09-21-2018, 01:43 PM
(09-21-2018, 01:11 PM)nms Wrote: Unfortunately, a lot of the affordable housing is clustered in downtown Waterloo and Kitchener. Apartments above stores are being renovated and are now listed as "Executive one-bedroom apartments", clearly out of the range of those who are supported by OW (Ontario Works Social Assistance), or ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program). I would like to see governments acknowledge that just as our horizontal neighbourhoods accommodate a range of income levels, that our vertical neighbourhoods do the same. For instance, if a developer recognized that their development is removing lower rent housing, that any new development include an equal or greater number of lower rent housing in the mix. Removing 20 units (or bedrooms) of lowe income housing to create 200 beds of higher income housing should require also replacing the 20 beds that are being displaced.
The Toronto Star wrote an article on a similar situation in Toronto: those who need to be in the core for work or services can no longer afford to live there.
I can't remember where I was reading it, but there is some program (unsure if it was local, or Toronto or province wide) that helps pay for renovations to make legal units in homes, with the intent of making them affordable. The kicker is that they don't care who moves in (so it could be family), just as long as it becomes 'legal', meaning separate living area, cooking area, and bathroom area.
Either way, it idea if they started implementing something like this. It would be a win-win-win situation; a win for the homeowner with reduced renovation costs and rental income, a win for the renter with reduced rent and a safe place to live, and a win for the community as social costs associating with renting would be greatly reduced.