Landlords are taking away affordable housing faster than it can be built.
Affordable housing is being lost faster than it can be built. In Ottawa, as in other cities across Canada, housing costs continue to spiral out of control while affordable housing initiatives do not even make a dent.
A recent study by Steve Pomeroy, senior research fellow for the Centre for Urban Research and Education at Carleton, has revealed that for every 1 unit of affordable housing built in Ottawa, 31 are lost. When we talk about units being “lost”, we are really talking about rents being raised.
It’s important to note that the data in Pomeroy’s report show not only that the current strategies are failing to increase the amount of affordable housing, but that they are rapidly destroying the small amount of affordable housing we do have. In other words, it’s not just that things aren’t getting better. It’s that they are getting overwhelmingly worse.
“For every 1 unit of affordable housing built in Ottawa, 31 are lost. When we talk about units being “lost”, we are really talking about rents being raised.”
Landlords turn affordable units into unaffordable units faster than new affordable units can be built. They do this by evicting tenants or taking advantage of tenants leaving in order to jack up the rents. Some of their strategies include finding convenient pretexts to evict working-class tenants in order to replace them with wealthier tenants. Whether this is by using renovations, demolitions, or a story of a family member moving in, the goal is the same. To maximize profits by raising rents as high as possible.
Where does that leave us? As tenants, we find ourselves facing rents higher than we can afford. Even if we are in an affordable place for now, it might only be a matter of time before the landlord decides to find a reason to evict us and bring in someone able to pay a higher rent. And as we lose more and more affordable housing each year, there is nowhere else to go.
“It's not just that things aren't getting better. It's that they are getting overwhelmingly worse.”
This shows that the idea that all we need to do is “build more housing” is wrong. We have a far bigger problem than a simple lack of supply. Our problem is landlords, and the profit-seeking that drives them.
If we can’t just encourage developers to build more, what can we do?
We need to stop the rent increases, the evictions, and the monopolization of housing. There is no other way to end the exploitative conditions of the housing system. There are policies that could achieve some progress, but we cannot expect the government to take these actions voluntarily.
“We have a far bigger problem than a simple lack of supply. Our problem is landlords, and the profit-seeking that drives them.”
At just about every stage, government officials and elected politicians have supported the landlords and big developers, and have failed to put up any effective challenge to them. They have done this through “vacancy de-control”, the policy that allows landlords to raise the rent beyond the yearly legal limit when switching between tenants. They do this through legislation that allows tenants to be evicted for spurious reasons, and through the Landlord-Tenant Board which never defends the interests of tenants.
The government will only act in the interests of tenants and working-class people when they have no other choice.
“By getting together with our neighbours to prevent above-guideline increases, to resist evictions, and to build up our collective power, we can halt the destruction of affordable housing and fight back against the tide of commodification.”
We do not have to wait for them. In our communities, on our blocks and in our buildings, we can act now to resist their attempts to exploit us. By getting together with our neighbours to prevent above-guideline increases, to resist evictions, and to build up our collective power, we can halt the destruction of affordable housing and fight back against the tide of commodification. A strong movement of working-class people can change this system, and overturn the government policies which have set the stage for the housing crisis.
“We are now seeing the futility of the market approach, which gives us 1 affordable unit for every 31 that it takes away. It is only by the people having control over housing that we can start to fix things.”
We are now seeing the futility of the market approach, which gives us 1 affordable unit for every 31 that it takes away. It is only by the people having control over housing that we can start to fix things. If we allow housing to remain under the control of landlords and developers, they will continue to exploit it for maximum profit.
The best “policy” to fix the housing crisis is building up our power. When we are organized, we can fight to protect affordable housing and to place more housing under the control of the people, instead of profit-seeking landlords. We can confront the government and force them to accept that working-class tenants will no longer allow ourselves to be exploited.
-Sean Ryan