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.
Housing affordability remains a challenge in Toronto and surrounding areas, despite an increasing number of developments.
(Shutterstock)
The Ontario government has, under Doug Ford, revised policies and approaches in favour of developers. Policy reform is essential to address the growing problem of unaffordable housing.
Few homes in this Boulder County, Colo., neighborhood survived a fire that swept through in December 2021.
Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images
Judith Keller, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
So much went wrong with the homes built by the Make It Right Foundation that its low-income homebuyers were deprived of the financial security they were promised.
Technological advances have made many buildings less environmentally friendly.
Micuradu/Flickr
There are many reasons to be pessimistic about the future – but what if we got it right? Here’s the case for optimism.
Neoliberal housing policies and financialization over the past four decades has helped transform housing in Canada from human necessity to an investment opportunity.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
The conversation about housing policies needs to highlight the significant role the state plays in creating existing housing problems, and providing the resulting solutions.
As demand grows for real estate and housing prices rise, more people are being priced out of the market. Government intervention is needed to produce affordable housing and control speculation.
A house in Ottawa that sold over the listing price.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
More housing supply doesn’t mean lower prices. If policy-makers want to make homes more affordable, they must tackle developers who drive up prices and consider taxing capital gains on homes.
Climate change is a key risk for remote Indigenous communities in Australia. How can housing in remote and regional areas be improved to withstand extreme weather conditions for these communities?
If rural communities plan carefully – and some already are – they can reinvent themselves as the perfect homes for people fleeing wildfire and hurricane zones.
A new Canada-wide survey shows 28 per cent of women-led households struggle with the affordability, suitability or adequacy of their housing. This is almost double the rate of households led by men.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Professor; School of Economics, Finance and Property, and Director, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Curtin Research Centre, Curtin University
Professor of Social Epidemiology and Director of the Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Housing at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne