Three bills to go before parliament confirm the Albanese government is restoring the Commonwealth to a leadership role on housing issues. But there are still gaps in its approach.
A new act in Canada bans non-citizens, non-permanent residents and foreign commercial enterprises from buying Canadian residential properties.
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Since foreign owners only represent a tiny segment of the housing market, it’s unlikely that Canada’s new ban on foreign homebuyers will make homes more affordable for Canadians.
Build-to-rent developments have been touted as a way to deliver affordable housing on a large scale. But, to date, the sector has not been focused on housing for people on lower incomes.
The main driver of homelessness in Australia is housing costs – post-COVID rents, house prices and interest rates are all much higher. To house everyone, the housing system needs a major overhaul.
Bill 23 proposes to eliminate or weaken many housing development regulations including site plan controls, which keep us and our natural environment safe from the negative effects of poorly controlled development.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Poorly regulated housing is leading to more greenhouse gas emissions through energy loss, increased energy requirements and greater exposure to weather extremes.
In Canada, just over 10 per cent of households live in housing that is unaffordable, unsuitable or inadequate, and they cannot afford alternative housing in their community.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Halfway through its 10-year mandate to address issues like affordability and homelessness, the National Housing Strategy is providing little benefit for the vast majority of vulnerable households.
Targets of 50,000 new homes for rent at below-market rates and 1 million homes to improve affordability in general are positive steps, but the budget neglects the need to reform an ailing system.
The shift to remote work has led to a population boom for towns close to Australia’s major cities. That boom threatens to change what makes those towns so appealing.
A building under construction in Toronto. According to Canada’s national housing agency, Ontario needs to build 1.8 million new homes to alleviate the housing crisis.
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Ontario’s first Growth Plan won awards that recognized the province as a leader in the field. But since then, successive changes to the policy have sabotaged the original plan’s progress.
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.
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Unaffordability is only one type of housing vulnerability that has taken its toll on British Columbians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marco Mendicino holds a press conference in Ottawa in November 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
In Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, housing co-operatives help both renters and those wanting to own a secure, high-quality home. Better housing options for Australia are waiting in plain sight.
European countries have embraced housing co-ops for decades to address housing affordability. Why not Canada?
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Affordable housing has become a middle-class problem, and Ontario’s latest housing report reflects an approach that continues to marginalize those with the greatest need.
While the idea of rent controls can seem attractive at first glance, the evidence suggests the government is right to be sceptical of their ability to help ease the housing crisis.
Professor; School of Economics, Finance and Property, and Director, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Curtin Research Centre, Curtin University