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"David Hulchanski" <[log in to unmask]> on 08/08/2001 06:34:59 AM
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Subject: U Of T Housing Study Reveals Tale Of Two Canadas
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO news@UofT
Media Release
August 8, 2001
U OF T HOUSING STUDY REVEALS TALE OF TWO CANADAS
A study by a U of T housing expert confirms what many in the
highly competitive housing markets of Toronto, Vancouver and
Montreal have suspected for some time
? that the divide
between the home-owning "haves" and the renting "have-nots"
is widening.
Using data from the 1984 and 1999 Statistics Canada survey
of household income, Professor David Hulchanski, director of
U of T's Centre for Urban and Community Studies, compared
the income and wealth of owners to that of renters. The
results, while not entirely surprising to those shelling out
top dollar for rental accommodation, point to a disturbing
trend ? the emergence of two distinct groups of housing
consumers within the Canadian market, with the income gap
between them increasing by about one per cent a year.
That trend, says Hulchanski, has major social and economic
implications for Canadians. And he's hoping Canada's housing
ministers, meeting next week in London Ontario, will pay
heed and take action. "We must recognize that very few
renters have enough income to cover the cost of housing," he
says. "Right now, we're passing the buck, saying the private
sector will do it ? but it's not happening."
For one thing, renters' income is "just way too low" to
stimulate market demand for new rental housing units,
Hulchanski says. "Social need is something the market simply
can't respond to." One of the key problems is that Canada
has these two income groups competing with each other in the
one housing market supplied solely by the private sector.
Governments at both the federal and provincial levels have
cut public funding for social housing, increasing the
squeeze on available units.
Defining wealth as a person's net worth ? savings plus the
value of assets such as a house ? Hulchanski found that the
average wealth of Canadian renters has dropped from $4,000
in 1984 to $2,000 in 1999. By contrast, the income and
wealth of Canada's homeowners increased from 29 times to 70
times that of renters, "revealing a huge gap between the top
of the income scale and the bottom." In Europe, Hulchanski
notes, that gap is about half as large as in North America.
That's because countries such as the Netherlands, Germany
and Great Britain provide either a form of rent supplement
and/or fund public housing. Forty per cent of Dutch live in
some kind of non-profit housing, while 20 per cent do in
Germany.
"These are successful Western mixed economies and they can
afford it. The federal government now has a huge budget
surplus, so we can certainly afford to do a lot better,"
Hulchanski argues.
"People debate poverty," he continued, referring to a recent
controversial report released by the Fraser Institute
claiming that only eight per cent of Canadians live below
the poverty line. "But what does it mean at the end of the
day? Our study looks at the most expensive necessity and it'
s clear that one pool of consumers is chasing the other pool
out of their good quality housing."
Key Findings:
· In 1984, homeowners had almost double the income of
renters (192%). By 1999, the gap had increased to more than
double (208%).
· Between 1984 and 1999, household net worth decreased
dramatically for renters in all three metropolitan areas: in
Montreal by 51 per cent, in Toronto by 23 per cent, and in
Vancouver by 10 per cent
· The income and wealth gap means that homelessness will
like worsen. Canada's housing system has no mechanism to
ensure that the need for lower rent adequate housing is met.
-30-
CONTACT:
Professor David Hulchanski
Director, Centre for Urban and Community Studies
University of Toronto
(416) 978-4093
[log in to unmask]
Jill Rutherford
U of T Public Affairs
(416) 978-7016
[log in to unmask]
http://www.newsandevents.utoronto.ca/
______________________________________
CBC National News
Tuesday, August 7, 2001
CANADA CREATING 'GHETTOS,' HARDER TO OWN A HOME: REPORT
TORONTO - A new report from the University of Toronto says
it's getting harder for people to own a home.
Urban studies professor David Hulchanski compared homeowners
with renters and found that the net worth of renters has
fallen over the last two decades. Many are now caught in a
cycle of renting.
Rebecca Powney of Toronto says she would love to buy a home
but between rent and living expenses, a down payment is out
of reach.
"My parents had a house at my age. We still have a dream."
Hulchanski says in Canada, homeowners are the "haves" and
renters, the "have-nots."
According to Hulchanski's numbers, this is how it breaks
down:
in 1984, by making mortgage payments, homeowners pushed
their median income to more than $116,000 and by 1999, it
reached more than $145,000
in 1984, renters had a median net worth of less than $4,000
and by 1999, it had fallen to $2,000.
"Canada is developing ghettos," warns Hulchanski.
Lots of homes are being built across Canada, but two-thirds
of renters will never own them. In fact, renters become
tenants for life and spend more of their income on rent,
says Hulchanski.
"We're seeing more evictions," says Dan McIntyre of the
Federation of Metro Tenants Association in Toronto. "It's
unfair."
______________________________________
J. David Hulchanski, PhD, MCIP
Director, Centre for Urban and Community Studies
Professor, Faculty of Social Work
University of Toronto
Tel 416 978-4093; Fax 416 978-7162
[log in to unmask]
http://www.hnc.utoronto.ca
http://www.housingagain.web.net
______________________________________
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