Almost half of Toronto tenants are paying too much in rent and are one health emergency or lost job away from losing their homes, in a city where rental rules favour profits over people, according to a new study. Where Will We Live? Ontario’s Affordable Rental Housing Crisis, released Tuesday by the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, found that 46.9 per cent of Toronto renter households are spending 30 per cent or more of their income on rental costs and that a tenant would have to earn $24 an hour to comfortably pay the going rate.The 30-per-cent line is a common benchmark used to determine if rental housing is in fact affordable, or if tenants will have enough to afford a decent quality of life once their rent is paid. In Toronto last year, the average rent for a one-bedroom condominium was about $1,800, while the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment was $1,200, according to the report, which analyzed rental rates from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., as well as demographics and cost of living.“It is worse than it looks from these figures,” said Kenn Hale, director of advocacy and legal services at the advocacy centre. “These are not the average rents of units that are available, these are average rents of units that are occupied.”Ontario landlords can charge whatever they want for empty apartments, and unless the rules are changed the number of affordable units will continue to shrink, Hale said. Read more:OREA isn’t backing down from its lack of affordability message in Toronto and Hamilton“It is extremely difficult and getting worse,” said Hale. With a provincial election looming June 7, the study also contains recommendations for candidates on how to better protect Ontario tenants. Included in their list: the creation of more affordable, purpose-built rental homes; new social housing and the preservation of existing stock; recognizing housing as a legal right; and decreasing financial incentives f ...
|
