Affordable housing is vanishing. Are these landlords to blame?

Canada lost more than half a million affordable rental units in a decade, and experts say it’s because 'financialized landlords' are turning housing into investments. CBC The National investigates the impact of the growing industry and what it means for renters.

#housing #realestate #investing

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[CBCTheNational]

We’ve opened comments on this video to hear your ideas and experiences related to this story. Comments remain closed on other videos to try to reduce harm to the subjects of our content, our staff and the audience.

[tatianastarcic]

Because so many people overpaid for homes even while loan rates were low, I believe there will be a housing catastrophe because these people are in debt. If housing costs continue to drop and, for whatever reason, they can no longer afford the property and it goes into foreclosure, they have no equity since, even if they try to sell, they will not make any money. I believe that many individuals will experience this, especially given the impending mass layoffs and rapidly rising living expenses.

[scottjordan]

Both Canada and the USA have a monopoly problem. There's too many monopolies that have sprung up and have almost total control of their markets.

[TheGreatestHandle]

This is how people end up on the streets living in tents.

[jackrabbit]

Only citizens of Canada should be allowed to own real estate. Citizenship should be worth something!

[LucasBenjamin-hvsk]

The fact that there is already an excessive amount of demand awaiting its absorption, despite how everyone is frightened and calling the crash, is another reason why it is less likely to occur that way. 2008 saw no one, at least not the broad public, making this forecast, as I'll explain below. The ownership rate was noted to have peaked in 2004 in the other comment. Having previously peaked in the second quarter of 2020, we are currently at the median level. Between 2008 and 2012, it dropped by 3%, and by the second quarter of 2020, it had dropped from 68 to 65.

[burntce]

All levels of government, past and present, have done a poor job preventing this housing crisis. We all saw this coming miles away, but no one really cared until it’s too late.

*Edited to fix typo

[abhilash]

I blame the government (all three levels) and lack of socialized housing for past 3-4 decades. Even now they are not keen on working together to solve issues but fight over jurisdiction instead of building adequate housing. If they would have built during those times, we would have affordable housing now and landlords wouldn't have taken advantage of the vulnerable. Also, the system allows bad landlords and tenants to flourish at the expense of good landlords or tenants who out of bad luck rent from/to professional landlords/tenants. We need to cut the loopholes but ensure there is also some form of rent control (create a max price limit for 1, 2, 3 bedroom unit based on location - ie. $2500/month for 2 bedroom in Toronto) and limit annual increases to inflation.

[sebebalios]

Co-op housing needs to come back in full force! No one should be paying more than 30% of your monthly income for rent!

[CarolineIronwill]

I've been living in my van since March. I'm not on drugs, my mental health is under control. I have no criminal record. I just can't afford rent.

[davidandrews]

Currently, the major problem in trying to provide affordable housing is the "financial landlords" types. They continue to buy older buildings at very little cost and make, primarily, only cosmetic changes. They're not re-wiring the buildings that have aluminum wiring. They're not remediating fuel leaks if they can get away with it. They're not installing sprinkler systems to make the buildings safer, They're not repairing obvious issues with unsafe wiring, plumbing and air circulation. What they're doing is adding lipstick to a pig. At some point, probably not that far in the future when people can no longer find ANY safe place they can provide for their families, I can assure you that you'll start seeing violence toward those landlords and management companies who have caused this problem. When they don't care if people have shelter, they'll be putting themselves in a very precarious position.

[tmoleary]

since the financial collapse in 2008 housing has become the focus of investors choosing housing over the stock market. But housing is a right. Not a commodity. Government must regulate the wealthy landlords in order to ensure safe access to affordable housing.

[xXxFaustoMoraesxXx]

A video like this is very important because most of the blame for the housing crises goes towards immigrants when in fact it should be going also towards insitutional investors

[MaximilianFischer]

However, I'm concerned about the trend of 'financialized landlords' turning housing into investments, making it harder for individuals to achieve homeownership. I hope my story inspires others to explore alternative investment paths, like the financial market, which I've found rewarding. Remember, taking control of your finances and investing in your future can lead to a more secure and prosperous life.

[specialshockey]

It’s not one thing:
Slowww expensive permit process
Wasting time talking about it for 20 years
Allowing Anonymous foreign buyers to park money in real estate
Corporate landlords milking every dollar
Turning a blind eye to rapid increases - not cooling the market sooner
Luxury building in favour of affordable building
Labourers can’t afford to live where we need to build
Supply
Canadian wages not keeping pace
Air BNB
High rate of immigration
…
I have a house but I feel terrible for the young generations

[absolutepowerchannel]

I appreciate CBC opening up the comments, because these issues are so worrisome. Canadians aren't sleeping at night.

I don't think government understand in the last 8-9 years how many of us lost out on some of our most productive years. I'll admit I see beautiful houses(condos too) being built. But I'm sadden to think I had no chance a the most humane basic need of shelter in this lifetime. Now I constantly worry at the age of 40, not able to save. What was the point of my existence? Was it only to feed the oligarchs, monopolies, government and corporations?

I miss watching town halls from the past, where citizens would state their ideas publicly. Because pollsters always need our opinion and we are glad to educate our leaders about our issues. If they don't already know.

Canada being grounds for modern slavery is not a lie. Of course I believe we need immigrants for the economy. But it has been so heart breaking to see Canadian teens who were not allowed to work, because of corporations interest. To see Canadians being mistreated in the workplace for cheaper labor. To work in uncomfortable work environment because there was no hope of finding another job.

In these pass 5-8 years. I and my fellow Canadians will never forget what it was like to be beholden by corporations. Never forget how many stories I've heard of Canadians applying for 50-100-500 plus jobs, without any replies. Never forget the elderly doing hard labour after retirement. Never forget people facing homelessness. Never forget the scandals. Never forget the homeless encampment.

[User-bu]

What is the role of the government if it keeps bending to private interests at the expense of the PEOPLE? People are clearly suffering and expressing that through rent strikes. Most people cannot afford monthly increases of 400$. This is neofeudalism and has nothing to do with free markets. Corporate profit is turning into profiteering and is borderline hedging towards creating social crisis that no gov will be able to manage if you have an escalation of crime, poverty, homelessness and addiction. Let's do the math and see who is benefitting from this rent frenzy. I believe regulation should come to cap the prices because the danger of not doing so outweighs the benefits that only go to a few concentrated investors.

[CDin-xhkp]

The rush to BUILD MORE, usually translates to subdivisions full of million dollar homes in every community.
More of the same…Not a real solution!

[michaelj.]

'financialized landlords'? more like "Corporate Terrorism"...we've transited to a situation where a dollar bill is more important than a human life...sending love and peace to everyone...

[everceen]

Housing crisis, health crisis, cost of living crisis, debt crisis, inflation crisis, EU war crisis, middle East crisis. How many crises can a koala bear? I'm approaching retirement with comfortable millions, yet scared of a banking crisis. Where do I best grow my money?