revitalization)</a> in Vancouver, to the conversion of <a href="https://www.torontohousing.ca/alexandra_park_revitalization">Alexandra Park public housing</a> to the <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9780802038036/building-a-co-operative-community-in-public-housing/">Atkinson Housing Cooperative</a> in Toronto to <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/professionals/industry-innovation-and-leadership/industry-expertise/affordable-housing/case-studies-and-testimonials/cohabitat-quebec-city">Cohabitat in Québec City</a>, there are ongoing efforts to provide alternative housing and living models across Canada.</p>
<p>Beyond our borders, there are also examples from around the world <a href="https://citymonitor.ai/housing/residential-construction/red-vienna-how-austrias-capital-earned-its-place-in-housing-history">such as Vienna, Austria</a>, where government interventions serve a range of income groups — not just low-income people. </p>
<p>They have achieved this through high levels of government support and legislative frameworks that support a combination of non-profit and limited profit housing co-operatives which invest profits back into housing. </p>
<p>If housing is indeed a right, could it not be re-imagined like health care or education? </p>
<p>Regardless of one’s income, one can choose to send their children to the public school system, and theoretically access the same resources. Similarly, one can also choose to use publicly funded health-care services because they are better and trustworthy, regardless of income. </p>
<p>Societal investment in housing would decommodify a significant portion of the housing market, and could help create a more equitable, diverse and happy future society for all of us. We can move beyond our current housing crisis and engage in collective social dreaming for new possible housing futures. </p>
<p><em>This is a corrected version of a story originally published on Feb. 23, 2021. The earlier story said Milton Park is the largest housing co-op development in North America, but it is one of the largest renovated housing co-op developments in North America.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175221/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ipek Tureli receives funding from SSHRC and CRC. </span></em></p>Providing more decommodified housing alternatives, like co-op, could offer a partial remedy to rampant housing inequality in Canada.Ipek Tureli, Associate Professor of Architecture, Canada Research Chair, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1736332021-12-23T15:12:11Z2021-12-23T15:12:11ZNew study reveals intensified housing inequality in Canada from 1981 to 2016<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438720/original/file-20211221-19-1ypys82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3910%2C1960&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Neoliberal housing policies and financialization over the past four decades has helped transform housing in Canada from human necessity to an investment opportunity. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Driven by the neoliberal belief in the superiority of the free market, the <a href="http://neighbourhoodchange.ca/documents/2019/11/canadas-housing-story-2019-chap-4.pdf">housing policy in Canada</a> has shifted from a welfare-oriented policy to a market-oriented one over the past four decades, encouraging home ownership, deregulation and private consumption.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1068%2Fa130226p">Housing financialization</a>, the transformation of housing from a human right to an investment opportunity, has been driven by the federal government primarily through financial market deregulation and a financial practice called <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/securitization.asp">mortgage securitization</a>.</p>
<p>Much of the debate about the housing crisis has focused on the market imbalance between supply and demand, citing factors such as <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/federal-election-2021/erin-o-toole-targets-housing-crisis-pledges-freeze-on-foreign-investment-1.5553212">foreign investment</a> and <a href="https://financialpost.com/real-estate/supply-is-the-only-cause-and-solution-to-canadas-housing-woes-its-time-to-be-bold">lack of market supply</a>. However, many housing problems today need to be viewed in the historical context of the housing system restructuring, which keeps housing and wealth inequality alive and well.</p>
<p>Using the historical census data of five metropolitan areas — Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton and Calgary — from 1981 to 2016, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2021.2004093">our study</a> reveals deeply entrenched housing inequality in accessing affordable housing in the post-1990s neoliberal era. Both neoliberal housing policies and housing financialization are important contributors to this intensified housing inequality.</p>
<h2>Canada’s housing system: from welfare to neoliberal regime</h2>
<p>Until the mid-1980s, Canada had a welfare housing regime with strong state intervention in social housing supply — first in the form of public housing financed and managed by the government, then in community housing developed by a mix of community groups with government funding and finance. </p>
<p>This welfare-oriented regime was transformed into a neoliberal regime in the 1990s, when the federal government moved away from social housing and started relying primarily on the private sector for housing supply. </p>
<p><a href="http://neighbourhoodchange.ca/documents/2019/11/canadas-housing-story-2019-chap-4.pdf">Federal expenditure on housing programs</a> dropped from nearly 1.5 per cent in 1981 to slightly over 0.6 per cent of the total federal expenditure in 2016. Since then, the social housing sector has become more “core-needs” targeted, supporting people with special needs and leaving those in need of independent social housing to the private market. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Construction worker standing on a half-finished roof. In the foreground there are three half-built houses." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438719/original/file-20211221-13-18jmjtt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438719/original/file-20211221-13-18jmjtt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438719/original/file-20211221-13-18jmjtt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438719/original/file-20211221-13-18jmjtt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438719/original/file-20211221-13-18jmjtt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438719/original/file-20211221-13-18jmjtt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438719/original/file-20211221-13-18jmjtt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bill C-66 helped channel household savings into increasingly expensive housing markets, boosting housing demand and driving financial capital into the housing market.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The 2000s marked the start of housing financialization in Canada. In 1999, responding to the demands of consumers and the financial sector, the federal government introduced <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/Pilot/LoPBdP/LS/c66-e.htm">Bill C-66</a> that aimed to turn the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) from home-builder to mortgage-insurer. With easier access to credits and lower interest rates, household savings were channelled into increasingly expensive housing markets, boosting housing demand and attracting financial capital into the profitable housing market. </p>
<h2>More Canadian households face affordability problems over time</h2>
<p>The neoliberalization of housing policy came with increased housing inequality. One outcome of housing financialization is the increase in residential mortgage debt to finance housing. <a href="https://betterdwelling.com/canadian-mortgage-debt-grew-by-over-5-of-gdp-in-just-one-year/">The residential mortgage debt to GDP ratio</a> rose from 26 per cent, to a whopping 68 per cent between 1981 and 2016. </p>
<p>Our study uses the shelter-costs-to-income ratio (CIR) to assess housing affordability. Overall, the average CIRs across these five census metropolitan areas fluctuated modestly between 25 per cent and 33 per cent throughout the census years. Yet, more Canadian households have experienced housing unaffordability problems over time. The share of renter households that spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing increased from 35 per cent to 42 per cent between 1986 and 2016. These numbers for owners increased from 14 per cent to 22 per cent during the same period. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438305/original/file-20211218-13-ptvayu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438305/original/file-20211218-13-ptvayu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438305/original/file-20211218-13-ptvayu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438305/original/file-20211218-13-ptvayu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438305/original/file-20211218-13-ptvayu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438305/original/file-20211218-13-ptvayu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438305/original/file-20211218-13-ptvayu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438305/original/file-20211218-13-ptvayu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chart showing the share of renter and owner households that spend more than 30 per cent of income on housing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Statistics Canada)</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Greater inequality in accessing affordable housing in the neoliberal era</h2>
<p>The more commodified a housing sector, the more access to housing one would expect to have, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2015.1109545">contingent on an individual’s economic status</a> rather than citizenship. Indeed, the gap in affordable housing access between income groups has enlarged in Canada. </p>
<p>After taking factors such as household type and size and socio-demographic characteristics into consideration, we estimated that the average CIR for high-income households dropped from 46 per cent for low to middle-income income households, to 40 per cent post-2001. This suggests a greater gap in accessing affordable housing determined by income, and a more commodified housing sector in the neoliberal era. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438759/original/file-20211221-48933-svyo60.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438759/original/file-20211221-48933-svyo60.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438759/original/file-20211221-48933-svyo60.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438759/original/file-20211221-48933-svyo60.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438759/original/file-20211221-48933-svyo60.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438759/original/file-20211221-48933-svyo60.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438759/original/file-20211221-48933-svyo60.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chart illustrating the predicted shelter-costs-to-income ratio of high-income households to low and medium-income households.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Author provided)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The reduced federal expenditure on social housing and increasing residential-debt-to-GDP ratio, induced by housing financialization, shows <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2021.2004093">significant effects</a> on the rising housing unaffordability, among other macroeconomic factors such as GDP growth and unemployment rates. </p>
<p>While the withdrawal of the federal funding increased housing costs for both income groups, housing financialization exacerbated housing unaffordability only for low to middle-income households, while benefiting high-income households by improving housing affordability for them. This reflects the private market’s incluination to respond to the housing demand of those with stronger purchasing power, leading to reduced housing supply for those at the bottom of the income ladder and reinforcing housing inequality between the two income groups. </p>
<h2>The vulnerability of low-income renters and young homeowners</h2>
<p>Housing commodification and financialization in the neoliberal era have had uneven impacts on Canadian households. Low to middle-income renters at all ages appear to encounter housing affordability stress, although their CIR remains relatively stable over time. </p>
<p>In contrast, the CIR for low to middle-income homeowners increased substantially over time. Young homeowners are the worst off due to easier access to mortgage loans and slow income improvement, representing a new form of housing vulnerability. While high-income homeowners have also experienced rising CIR over time, their CIR remain well below 30 per cent. High-income renters have seen improved affordability over the years. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438308/original/file-20211218-25-1s2e3ow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438308/original/file-20211218-25-1s2e3ow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438308/original/file-20211218-25-1s2e3ow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438308/original/file-20211218-25-1s2e3ow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438308/original/file-20211218-25-1s2e3ow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438308/original/file-20211218-25-1s2e3ow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438308/original/file-20211218-25-1s2e3ow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438308/original/file-20211218-25-1s2e3ow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chart showing predicted shelter-costs-to-income ratio by age, tenure and income, 1981-2016. Low-income renters and low-income young homeowners are disproportionately impacted by rising housing unaffordability.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Author provided)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Housing gaps widest among women and immigrants</h2>
<p>There are significant housing affordability gaps between different gender and immigrant groups. These disparities do exist regardless of housing tenure, but they were only present among low to middle-income households. While established immigrants tend to catch up with native-born Canadians, the gender gap persists among low-income households, regardless of immigrant status. This implies the existence of <a href="http://www.hnc.utoronto.ca/pdfs/home/Novac_Discrimination-Lit-Re.pdf">systemic barriers</a> in low-income female-led households, such as male bias in the design and planning of the residential spaces in social housing.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438309/original/file-20211218-21-17dm3kj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438309/original/file-20211218-21-17dm3kj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438309/original/file-20211218-21-17dm3kj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=236&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438309/original/file-20211218-21-17dm3kj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=236&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438309/original/file-20211218-21-17dm3kj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=236&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438309/original/file-20211218-21-17dm3kj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438309/original/file-20211218-21-17dm3kj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438309/original/file-20211218-21-17dm3kj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chart demonstrating predicted shelter-costs-to-income ratio in 2016 by sex, income and immigrant status for renters (a) and owners (b). Low-income recent immigrants and low-income female-led households are disadvantaged in affordable housing access.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Author provided)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Overall, Canada’s housing section is highly commodified, with income playing a major role in accessing affordable housing. To date, housing policies have mainly focused on market solutions, such as discouraging foreign investment or encouraging the market supply of affordable housing. However, the intensified market mechanism resulting from neoliberal housing policies has widened the housing disparity gap between the haves and the have-nots. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.12522">State institutions have been utilized and transformed to facilitate</a>, rather than limit, the commodification and financialization of housing. It is vital for public policies to recognize the state as part of the housing problem and shift the policy narratives around housing unaffordability from simply a market disequilibrium problem, to a failure of state institutions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173633/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yushu Zhu receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>The conversation about housing policies needs to highlight the significant role the state plays in creating existing housing problems, and providing the resulting solutions.Yushu Zhu, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Urban Studies and Public Policy, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1462732020-09-24T12:24:58Z2020-09-24T12:24:58ZHomes in Black and Latino neighborhoods still undervalued 50 years after US banned using race in real estate appraisals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359615/original/file-20200923-20-soexi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C3847%2C2492&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Real estate prices are still related to a neighborhood's racial composition, despite laws prohibiting the explicit consideration of race in appraisals. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Racial inequality in home values is greater today than it was 40 years ago, with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y42pKiIIJBU">homes in white neighborhoods appreciating $200,000</a> more since 1980 than comparable homes in similar communities of color. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spaa033">new research on home appraisals</a> shows neighborhood racial composition still drives unequal home values, despite laws that forbid real estate professionals from explicitly using race when evaluating a property’s worth. Published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/socpro">Social Problems</a>, our study finds this growing inequality results from both historical policies and contemporary practices. </p>
<p>In the 1930s, the federal government institutionalized a process for evaluating how much a property was worth. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/28/redlining-was-banned-50-years-ago-its-still-hurting-minorities-today/">Often called redlining</a>, this process used neighborhood racial and socioeconomic composition to determine home values. Homes in white communities were deemed more valuable than identical dwellings in communities of color.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y42pKiIIJBU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Redlining has been illegal for 43 years – but it is still depressing the value of Black and Latino neighborhoods.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Legislative action in the late 1960s and 1970s prohibited this practice. But the law allowed appraisers to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spaa033">use past sale prices to determine home values</a>. Our research shows how using old, race-based sale prices ensured appraisers continued to define homes in white neighborhoods as worth more than similar homes in Black and Latino communities. Racism was baked into the system.</p>
<p>Real estate professionals compound these historical inequalities by assuming communities of color <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2332649218755178">are undesirable</a>, even when real estate demand suggests otherwise.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>For most U.S. families, their home is their greatest asset. As their home appreciates in value, <a href="https://socialequity.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/what-we-get-wrong.pdf">their wealth increases</a>, enabling them to fund their retirement, their children’s college educations or unexpected expenses like large medical bills.</p>
<p>The racial inequality in home values and appreciation rates has <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/12/10/how-home-ownership-keeps-blacks-poorer-than-whites/#4e3d27cc4cce">created a large and increasing racial wealth gap</a>. On average, U.S. <a href="https://kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/2020/09/21/housing-cost-residential-segregation-unfair-advantages-whites-and-unfair-punishment">white families have 20 times more wealth</a> than families of color. Our research identifies increasing racial inequality in home values as a key reason this gap persists and has doubled since 1980. </p>
<p>These growing gaps don’t affect just homeowners. They also affect renters. Since 1980, real estate prices have risen <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/06/us-house-prices-are-going-to-rise-at-twice-the-speed-of-inflation-and-pay-reuters-poll.html">far faster than inflation</a>, <a href="https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/places-where-pay-raises-dramatically-trail-home-price-gains/">incomes</a> and prices of <a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/four-ways-todays-high-home-prices-affect-larger-economy">consumer goods like food or clothing</a>. As a result, housing costs now make up a larger proportion of residents’ expenses. </p>
<p>Families who have historically owned homes in white neighborhoods can afford these increased costs because their appreciating home values have expanded their relative wealth. But for everyone else, high housing costs are a burden. For many renters, high housing costs combined with stagnant wages have created an acute and worsening <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/insider/housing-evictions.html">affordable housing crisis</a>. Many struggle to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-evictions-superspreader.html">remain housed</a> – including during the pandemic – and very few can save enough to transition into home ownership.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359628/original/file-20200923-24-1d2i7yg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young girl holds a bilingual sign reading 'no evictions/no desalojos' while being comforted by her sister" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359628/original/file-20200923-24-1d2i7yg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359628/original/file-20200923-24-1d2i7yg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359628/original/file-20200923-24-1d2i7yg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359628/original/file-20200923-24-1d2i7yg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359628/original/file-20200923-24-1d2i7yg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359628/original/file-20200923-24-1d2i7yg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359628/original/file-20200923-24-1d2i7yg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protesters in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 1 demand a moratorium on evictions during the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/aleandra-lara-stands-between-her-sister-julmeiris-lara-and-news-photo/1270122231?adppopup=true">Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Finally, because the property taxes that pay for physical infrastructure, public services and other amenities are determined based on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/20/opinion/fair-housing-act-trump.html">real estate values</a>, the higher home values in white neighborhoods enable <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2019/07/15/469838/racial-disparities-home-appreciation/">better-funded schools</a>, libraries, parks and utilities – even <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0131-highsmith-flint-water-crisis-20160131-story.html">essential services like clean water</a>. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Researchers are still investigating which governmental policies and industry incentives might eliminate <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/devaluation-of-assets-in-black-neighborhoods/">ongoing and severe inequalities</a> across the U.S. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122418781774">housing market</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/">Reparations for those hurt by racist federal housing policies</a> and <a href="https://financialservices.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=403835">new legal standards for property appraising</a> are proposals that could make important first steps toward equity. But fully addressing racism in real estate will require reshaping the very foundations of the U.S. housing market.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146273/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows homes in white areas have appreciated $200,000 more since 1980 than similar homes in nonwhite areas – a result of both old racist housing policies and modern real estate practices.Junia Howell, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of PittsburghElizabeth Korver-Glenn, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of New MexicoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1429072020-08-03T20:00:39Z2020-08-03T20:00:39Z‘Uprooting, no matter how small a plant you are, is a trauma’: older women renters are struggling<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350081/original/file-20200729-21-1mvylp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C22%2C3822%2C2525&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-older-woman-empty-room-boxes-128820712">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Older women renters are struggling in an <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-insecurity-of-private-renters-how-do-they-manage-it-77324">insecure</a> and <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/research-advocacy/the-rental-affordability-snapshot">unaffordable</a> rental housing market. A combination of high rents and low incomes leaves many living in substandard housing and unable to afford necessities like food and energy bills.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.26183/5edf0f0d75cf8">My research</a> shows rent increases further stress household budgets, and evictions magnify these risks. COVID-19 makes the need for reform even more urgent. Secure housing is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19491247.2020.1756599">first line of community defence</a> against the pandemic.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/400-000-women-over-45-are-at-risk-of-homelessness-in-australia-142906">400,000 women over 45 are at risk of homelessness in Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Unaffordable, substandard rentals</h2>
<p>Rental stress occurs when households spend more than 30% of their income on rent. On average, low-income households spend “<a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters">almost 40% of their disposable income on rent</a>”. </p>
<p>Many households experience relatively short periods of rental stress. However, older low-income renters have very limited options.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.26183/5edf0f0d75cf8">In a report released today</a>, single older women living on low incomes describe to me how high and rising rents left them struggling to meet day-to-day costs. Many paid rent before they bought food or paid power bills because the alternative was eviction. This is why the <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters">Productivity Commission</a> describes rental affordability as a “driver of disadvantage” for low-income households.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing percentages of income that low-income households and other households spend on rent" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters">Productivity Commission</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/growing-numbers-of-renters-are-trapped-for-years-in-homes-they-cant-afford-125216">Growing numbers of renters are trapped for years in homes they can't afford</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For example, a rent increase left Tracey, a participant in my research, with only $30 after other essential costs were covered. She described her efforts to survive as “like my job. I’d go to one [charity] where they had the food cupboard and fresh produce” and to another where she could get a monthly food voucher. This experience was common.</p>
<p>To reduce their rental costs women often lived in substandard housing. For example, Michelle moved house seven times to find more affordable housing. She described her most recent house:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Gaps around all the windows and all the doors where literally, when it was windy, the curtain would blow and the wooden shutters, the wooden blinds, would actually blow.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While the rent was affordable, the cost for the house “rose astronomically” due to the need to use a heater throughout winter. Another participant, Toni, bought heavy curtains to try to block out the cold in her rental and, in an extreme example, clad the outside of two properties with tarpaulins to reduce draughts.</p>
<h2>Rental insecurity</h2>
<p>Older women also lived with high levels of rental insecurity. Private renters move more often than people in other housing tenures. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing how often private renters, social housing tenants and home owners move house." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters">Productivity Commission</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most older Australians wish to age in place in a familiar home and community. This is not an option for many older renters.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-australians-to-have-the-choice-of-growing-old-at-home-here-is-what-needs-to-change-91488">For Australians to have the choice of growing old at home, here is what needs to change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Older renters face a <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters">higher risk of eviction</a>. Landlord decisions to repurpose housing or increase rents can trigger involuntary moves. These are <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2014.963522">recognised</a> drivers of first-time homelessness in older age.</p>
<p>For low-income older renters moving house drives financial risks. Moving house can be expensive. Costs include bond (typically four weeks’ rent, paid in advance), disconnection and reconnection of utilities, and removalists or vehicle hire. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Small van packed with household belongings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The costs of moving house can set back renters’ budgets for months.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cardboard-boxes-furniture-car-on-city-753721615">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As Gwen explained, “It’s all a cost factor.” For women living on already stretched budgets the risks are magnified.</p>
<p>Many women borrowed money to cover moving costs. This left them in debt that, as Gail explained, could take “months” to recover from. </p>
<p>Most downsized their possessions to make moving house cheaper and more manageable. Jenny explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You’ve got no choice. You’re parting with things that – well everything you’ve got together are part of your belongings and part of who you are and who you’ve established yourself to be. […] It’s part of your home.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Michelle drew parallels with the experiences of people “whose house caught fire or who’d had a flood” – only she was able to make choices about what to keep and what to give away.</p>
<p>The emotional costs were immense. Women described the stress and disappointment of forced relocations. Jenny explained the need to emotionally detach from her house: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>And once you know you’re moving, all of a sudden that house is no longer your home. You get to the point of saying, okay, this house isn’t mine – it’s only a house where I’m living at the moment.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Relocating, Alice explained: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] means rifling through my paltry possessions fairly often and that I find upsets me a bit. […] uprooting, no matter how small a plant you are, is a trauma. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>I report on these experiences of having to move house in further detail in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X20000768">just-released research paper</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-sort-of-housing-do-older-australians-want-and-where-do-they-want-to-live-120987">What sort of housing do older Australians want and where do they want to live?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>It is time for reform</h2>
<p>Our federal government needs to permanently raise the JobSeeker payment and act on housing affordability to give low-income renters a fighting chance.</p>
<p>At a state level, it is time to end “no grounds” evictions. “With cause” measures, as recently introduced in Victoria, better balance tenants’ needs for housing security with the rights of landlords to repurpose properties when required. </p>
<p>We also need quantified minimum rental housing standards. New Zealand’s <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2014.963522">Healthy Homes</a> standards can be a model for us. These standards ensure only properties that are healthy and sound go to market.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chilly-house-mouldy-rooms-heres-how-to-improve-low-income-renters-access-to-decent-housing-116749">Chilly house? Mouldy rooms? Here's how to improve low-income renters’ access to decent housing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The number of older Australians who rent is projected to increase over the next decade as <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/home-ownership-and-housing-tenure">home ownership levels decline</a>. The stories of older women in the private rental sector are a warning about the risks that declining housing affordability and rental insecurity pose to this growing group. They are the “canary in the coalmine” for Australia’s housing system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142907/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was funded by an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship (Grant DE150100861). Emma has also recently received funding from the Australian Research Council Linkage Program, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), Common Equity NSW and Landcom. </span></em></p>High rents and insecurity are constant sources of financial and emotional stress for low-income women. They describe what it’s like struggling to survive and being one step away from being homeless.Emma Power, Senior Research Fellow, Geography and Urban Studies, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1429062020-08-03T20:00:26Z2020-08-03T20:00:26Z400,000 women over 45 are at risk of homelessness in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349833/original/file-20200728-15-1vehdj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C0%2C4671%2C3130&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/senior-old-woman-despair-hands-over-766220701">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Older women have been recognised as the <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/age-discrimination/projects/risk-homelessness-older-women">fastest-growing group of homeless people</a> in Australia in recent years. Yet until now we have not known exactly how many older women are at risk of homelessness. Our <a href="https://www.oldertenants.org.au/">research</a>, released today, finds about 240,000 women aged 55 or older and another 165,000 women aged 45-54 are at risk of homelessness. </p>
<p>The startling data from our research give us a much better picture of the scale of the problem. We also quantify the impacts of the various factors that may increase women’s risk of becoming homeless.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/320030/original/file-20200312-116261-a6ugi0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=90&fit=crop&dpr=2" alt="Sign up to The Conversation" width="100%"></a></p>
<p>Effective policy is grounded in quantifying the nature and complexity of issues. To date, a limited but <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/age-discrimination/publications/older-womens-risk-homelessness-background-paper-2019">growing number</a> of <a href="https://www.aag.asn.au/documents/item/2234">studies</a> have highlighted the experiences of older women who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. But few studies quantified the numbers at risk and the factors that increase the risk.</p>
<h2>What puts women at risk?</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349838/original/file-20200728-19-3m8gjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Older woman looks at her rent payment notices." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349838/original/file-20200728-19-3m8gjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349838/original/file-20200728-19-3m8gjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=773&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349838/original/file-20200728-19-3m8gjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=773&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349838/original/file-20200728-19-3m8gjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=773&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349838/original/file-20200728-19-3m8gjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349838/original/file-20200728-19-3m8gjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349838/original/file-20200728-19-3m8gjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Older people who live in private rental housing are at higher risk of becoming homeless.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/elderly-woman-grandmother-looking-rent-1744792334">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Older people are generally considered to be at less risk of homelessness because of their <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/home-ownership-and-housing-tenure">higher rates of home ownership</a>. But increasingly <a href="https://cepar.edu.au/resources-videos/research-briefs/housing-ageing-australia-nest-and-nest-egg">unaffordable housing</a> has added to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/home-ownership-now-the-great-divider-of-australian-society-20190919-p52syz.html">concerns</a> about the circumstances and living situations of older people who do not own homes, have limited wealth and savings and do not have the benefit of living in social housing. These households rely on the private rental market and are at considerable risk of <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/research-advocacy/the-rental-affordability-snapshot/docs/default-source/default-document-library/rental-affordability-snapshot-2020">housing affordability stress</a> and hence homelessness. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/older-and-poorer-retirement-income-review-cant-ignore-the-changing-role-of-home-131151">Older and poorer: Retirement Income Review can't ignore the changing role of home</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>To examine risk profiles, we constructed an empirical model of risk of homelessness since the 2007-09 Global Financial Crisis using data from the <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/hilda">Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey</a>. The modelling included people who hold a mortgage or pay rent in private or public housing and are aged 45 or older. </p>
<p>This work found older women are more likely to be at risk of homelessness if they have one or more of the following characteristics: </p>
<p>• have been at risk before</p>
<p>• are not employed full-time</p>
<p>• are an immigrant from a non-English-speaking country </p>
<p>• are in private rental housing</p>
<p>• would have difficulty raising emergency funds</p>
<p>• are Indigenous</p>
<p>• are a lone-person household</p>
<p>• are a lone parent (but little evidence for those never married).</p>
<p>We estimated these profiles using a statistical model to analyse the relationship between homelessness risk and the characteristics of interest. We controlled for other characteristics that are likely to influence the risk of becoming homeless but which were not the focus of the study. </p>
<h2>Risk factors compound each other</h2>
<p>Multiple factors compound the risk of being homeless. While noting sampling limitations (small samples in subgroups of the data and annual volatility), the HILDA data for the post-GFC period suggest:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>for women aged 55-64 in a private rental, about 28% are likely to be at risk</p></li>
<li><p>for women who are also not employed full-time the percentage at risk increases to about 34%</p></li>
<li><p>for those who are also a lone parent the risk rises to over 65%</p></li>
<li><p>the risk increases to over 85% if, in addition, they have experienced at least one prior occurrence of being at risk. </p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349837/original/file-20200728-23-15z661u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bar chart shows how a women's risk of homeless increases with each extra risk factor" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349837/original/file-20200728-23-15z661u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349837/original/file-20200728-23-15z661u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=212&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349837/original/file-20200728-23-15z661u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=212&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349837/original/file-20200728-23-15z661u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=212&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349837/original/file-20200728-23-15z661u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349837/original/file-20200728-23-15z661u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349837/original/file-20200728-23-15z661u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data: HILDA Survey</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Clearly, a person’s propensity to be at risk of homelessness is cumulative over time.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-and-more-older-australians-will-be-homeless-unless-we-act-now-87685">More and more older Australians will be homeless unless we act now</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why the numbers at risk will grow</h2>
<p>Our estimates of the numbers of people at risk are accurate to within plus or minus 10%. Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3236.0">population projections</a>, it is clear that, without changes to policy, these numbers are likely to increase due to one important factor. The model shows a lone-person household is a dominant factor in increasing the likely risk of homelessness. </p>
<p>Lone-person households are expected to comprise 24-27% of all households by 2041. This equates to between 3.0 and 3.5 million Australians (of all ages). Female lone-person households are projected to increase by between 27.6% and 58.8% (ABS 2019b).</p>
<p>Australia has made <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-11/flat-wages-soaring-house-prices-australians-lifetime-renting/11898122">little policy progress on housing affordability</a>. We also have a <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/306">severe shortage of social housing</a> to meet demand. This points to the need to pursue other avenues to improve the lives of older low-income households. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-do-single-older-women-want-their-own-little-space-and-garden-to-call-home-for-a-start-84780">What do single, older women want? Their 'own little space' (and garden) to call home, for a start</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The Ageing on the Edge Older Persons Homelessness Prevention Project – funded by the <a href="https://www.eqt.com.au/philanthropy/jo-and-jr-wicking-trust">JO and JR Wicking Trust</a> and administered by Housing for the Aged Action Group (<a href="https://www.oldertenants.org.au/haag/about">HAAG</a>) – has worked over the past five years to give voice to these older women who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The project works with interested agencies (government and non-government) to identify and promote early intervention and prevention strategies and to lobby for government policy change. </p>
<p>Of course, there is one simple answer to achieving long-term outcomes that allow people the basics of a decent older age: an appropriate affordable home.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142906/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Social Ventures Australia funded the research discussed in this article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>This work was funded by Social Ventures Australia.</span></em></p>Older women have been the fastest-growing group of homeless people in recent years. New research shows about 240,000 women aged 55 or older and another 165,000 women aged 45-54 are at risk.Debbie Faulkner, Senior Research Fellow, UniSA Business, University of South AustraliaLaurence Lester, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Housing, Urban and Regional Planning, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1342902020-03-27T17:28:38Z2020-03-27T17:28:38ZAnother housing crisis is coming – and bailouts and eviction freezes won’t be enough to prevent many from losing their homes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323655/original/file-20200327-146695-1yvvz5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=90%2C188%2C5373%2C3448&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Unionized hospitality workers wait in line to apply for unemployment benefits.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/3-3-million-americans-filed-for-unemployment-last-week-almost-5-times-the-record-high/">Millions of Americans are suddenly out of work</a> as the financial and economic crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic deepens. Without an income, most of these people will have a hard time covering their expenses, including keeping a roof over their heads. </p>
<p>But even before the current crisis, <a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/affordablehousing/">tens of millions of Americans struggled</a> to pay for housing, spending more than 30% – or even half – of their income on housing-related expenses. This leaves less money for other essentials such as food, health care and savings.</p>
<p>Governments have offered a variety of plans to support those hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/us/politics/whats-in-coronavirus-stimulus-bill.html">direct payments and higher unemployment checks</a> to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-outbreak-pushes-local-governments-to-freeze-home-evictions-11584892859">eviction freezes</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/03/19/818343720/homeowners-hurt-financially-by-the-coronavirus-may-get-a-mortgage-break">mortgage relief</a>. </p>
<p>We are researchers who study the intersection of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6UhBmscAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">housing</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=256hL6IAAAAJ">health</a>. While these measures may tide over many Americans, we don’t believe they will be enough to help the most vulnerable endure the crisis or prevent many people from losing their homes.</p>
<h2>Unaffordable housing</h2>
<p>Lower-income households were already on the verge of a housing crisis before the pandemic thanks to a chronic shortage of affordable housing <a href="https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/03/americas-affordable-housing-shortage-mapped/518391/">in the U.S.</a> </p>
<p>Housing affordability is largely measured as the ratio between housing-related expenditures and household income. Households that <a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/affordablehousing/">spend 30% or more of their income</a> on rent or mortgage, property taxes, utilities and other expenses associated with their homes are considered “cost burdened” because it means they have insufficient financial resources for other basic needs including food and medicine. </p>
<p>The Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates 38 million, or over a quarter, of U.S. households were cost burdened in 2018. Of these, an <a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/affordablehousing/">estimated</a> 12 million were spending over half of their annual income on housing costs, making them severely burdened. </p>
<p>Households earning US$35,000 or less made up 63% of these cost-burdened households. In 2019, a family living on one full-time minimum wage income was not able to afford local <a href="https://reports.nlihc.org/oor/">fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment</a> anywhere in the U.S. </p>
<p>Even worse, research by <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/7/10/194">us</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12939-019-0943-0">others</a> shows that housing insecurity can be harmful to one’s mental and physical health.</p>
<p>And in a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2015/14_0511.htm">researchers found</a> that people who were worried or stressed about having enough money to pay their rent or mortgage – described as housing insecure – were twice as likely to postpone medical treatment due to associated costs compared with people who felt secure. </p>
<h2>A grim unemployment picture</h2>
<p>Post-pandemic, we can only speculate about the impact, but we believe it’s going to get a whole lot worse for the poor. </p>
<p>In terms of employment, the situation is grim. A <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-26/u-s-jobless-claims-surged-to-record-3-28-million-last-week?srnd=premium&sref=Hjm5biAW">record 3.28 million people</a> filed for unemployment insurance in the week ended March 21, <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ICSA">more than four times</a> the previous high. </p>
<p>And that figure may underestimate the ultimate toll with early <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/03/17/817158521/poll-nearly-1-in-5-households-have-lost-work-because-of-pandemic">surveys</a> indicating that about 1 in 5 households have been affected by unemployment due to the pandemic. The <a href="https://www.jobqualityindex.com/">US Private Sector Job Quality Index</a> estimates that up to 37 million jobs could be lost in the short-term, or about 23% of the <a href="http://www.dlt.ri.gov/lmi/laus/us/usadj.htm">U.S. workforce</a>. </p>
<p>The poorest Americans are expected to be <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-will-supercharge-american-inequality/608419/">hit the hardest</a>, millions of whom will be at risk of losing their homes through <a href="https://www.citylab.com/equity/2020/03/coronavirus-income-loss-paying-rent-eviction-housing-covid19/607426/">eviction</a> and foreclosures. An increase in homeless populations will in turn put more pressure on <a href="https://endhomelessness.org/resource/many-western-and-southern-states-lack-sufficient-shelter-capacity-for-individual-homeless-adults/">already overrun shelters</a>. </p>
<p>Or it may lead people to accept <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-21/illegally-converted-building-conditions-nightmare-residents">poor housing conditions</a> with no electricity or water – at a time where hand-washing is deemed the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html">most effective preventive measure</a> against coronavirus. </p>
<h2>Creative but temporary solutions</h2>
<p>Local, state and federal officials have been scrambling for creative solutions to address these issues, but most of them are short-term.</p>
<p>States such as <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/inslee-orders-temporary-stop-to-evictions-other-help-for-workers-and-businesses-in-response-to-coronavirus/">Washington</a>, <a href="https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/health/north-dakota-coronavirus-news-march-supreme-court-suspends-eviction-proceedings/article_930b2375-ebe0-53e1-8cb8-c0abc15d2eb3.html">North Dakota</a> and <a href="https://www.6sqft.com/coronavirus-stops-nyc-evictions/">New York</a> and cities like San Diego and Miami <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-outbreak-pushes-local-governments-to-freeze-home-evictions-11584892859">have ordered</a> temporary halts to evictions and, in some cases, <a href="https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_20_042">foreclosures</a>. The federal government <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/03/19/818343720/homeowners-hurt-financially-by-the-coronavirus-may-get-a-mortgage-break">ordered lenders</a> to let homeowners suspend mortgage payments for up to 12 months. And dozens of cities <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/16/90-us-cities-and-states-suspend-water-shutoffs-to-tackle-coronavirus-pandemic">have suspended utility shutoffs</a> – and some have ordered houses that have already lost service to be <a href="https://www.michiganradio.org/post/detroit-unveils-water-restart-plan-because-coronavirus-threat">reconnected</a>. </p>
<p>While these interventions have reduced a source of anxiety and stress for households, they are temporary, ranging from a month to a year, or the duration of the crisis. Once they expire, these people will still have the same debts, same housing costs and the same bleak financial picture – and that’s only if the bailout packages support them. Millions of Americans <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/26/us-stimulus-bill-worker-relief">may not get the help</a> they need.</p>
<p>That’s why we believe longer-term strategies are needed, such as finding ways to end America’s widespread shortage of affordable housing, as well as focused short-term measures to <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/hprp">prevent homelessness</a> and <a href="https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/613">more cash assistance</a> to the neediest.</p>
<p>[<em>Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-facts">Sign up for our newsletter.</a>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134290/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roshanak Mehdipanah receives funding from National Institute of Health, and Quicken Loans Community Fund. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory Sallabank does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mass unemployment will make it a lot harder for tens of millions of Americans already struggling to pay for housing to keep their roof over their heads.Roshanak Mehdipanah, Assistant Professor in Public Health, University of MichiganGregory Sallabank, Clinical Research Project Manager, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/916642018-03-05T19:21:52Z2018-03-05T19:21:52ZHome ownership foundations are being shaken, and the impacts will be felt far and wide<p>The nature of the centrepiece of the Australian housing system – owner occupation – is quietly <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-8462.12220/abstract">undergoing a profound transformation</a>. Once taken for granted by the mainstream, home ownership is increasingly precarious. At the margins, which are wide, it is as if a whole new form of tenure has emerged. </p>
<p>Whatever the drivers, significant and lasting shifts are shaking the foundations of home ownership. The effects are far-reaching and could undermine both the financial and wider well-being of all Australian households. </p>
<p>Over the course of 100 years, Australians became accustomed to smooth housing pathways from leaving the parental home to owning their house outright. However, not only did the 2008-09 global financial crisis (GFC) underline the risk of <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0042098014550955">dropping out</a> along the way, but more recent Australian evidence has shown that the old pathways have been displaced by more uncertain routes that <a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-less-likely-to-survive-home-ownership-than-britons-45363">waver between owning and renting</a>. </p>
<p>The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey indicates that, during the first decade of the new millennium, <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/216">1.9 million spells</a> of home ownership ended with a move into renting (one-fifth of all home ownership spells that were ongoing in that period). It also shows that among those who dropped out, nearly two-thirds had returned to owning by 2010. Astonishingly, some 7% “churned” in and out of ownership more than once. Many households no longer either own or rent; they hover between sectors in a “third” way. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/187">drivers</a> of this transformation include an ongoing imperative to own, vying with the factors that oppose this – rising divorce rates, soaring house prices, growing mortgage debt, insecure employment and other circumstances that make it difficult to meet home ownership’s outlays. </p>
<p>Those who use <a href="https://theconversation.com/your-home-as-an-atm-home-equity-a-risky-welfare-tool-22000">the family home as an “ATM”</a> are at added risk. This relatively new way of juggling mortgage payments, savings and pressing spending needs makes some styles of owner occupation more marginal – as the tendency is to borrow up, rather than pay down, mortgage debts over the life course.</p>
<h2>A retirement incomes system under threat</h2>
<p>Since its inception, the means-tested age pension system has been set at a low fixed amount. Retired Australians could nevertheless get by provided they achieved <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/187">outright home ownership soon enough</a>. The low housing costs associated with outright ownership in older age were effectively a central plank of Australian social policy.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208828/original/file-20180304-65541-102taz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208828/original/file-20180304-65541-102taz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208828/original/file-20180304-65541-102taz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=629&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208828/original/file-20180304-65541-102taz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=629&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208828/original/file-20180304-65541-102taz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=629&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208828/original/file-20180304-65541-102taz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=791&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208828/original/file-20180304-65541-102taz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=791&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208828/original/file-20180304-65541-102taz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=791&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The retirement incomes system was built on assumptions about home ownership that are increasingly unreliable.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/married-couple-retirement-age-sitting-on-767669734?src=Bw1ze7qqtza4zwgD8hIGcw-5-63">Evgeniy Kalinovskiy/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This worked well from the 1950s for nearly half a century. But now growing numbers of <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/position-papers/153">people retire with a mortgage debt overhang</a> or as <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/156">lifetime renters</a> grappling with the costs of insecure private rental tenancies.</p>
<p>Moreover, developments in the Australian housing system could undermine a second retirement incomes pillar – the superannuation guarantee. An important <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/programs-and-initiatives-superannuation/charter-of-superannuation-adequacy/report/part-4/">goal of the superannuation guarantee is financial independence in old age</a>. But if superannuation pay-outs are used to repay mortgage debts on retirement, reliance on age pensions will grow rather than recede.</p>
<h2>A shrinking asset base for welfare</h2>
<p>Home ownership is retreating at a time when income inequalities are the <a href="http://wid.world/country/australia">highest in nearly seven decades</a> and governments are eyeing housing wealth as an <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/housing-decisions-older-australians">asset base for welfare</a>. </p>
<p>Such policy interest is not surprising. Housing wealth dominates the asset portfolios of the majority of Australian households, boosted by soaring house prices. If home owners can be encouraged or even compelled to draw on their housing assets to fund spending needs in retirement, this will ease fiscal pressures in an era of population ageing. </p>
<p>However, the welfare role of home ownership is already important in the earlier stages of life cycles. Financial products are increasingly being used to <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02673037.2013.7832020">release housing equity</a> in pre-retirement years. This adds to the debt overhang as retirement age approaches. It also increases exposure to credit and investment risks that could undermine stability in housing markets.</p>
<h2>A gender equity issue</h2>
<p>A commonly overlooked angle relates to gender equity. Australian women own less wealth than men, and they also hold more housing-centric asset portfolios. </p>
<p>Estimates from the 2014 HILDA Survey wealth module show that the family home makes up <a href="http://theconversation.com/women-rely-on-the-family-home-to-support-them-in-old-age-76703">nearly half of the total assets owned by single women</a>, compared to 39% for single men. Women are also more likely to <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/217">sell their family home</a> to pay for financial emergencies. </p>
<p>Hence, women are more exposed to housing market instability associated with precarious home ownership. Single women are especially vulnerable to investment risk when they seek to realise their assets.</p>
<h2>A neglected economic lever</h2>
<p>Housing and mortgage markets played a central role in the GFC. Today, it is widely agreed that resilient housing and mortgage markets are important for overall economic and financial stability. There are also concerns that the post-GFC debt overhang is a drag on economic growth.</p>
<p>However, the policy stance in the wake of the GFC has been “<a href="https://tannerlectures.utah.edu/lecture-library.php#s">business as usual</a>”. There has been very little real innovation in the world of housing finance or mortgage contract design in recent years. This might change if housing were steered from the periphery to a more central place in national economic debates. </p>
<h2>Forward-looking policy response is needed</h2>
<p>Growing numbers of Australians clearly face an uncertain future in a changing housing system. The traditional tenure divide has been displaced by unprecedented fluidity as people juggle with costs, benefits, assets and debts “in between” renting and owning. </p>
<p>This expanding arena is strangely neglected by policy instruments and financial products. Politicians cling to an outdated vision of linear housing careers that does little to meet the needs of “at risk” home owners, locked-out renters, or churners caught between the two. </p>
<p>The hazards of a destabilising home ownership sector are wide-ranging, rippling well beyond the realm of housing. Part of the answer is a new drive for sustainability, based on a housing system for Australia that is more inclusive and less tenure-bound.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91664/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Ong has received funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gavin Wood receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Smith has received funding from the ARC, AHURI, RMIT University and Curtin University, as well as British social science funding agencies, principally the ESRC</span></em></p>Increasingly insecure pathways to home ownership are not just a problem for property markets. The fallout is likely to hit retirement incomes, the welfare base, gender equity and the broader economy.Rachel Ong ViforJ, Professor of Economics, School of Economics and Finance, Curtin UniversityGavin Wood, Emeritus Professor of Housing and Housing Studies, RMIT UniversitySusan Smith, Honorary Professor of Geography, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/847802017-10-22T19:02:25Z2017-10-22T19:02:25ZWhat do single, older women want? Their ‘own little space’ (and garden) to call home, for a start<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189483/original/file-20171010-25643-16gjhrj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Older women valued a secure private space of their own with, ideally, a small garden.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/relaxed-senior-woman-sitting-on-bench-154468865?src=gGh-4YgH7G-z20fQjiY7Mg-1-2">Jacob Lund/shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The “great Australian dream” of owning your own home is rapidly proving to be an illusion for many in the early 21st century. </p>
<p>In an environment of exceedingly high house prices, groups who don’t have secure, long-term employment are at risk of homelessness, particularly as they age. Single, older women are one such group at <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-07/older-women-become-hidden-face-of-homelessness/8782816">increasing risk of being homeless</a>.</p>
<p>While housing policy has neglected this area of concern, recent work is beginning to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrea_Sharam/publication/280245079_Voices_of_midlife_women_facing_housing_insecurity/links/55af583208aed9b7dcddb7f6.pdf">highlight this gap</a>. Most research has been done in metropolitan areas, but women living in regional Australia merit attention too.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.07.003">our study</a> of 47 older women who do not own homes in regional New South Wales nearly all were living on low incomes. Their housing ranged from dingy hotel rooms and makeshift sheds or shacks to rundown flats or housing in regional towns. Only a few lived in reasonable circumstances, including community housing.</p>
<p>We discovered that the women had clear ideas about what sort of housing would suit them as they age. For all of them, stability and security of tenure were priorities. Other aspects of what these women wanted were perhaps more surprising and differed from research findings on older women living in cities. </p>
<h2>Why is housing a problem for these women?</h2>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14036096.2012.746944">recent article</a>, we argued that women’s work and family roles in the last century left them economically disadvantaged. Most had interrupted employment histories, lower status and lower-paid jobs than men. </p>
<p><a href="https://aifs.gov.au/publications/consequences-divorce-financial-living-standards-i">Research</a> shows that women who don’t have a partner generally suffer greater insecurity when they can no longer work, particularly if they don’t own their own homes. </p>
<p>Many single women now have to contend with a rental market in Australia in which the laws tend to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-renters-making-housing-more-affordable-is-just-the-start-76263">skewed in favour of landlords</a>. Leases are typically short-term and tenants have <a href="https://theconversation.com/rental-insecurity-why-fixed-long-term-leases-arent-the-answer-73114">little security</a> of tenure. An overheated housing market, which encourages <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-housing-issues-should-the-budget-tackle-this-is-what-our-experts-say-73751">speculative investment</a>, makes this insecurity worse. </p>
<p>To make matters worse, the <a href="https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=388386634519941;res=IELBUS">availability of public housing</a> has fallen.</p>
<h2>What are their housing priorities?</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.07.003">Our study</a> of older women in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Rivers">Northern Rivers</a> region of NSW found that only two participants had never had a partner. All but four had borne children. </p>
<p>Their shared desire for stability and security of tenure is understandable, given most had very disrupted housing histories.</p>
<p>Many worried about what would happen to them. Elizabeth said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It would be just lovely to be somewhere where I know I could stay until I died.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Agnes thought she might end up “in an old school bus on somebody’s property”.</p>
<p>The women also expressed a strong desire for privacy and independence, which many of them called their “own space”. They wanted to come and go as they please. For instance, Anne just wants her “own little space to be private”.</p>
<p>Many women linked their desire for security, privacy and independence to their age and their gender. Jane, for example, associated wanting her own kitchen space with being a woman.</p>
<p>In contrast to some <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrea_Sharam/publication/280245079_Voices_of_midlife_women_facing_housing_insecurity/links/55af583208aed9b7dcddb7f6.pdf">research</a> on this group in cities, our participants insisted they did not wish to share housing with other women. They spoke quite vehemently at times – Susan would rather live in a tent than share housing.</p>
<p>What was surprising was that nearly all the women wanted some sort of garden, even if it was a tiny space. This was almost as important as their need for security and independence. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189485/original/file-20171010-25634-1o8l88t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189485/original/file-20171010-25634-1o8l88t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189485/original/file-20171010-25634-1o8l88t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189485/original/file-20171010-25634-1o8l88t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189485/original/file-20171010-25634-1o8l88t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189485/original/file-20171010-25634-1o8l88t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189485/original/file-20171010-25634-1o8l88t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189485/original/file-20171010-25634-1o8l88t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A few women said they would rather be homeless that give up their pet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beautiful-older-woman-siamese-kitten-arms-249259948?src=IeSlhoqsHHffz14uBrGzzA-1-18">Daria Chichkareva/shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Finally, the women wanted to have space to accommodate their grandchildren and pets. They saw their role as being able to provide a base for their family and to nurture their grandchildren. This seems to reflect more traditional notions of women’s caring responsibilities, which were more widespread last century when these women were young.</p>
<p>We know that pets play a significant role in <a href="http://www.center4research.org/benefits-pets-human-health/">fostering mental and emotional health</a> in older people. We also know that describing pets as family members is part of a <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14036090600813760">broader trend in Australia</a>. In our study, one participant minded the “grand-dogs” when her daughter was away.</p>
<p>A few women even said they would rather be homeless that give up their pet, such was their attachment. But, for many, lack of secure tenure and independence meant they were denied this source of emotional security.</p>
<p>The Victorian government has recently announced <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-08/victorian-tenants-allowed-pets-in-rental-properties/9027000">changes to tenancy laws</a> that will allow renters to keep pets, as well as improve security of tenure. This is a welcome development for Victorians. It must be hoped it spreads to other states.</p>
<h2>Preferences have policy implications</h2>
<p>Our study emphasises the housing preferences of a regional cohort. Though the desire for secure tenure may be widespread, some preferences such as the expressed need for a garden may reflect regional values. </p>
<p>If the housing problems that many single, older women experience are to be solved, housing policymakers need to be informed by research about what makes these women’s lives meaningful and productive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84780/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Finding secure affordable housing is a problem for older women across Australia. But new research finds women in regional areas have different priorities from those in the cities.Yvonne Hartman, Lecturer in Politics and Sociology, Southern Cross UniversitySandy Darab, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/809652017-08-01T20:14:52Z2017-08-01T20:14:52ZAffordable housing shortfall leaves 1.3m households in need and rising – study<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179958/original/file-20170727-25744-1nrj695.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Around one in seven Australia households either cannot get into housing at market rates or are struggling to pay the rent.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-evicted-family-worried-relocating-house-487430101?src=xuQBPCAz4t67TTvcmAF3-g-1-8">shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="http://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/287">new report</a> by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) reveals, for the first time, the extent of housing need in Australia. An estimated 1.3 million households are in a state of housing need, whether unable to access market housing or in a position of rental stress. This figure is predicted to rise to 1.7 million by 2025. </p>
<p>To put it in perspective, 1.3 million is around <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3236.0Main%20Features42011%20to%202036">14% of Australian households</a>. This national total includes 373,000 households in New South Wales, where the number is expected to increase by 80% to more than 670,000 by 2025 under the baseline economic assumptions of the modelling. </p>
<p>The first graph below shows the average annual level of housing need to 2025. The second, showing the percentages of households, permits a direct comparison by state. NSW and Queensland are in the worst position. The ACT is calculated to have the lowest proportional level of need.</p>
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<h2>What does this mean for households in need?</h2>
<p>Housing need is defined as: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the aggregate of households unable to access market-provided housing or requiring some form of housing assistance in the private rental market to avoid a position of rental stress. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This includes potential households that are unable to form because their income is <a href="https://theconversation.com/housing-still-out-of-reach-for-many-even-as-rents-fall-in-post-boom-western-australia-76461">too low to afford to rent</a> in the private rental market. These households would traditionally rely on <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-to-reboot-affordable-housing-funding-not-scrap-it-72861">public housing</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/community-sector-offers-a-solid-platform-for-fair-social-housing-79997">community housing</a> to meet their needs. However, more and more are being <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/policy/ahuri-briefs/percentage-australian-households-in-social-housing-2006-to-2016">forced into the private rental market</a>, paying housing costs they are <a href="https://theconversation.com/drafts/77714/edit">unable to afford</a> without making <a href="https://theconversation.com/rental-housing-policies-trap-children-in-poverty-so-how-low-will-we-go-64111">significant sacrifices</a>. </p>
<p>To 2025, on average 190,000 potential households in NSW will be unable to access market housing in a given year. The graph below is the most revealing as it illustrates the gap between affordable housing demand and supply. </p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/x5Hxs/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The lack of social housing and subsidised rental housing prevents such households forming under affordable conditions. Many will manage to form but will have to spend well over 30% of their income on housing costs to do so, putting them in a position of financial stress. </p>
<p>The results also reveal the increasing pressure the affordable housing shortfall places on the housing assistance budget, notably <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support/programmes-services/commonwealth-rent-assistance">Commonwealth Rent Assistance</a>. </p>
<p>The absence of a significant new supply of affordable housing – there has been no large-scale program since the National Rental Affordability Scheme (<a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/housing-support/programmes-services/national-rental-affordability-scheme">NRAS</a>) began in 2008 – has left state governments trying to find ways to plug the affordability gap. </p>
<p>Responses have been largely on the demand side, such as first home buyer concessions <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/improving-nsw/projects-and-initiatives/first-home-buyers/">recently announced in NSW</a>. But such incentives are no use for low-income households. To help them, intervention needs to be on the supply side. </p>
<h2>How does Australia compare?</h2>
<p>The AHURI research built on ideas emerging from research into housing need in the UK. It revealed interesting differences between the two countries. </p>
<p>UK government policy <a href="http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/16263/">prior to 2010</a> emphasised the role of the planning system in helping to substantially increase affordable housing supply. This reflected evidence from <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02673037.2011.609327">England</a> and <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2008/12/17094317/0">Scotland</a> that found a link between low levels of new housing supply and higher and rising house prices.</p>
<p>In this project, we found plenty of evidence of deteriorating housing affordability in Australia. But we did not find a particularly strong relationship between <a href="https://theconversation.com/get-used-to-your-commute-data-confirms-houses-near-jobs-are-too-expensive-77867">housing supply and price growth</a>. This might reflect how other drivers of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-housing-issues-should-the-budget-tackle-this-is-what-our-experts-say-73751">deteriorating housing affordability</a> are more important in Australia – such as tax incentives for investors. </p>
<p>These findings suggest we need to look more closely at how new supply and investment demand interact, and in what circumstances boosting new supply is likely to improve affordability.</p>
<p>From our analysis of individuals’ labour market circumstances and incomes, it was also clear that the Australian workforce has not escaped the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/social/in-it-together-why-less-inequality-benefits-all-9789264235120-en.htm">erosion of secure, full-time employment opportunities</a> seen in other countries. </p>
<p>The combination of widespread insecure, part-time employment opportunities, high housing costs and low supply of rented social housing means the housing of many working Australians is extremely precarious.</p>
<h2>How was the research done?</h2>
<p>The research modelled housing need at the state and territory level to 2025 using an underlying set of economic assumptions and interrelated models on household formation, housing markets, labour markets and tenure choice. </p>
<p>The models were underpinned by data from the Housing, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (<a href="http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/hilda">HILDA</a>) Survey, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and house price and rent data. </p>
<p>This research delivers, for the first time in Australia, a consistent and replicable methodology for assessing housing need. It can be used to inform resource allocation and simulate the impact of policy decisions on housing outcomes. </p>
<p>The intention is to further develop the model to assess housing need at the level of local government areas. </p>
<h2>So, what are the policy implications?</h2>
<p>The scale of the affordable housing shortfall requires major action from federal and state governments. </p>
<p>NRAS had its problems but at least <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0033/9996/Subsidised-affordable-rental-housing-lessons-from-Australia-and-overseas-Executive-summary.pdf">delivered a supply of below-market housing</a>. Australia cannot rely on the private sector to deliver housing for low-income households without some form of government subsidy as it is simply not profitable to do so. </p>
<p>The question is what government is going to be prepared, or even able, to spend big to close the affordable housing supply gap?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80965/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Rowley is Director of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute's Curtin Research Centre. He receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre. He is chair of the Housing Industry Forecasting Group in Western Australia</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Leishman receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) and the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). He is a co-investigator on the UK's Housing Evidence Centre (CaCHE).</span></em></p>One in seven Australian households is in a state of housing need. A shortfall in social housing supply means some are locked out of the market and others pay much more for rent than they can afford.Steven Rowley, Director, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Curtin Research Centre, Curtin UniversityChris Leishman, Professor of Housing Economics, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/781762017-05-31T20:18:31Z2017-05-31T20:18:31ZFamily break-up raises homelessness risk, and critical period is longer for boys<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170926/original/file-20170525-31770-1qrv9af.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Of those who have experienced homelessness, 62% cite family breakdown or conflict as the main reason for becoming homeless for the first time.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/illustration-relationship-divorcedivision-property-418364767?src=74-AnYXkCpT7YA3L_onJQw-8-15">shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia is going through a <a href="https://theconversation.com/affordable-housing-finger-pointing-politics-and-possible-policy-solutions-75703">well-documented housing affordability crisis</a>. Single parents are especially vulnerable to rising housing costs, as they rely on a single income to provide a decent home for the family. <a href="https://doi.org/10.4225/50/5859e352c3d44">Past research</a> has found that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In 2013-14, 46% of … low-income couple families and 67% of one-parent families with dependent children in private rental housing paid more than 30% of their income on rent.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These families are facing “<a href="https://theconversation.com/rental-housing-policies-trap-children-in-poverty-so-how-low-will-we-go-64111">housing affordability stress</a>”. Taken together, rising housing costs and diminishing family benefits are putting low-income Australian families, and especially those that break down, at risk of intense financial stress, housing insecurity and possibly homelessness. </p>
<p>In my <a href="http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/2369919/wp2017n14.pdf">recent research</a> with Jan van Ours, we used a unique dataset of disadvantaged Australians, <a href="http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/journeys-home">Journeys Home</a>, and showed that parental separation increases the risk of becoming homeless. </p>
<h2>Finding the relevant data</h2>
<p>In <a href="http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/2369919/wp2017n14.pdf">our study</a>, we used a broad characterisation of homelessness, which seeks to identify situations in which families’ housing conditions do not meet standard requirements to qualify as a “home”. </p>
<p>This is qualitatively similar to the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4922.0Main%20Features22012?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4922.0&issue=2012&num=&view=">Australian Bureau of Statistics’ definition</a>. Homelessness includes: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>sleeping rough or squatting in abandoned buildings;</p></li>
<li><p>staying with relatives or friends temporarily with no alternative; or</p></li>
<li><p>staying in a caravan park, boarding house, hotel or crisis accommodation.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Parental separation can lead to homelessness in many ways. For example, a separation might require an urgent move, which generates a financial shock. Without enough savings or networks of family and friends to help cover this unexpected expense, low-income parents may be unable to afford secure and safe housing for their family and hence become homeless. </p>
<p>Financial pressure on single-parent households increased again in April when <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s1064">legislation</a> that froze or reduced entitlements to several family benefits was passed.</p>
<p>Even less-disadvantaged parents, who may be able to cope financially in the short run (by covering housing costs with their savings, for example), may be unable to do so in the medium run (once those savings run out). They then become homeless a few years after the separation. </p>
<p>Parental separations can also create conflict between parents and children. This may drive children out of their parent’s home and potentially into homelessness in subsequent years.</p>
<h2>What did our research show?</h2>
<p>In the <a href="http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/journeys-home">Journeys Home</a> sample, family breakdown appears to be an important trigger for homelessness. Of those who have experienced homelessness, <a href="http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2202838/Scutella_et_al_Journeys_Home_Research_Report_W1.pdf">62% of respondents</a> cite family breakdown or conflict as the main reason for becoming homeless for the first time.</p>
<p>However, the research linking parental separation and homelessness is scarce. This is because most of the available datasets are not well suited to this purpose. </p>
<p>Disadvantaged populations – that is, people who have experienced homelessness – are underrepresented in general household surveys. And datasets that include only people who are currently homeless fail to capture other segments of the disadvantaged population who might be at risk of homelessness. </p>
<p>In contrast, Journeys Home is unique in that it covers a broad spectrum of the disadvantaged population, not just those currently homeless. In fact, <a href="http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2202838/Scutella_et_al_Journeys_Home_Research_Report_W1.pdf">75% of respondents</a> were not homeless at the time of the first interview. </p>
<p>At the same time, the high frequency of homelessness and parental separation in the sample provides enough occurrences to help us answer the question of a potential causal relationship between the two. </p>
<p>We exploited Journeys Home’s detailed information on respondents’ histories to investigate whether their parents’ separation (if ever) led to their first experience of homelessness (if ever).</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171098/original/file-20170526-23241-c6tx12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171098/original/file-20170526-23241-c6tx12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171098/original/file-20170526-23241-c6tx12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171098/original/file-20170526-23241-c6tx12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171098/original/file-20170526-23241-c6tx12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171098/original/file-20170526-23241-c6tx12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171098/original/file-20170526-23241-c6tx12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171098/original/file-20170526-23241-c6tx12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For boys, the critical time in which parental separation increases their future risk of homelessness extends into their teenage years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found that parental separation increases the overall likelihood of becoming homelessness, although the risk for any individual is influenced by the particular characteristics of both the family and the individual. The effect is substantial. </p>
<p>For boys, their risk of becoming homeless by age 30 increases by ten to 15 percentage points. This is irrespective of their age when the separation occurs. </p>
<p>For girls, only parental separation before the age of 12 matters. This increases their likelihood of being homeless before 30 by 15-20 percentage points. </p>
<p>The effects of separation on homelessness are larger when the parents were formally married.</p>
<p>These results constitute a critical first step in understanding how individuals, and in particular children or young adults, become homeless. They highlight the role of parental separation in the process and hence the need to act on the issue of housing affordability for disadvantaged families that break down in order to protect children from poverty and homelessness.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78176/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This paper uses unit record data from Journeys Home: Longitudinal Study of Factors Affecting Housing Stability (Journeys Home). The study was initiated and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS) and was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Melbourne. The Department of Employment has provided information for use in Journeys Home and it is managed by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (Melbourne Institute). The findings and views reported in this paper, however, are those of the authors and should not be attributed to DSS, the Department of Employment or the Melbourne Institute. </span></em></p>Parental separation substantially raises the risk of homelessness by the age of 30 for girls and boys, but only boys are affected by a break-up after the age of 12.Julie Moschion, Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/723542017-02-14T00:06:51Z2017-02-14T00:06:51ZHousing affordability problems might not be all bad<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156120/original/image-20170209-17316-18oicly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">To understand how households cope, we may need to look beneath broad patterns of affordability to the interplay of housing costs with other problems.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Markham-suburbs_aerial-edit2.jpg">IDuke/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For all the talk of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-youre-serious-about-affordable-sydney-housing-premier-heres-a-must-do-list-71791">housing affordability</a> crisis <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-housing-affordability-crisis-in-regional-australia-yes-and-heres-why-71808">across Australia</a>, having <a href="https://theconversation.com/slippers-and-stickers-the-hidden-victims-of-rising-house-prices-42816">unaffordable housing</a> isn’t necessarily bad for people. This is perhaps a dangerous statement to make, but housing <a href="https://theconversation.com/two-million-aussies-are-experiencing-high-financial-stress-64367">cost stresses</a> and other problems – when experienced in isolation – may be tolerable. Difficulties usually emerge not from one problem but from an accumulation of problems.</p>
<p>Housing affordability alone may have limited impact on people if they are able to adjust the household budget or their rental or mortgage costs. But if a household has an accumulation of problems (for example, unaffordable housing, plus insecure tenure, plus unemployment), that greatly reduces their capacity to adjust or respond effectively.</p>
<p>Acknowledging the difference between separate problems and an accumulation of problems is more important than you’d think. If we don’t, we underplay the impact of multiple problems on people, incorrectly identify who most needs assistance and probably misdirect our attempts to help.</p>
<p>Generations of Australians have enjoyed very high housing standards compared to most other nations. For the last couple of decades, though, cracks have appeared (and are widening) in the Great Australian Dream.</p>
<p>Australia now has some of the <a href="http://demographia.com/dhi.pdf">most unaffordable housing</a> in the world. The problems of <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-100-years-without-slum-housing-in-australia-is-coming-to-an-end-64153">housing quality</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/dickensian-approach-to-residential-tenants-lingers-in-australian-law-65146">insecurity</a> in the private rental sector are <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-secure-and-affordable-housing-is-an-increasing-worry-for-age-pensioners-69350">increasing</a>. </p>
<p>And the <a href="https://theconversation.com/growing-up-poor-in-australia-what-has-happened-to-public-housing-9853">public housing safely net</a> is now so small it <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-policy-success-not-failure-has-driven-australias-housing-crisis-53751">cannot catch all</a> of the people who need it. </p>
<p>Researchers, governments and Australia as a society are concerned and heavily invested in understanding and responding to housing-related problems. But perhaps we are too “problem-focused”. </p>
<p>We often seek to understand and solve housing affordability, or rental insecurity, or homelessness, or even more broadly, employment or problems associated with disability. But we tend to look at each aspect separately. </p>
<p>In doing so, we overlook the fact that many housing-related problems are experienced in combination – usually by the same people. </p>
<h2>Teasing out patterns of problems</h2>
<p>What if we were to think of people with multiple problems, instead of the separate problems that multiple people have?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155269/original/image-20170201-22560-14ebw5a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155269/original/image-20170201-22560-14ebw5a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155269/original/image-20170201-22560-14ebw5a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155269/original/image-20170201-22560-14ebw5a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155269/original/image-20170201-22560-14ebw5a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155269/original/image-20170201-22560-14ebw5a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155269/original/image-20170201-22560-14ebw5a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155269/original/image-20170201-22560-14ebw5a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What if we were to think of people with multiple problems, instead of the separate problems that multiple people have?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2016.10.001</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the current edition of <a href="http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0264275116301202/1-s2.0-S0264275116301202-main.pdf?_tid=ccb74ef4-9fe2-11e6-bd54-00000aab0f02&acdnat=1477970892_f65015c83d558a0588445b8df4df156e">Cities</a>, we model how people’s problems accumulate. Using data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) dataset, we look at more than 17,000 adult Australians in unaffordable housing. We define people as having unaffordable housing if they have low to moderate incomes and spend more than 30% of their household income on housing costs.</p>
<p>Our research set out to test the degree to which these people experience multiple housing and related problems. In this experiment we focus on six problems: affordability, locational advantage, security, welfare, employment and disability.</p>
<p>This simple analysis far from captures the full breadth of housing-related problems that individuals face. Even so, it reveals enough about people’s accumulation of housing problems in Australia to challenge our current thinking. </p>
<p>Our analysis shows us that only a relatively small proportion of people (around 10%) have an accumulation of these housing-related vulnerabilities. But simply identifying who has multiple problems doesn’t necessarily indicate the package of assistance they might need. </p>
<p>When we examine the collection of accumulated problems among the 10%, we see few clear patterns of shared problems. Even in this small analysis, there are 40 distinct combinations of problems. </p>
<p>The largest group sharing a pattern of problems represents only 12% of the 10%. Remember that we are only looking at a limited list of six problems here. It would almost certainly be much more complex in the real world. </p>
<p>The findings allow us to reflect on how assistance might shift if focused on people with an accumulation of problems. Using the example of housing affordability, we might seek to address it for every person in the whole population of 17,000 classified as having unaffordable housing. </p>
<p>However, this research shows that more than half of these people (60%) do not have any other problems. </p>
<h2>How does this affect policy?</h2>
<p>Perhaps our concern for housing affordability should be disproportionately focused on the small group who have an accumulation of multiple problems. </p>
<p>What this research leaves us with is a call for a different way to think about and respond to housing-related problems. It suggests we should look beyond separate problems – such as housing affordability – and focus more attention on the people with an accumulation of multiple problems. </p>
<p>The substantial variation in combinations of housing problems also suggests that “individualised” responses may be much more effective than generic packages of problem-focused assistance. </p>
<p>To some extent, the suggestion that we should be thinking about people’s accumulation of vulnerabilities and problems is not new. </p>
<p>Policy thinking appears to be heading in this direction anyway. Australia is well down the path of exploring individualised welfare, with approaches and packages like Consumer Directed Care and the NDIS (the intentions of which were well discussed in <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/5664/AHURI_Final_Report_No253_Individualised-and-market-based-housing-assistance-evidence-and-policy-options.pdf?utm_source=website&utm_medium=report.PDF&utm_campaign=https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/253">recent work</a>). </p>
<p>Perhaps the way we think about housing affordability just needs to catch up.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Emma Baker is presenting research on housing children at the 10th <a href="http://ahrc2017.com.au/">Australasian Housing Researchers Conference</a> (AHRC) hosted by RMIT University’s Centre for Urban Research (CUR), with the University of Melbourne and Swinburne University, from February 15-17 at RMIT University in Melbourne.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72354/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Baker receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI). </span></em></p>Housing affordability is often not the only problem households face. More often the compounding effects of multiple problems leave people unable to cope, which is why one solution won’t work for all.Emma Baker, Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/693502016-12-11T19:09:05Z2016-12-11T19:09:05ZWhy secure and affordable housing is an increasing worry for age pensioners<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148995/original/image-20161207-25768-4bt3gv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The growing numbers of pensioners in private rental accommodation use much of their income to pay for housing.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alan Porritt/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The average housing costs of older (65-plus) outright homeowners in lone-person households were A$38 a week in 2013-14, the Australian Bureau of Statistics <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4130.0">calculated</a>, compared to $103 for older social housing tenants and $232 for older private renters.</p>
<p>Fortunately, over the last several decades almost all Australians who depend on the age pension for their income have been outright <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/ageing-australia">homeowners</a>, and their housing costs have thus usually represented a small proportion of their pension. However, this situation is <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/4130.02013-14?OpenDocument">changing</a> and the significance of this is profound.</p>
<p>Drawing on 125 in-depth interviews conducted in Sydney and regional New South Wales (discussed in detail in <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/207621310?selectedversion=NBD57390946">my book</a>, The Australian Dream: Housing Experiences of Older Australians), it is evident that these substantial differences in housing costs combined with differing levels of tenure security have a fundamental impact on the capacity of Australians dependent solely or primarily on the age pension to lead a decent life.</p>
<p>The interviews I conducted with the older homeowners, particularly with couple households, indicated that provided they did not have extraordinary expenses (high medical bills, excessive smoking and or drinking, having to look after a child etc), they managed reasonably well on the age pension. They could run a car, engage in modest leisure activities, travel and even save. </p>
<p>Margaret, who lived by herself, was content:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Well I can [and] I do participate. I don’t go to the opera because that’s too expensive … I don’t go to live shows because they’re too expensive, but that’s okay. I do other things. I’m a very busy person.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Although the housing costs of older social housing tenants are high relative to homeowners, the fact that their rent is pegged at 25% of their income means they have a fair amount of disposable income after paying for their accommodation. </p>
<p>Betty, a social housing tenant, summed up their situation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In public housing you see, even if they’ve only got the old age pension, nothing else, because their rent is only a quarter [of their income], they manage, most of them quite well. People who don’t manage are the ones who drink, smoke a lot … or who have an illness that requires heavy expenditure on medication.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In addition, historically, older social housing tenants have had guaranteed security of tenure. John spoke of the enormous benefits of this security:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When you know your accommodation is right, this is especially when you’re older, you can pursue other interests. You’re more relaxed and I do feel, I really feel you’re in for a longer life you know … I’m quite content and I think it’s just wonderful that the government does supply these houses.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Private renters live with insecurity</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148997/original/image-20161207-25749-m508u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148997/original/image-20161207-25749-m508u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148997/original/image-20161207-25749-m508u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148997/original/image-20161207-25749-m508u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148997/original/image-20161207-25749-m508u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148997/original/image-20161207-25749-m508u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=891&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148997/original/image-20161207-25749-m508u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=891&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148997/original/image-20161207-25749-m508u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=891&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many older private renters live in a state of perpetual insecurity as they can be told to leave at any time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lopolo from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The third group, older private renters dependent on the age pension for their income, are in a completely different position. A large proportion of them are having to use a large proportion of their income to pay for their rent. </p>
<p>Also, once their lease ends they can be asked to leave at any time – <a href="https://www.tenants.org.au/factsheet-10-landlord-ends-agreement">no grounds</a> have to be given. The resulting perpetual insecurity combined with the cost of their housing is the basis for enormous anxiety and distress. </p>
<p>Maggie, a private renter in Sydney, said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It [the age pension] is unrealistic. I mean I thank God for it because I’d never make ends meet otherwise. I really thank God for it, but it’s unrealistic. You cannot live on that. I mean what would you live on? It’s a joke. I was lucky that I had the income from working on the side … I couldn’t have lived like that without working a bit …</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Helen painted a bleak picture. Even though she was drawing the couple pension she was clearly suffering enormous psychological distress:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Sometimes I think I’m too old for this. Maybe I’ll be dead in a year’s time and we wouldn’t have to worry about it. All the stress … I said to my doctor, ‘Why keep us alive when there’s nothing there for us?’ I said, ‘There’s no help for us,’ and she agreed with me … I told her we couldn’t get into a retirement village or even buy a caravan, or mobile home. We couldn’t even buy that. So we have a little bit of money but we can’t do anything with it. It’s not enough to help us.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When I asked Janet, who had been a private renter for a long time, how she responded when she heard that she had been accepted for social housing, she said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was absolutely, well, I sat down and cried. I literally sat down and cried because I felt like, well, at least I had the protection of the Department of Housing whereas before of course I didn’t have any of that. I had no protection whatsoever … My children were having children so they couldn’t [take care of me]. They’re just working-class people and so they couldn’t care for me … So consequently I couldn’t see any future at all until I got the word from Housing that I have got somewhere.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Numbers of vulnerable older people are rising</h2>
<p>The power of affordable and secure housing to create a foundation for a decent life for people dependent on the age pension is <a href="http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-11-682">clear</a>. </p>
<p>However, there is no doubt that an increasing proportion of older Australians on the age pension will be dependent on the private rental sector in coming decades. This is because of the housing affordability <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-government-says-it-has-a-plan-to-fix-the-housing-affordability-crisis-this-chart-suggests-it-doesnt-20160902-gr7sbz.html">crisis</a> and increasing divorce in <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/money/planning/grey-divorce-has-huge-impact-in-the-retirement-years-20150527-ghah6i.html">later life</a>, combined with the virtual stagnation of the <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/housing-assistance/haa/2015/social-housing-tenants/">social housing sector</a>. </p>
<p>In 2013-14, 4.8% of couples aged 65-plus and 9.5% of people living by themselves were <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/4130.02013-14?OpenDocument">private renters</a>. Among 55-to-64-year-olds, these proportions were almost double: 8.4% of couples and 20.7% of lone-person households in this age cohort were <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/4130.02013-14?OpenDocument">private renters</a>. Almost all of these households will still be private renters when they become dependent on the age pension, so the prospects for this group are grim.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69350/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Morris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For the increasing proportion of people living in private rental accommodation who can expect to be dependent on the age pension, the prospects of financial and housing insecurity are grim.Alan Morris, Chair Professor, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.