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Long Wait for Affordable Housing in Peel Region Growth Stretches Gap Between Supply and Demand
September, 2008
Individuals and families who need subsidized housing in Peel Region could have to wait up to 21 years. A recent overview of waiting list statistics from the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA) projected the longest waiting times in Peel of any of the 47 municipal subsidized housing providers in Ontario. Toronto's average of four to six years for singles and up to five years for families represented the next lengthiest waiting periods.
Peel Region's dilemma is related to rapid growth, particularly in the cities of Brampton and Mississauga, which is steadily stretching the gap between the supply of and demand for subsidized housing. "Peel has been growing at a rate of more than 34,000 new residents each year. Most of that growth is from immigration and growing numbers of new immigrants are increasingly vulnerable to low income and in need of social housing," says Emil Kolb, Peel's Regional Chairman.
The waiting list totals about 13,500 households, making it numerically the second largest list in the province after Toronto's waiting list of approximately 49,500 households. Neighbouring jurisdictions had significantly fewer households waiting.
Within the GTA/Hamilton and Niagara, tallies were: Halton - 1,900; Durham - 3,650; Hamilton - 3,900; Niagara - 4,260; and York - 5,560.
"Peel's long wait times are considered to be a much stronger indication of need for affordable housing and social supports than the actual number of people on the list. Long wait times discourage households in need of subsidized housing from applying, making it challenging for Peel to document the magnitude of need in the community," maintains Keith Ward, Commissioner of Human Services and the General Manager of the Region's non-profit housing corporation, Peel Living.
Across Ontario, the ONPHA survey found slightly more than 124,000 households on municipal waiting lists for affordable housing in January 2008. That represented an increase of about 2,300 households since January 2007. At the same time, private rental housing vacancy rates have remained in the 3 to 4% range for the past four years - a market balance that is considered to be tipped in renters' favour.
Waiting lists for subsidized seniors' housing are somewhat more encouraging. Even in Peel Region, the projected wait time is about one-third of that for families and other singles. Approximately 360 senior households were waiting for subsidized accommodation - a projected period of up to seven years. Across Ontario, there were about 29,700 households waiting for subsidized seniors' housing at the beginning of 2008.
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