Housing differently: sustainable solutions to the housing crisis
Who is proposing what to improve housing? And are the proposed solutions viable?
This is the fifth and final article in a five-part series. Read the other articles here, on our substack, or in french on Pivot
As rents skyrocket and waiting lists for affordable housing lengthen, the crisis continues to hit millions of Canadians hard. But beyond this alarming reality, solutions are emerging—led by community stakeholders, bold municipalities, and even certain levels of government. Here's a brief overview of concrete avenues that could help break the impasse.
The idea appears more and more often in debates: to rebalance the market, the share of housing outside the speculative private sector must increase. Every expert we interviewed named this measure as key to addressing the crisis.
“We need to develop non-profit, off-market housing. That includes non-profit housing organizations, co-operatives and, of course, social housing, which is fundamental,” Julia Posca, an economist at the Institut de recherche et d’informations socio-économiques (IRIS), said. “As long as we stay within the logic of the private market, we are trapped in a speculative dynamic of profit-driven rent hikes.”
She continued, highlighting that it can’t be a temporary fix. “Affordability also has to last. It is not enough to create affordable housing; it has to remain affordable over time. Non-profit housing allows that,” she said.
According to Jean-Yves Duclos, the previous federal minister of Public Services and Procurement, co-operative and non-profit units currently make up only about five per cent of Canada’s rental stock. Experts agree that the share should at least quadruple to stabilize prices in the long term.
Build—and buy—outside the private market
Transforming the rental market seems one of the most promising paths. What many solutions share is a long-term vision: the private market builds what is profitable, while mission-driven actors build what is necessary. In a crisis, that gap becomes crucial.
That is what the Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant (UTILE) tries to do. This social enterprise aims to “make housing a catalyst for student success.” But why focus only on students when many other groups are suffering?
“Students never benefit from rent control because the population is constantly replaced. A new generation shows up every year and can only access units at current market prices,” UTILE executive director Laurent Levesque said.
“Students are particularly vulnerable: they are highly concentrated geographically, they move often, and they know little about tenant rights,” he said, emphasizing that their transient nature means they don’t have an appropriate read on the specifics of law systems in any region they move to. UTILE acts both as a developer and as an owner.
“As a non-profit owner, we want not only the lowest possible rent given the financing we can provide, but also a good residential experience: well-maintained units, community life, and activities in the buildings,” Levesque said. “Building one project after another lets us accumulate real-estate assets, which is part of our financial model. Those funds can be reinvested in our next projects, creating a circular economy.”
But it isn’t simple. Their project is ambitious, and it means that finding money is not always simple. “Financing remains a challenge. Our first projects were completed without provincial funding. We now have political partners at every level and others in the private sector. We have to secure the necessary financing from public or private sources for each part of the capital process,” he said.
Buying existing buildings
Another approach is gaining ground: purchasing existing rental buildings and converting them into community housing. Programs such as Toronto’s Affordable Housing Acquisition Initiative or purchases led by members of ACHAT (the Alliance des corporations d’habitation abordable du territoire) in Quebec aim to stop speculation by removing entire buildings from the market.
In Toronto, community land trusts buy apartment blocks and houses to preserve affordability in their neighbourhoods. Though the initiative does not create new units, it protects the existing affordable supply.
ACHAT brings together collective real-estate enterprises—non-profit owners, operators and developers, co-ops and para-public corporations. The group proposes, through a major acceleration, “to make achieving a minimum target of 20 per cent of the rental market sheltered from speculation a collective priority, mainly by consolidating the non-profit housing sector.”
Models elsewhere
Berliners voted in a 2021 referendum to expropriate large real-estate companies. Like other major cities, Berlin faces intense speculation, and nearly 85 per cent of residents are tenants. The citizens’ initiative Deutsche Wohnen & Co. Enteignen still fights to turn units into common, public property.
Posca, like many other experts, pointed to Vienna as a social-housing leader. “A large share of the population lives in such housing today, which keeps prices stable,” she said.
“The state has invested heavily in public and community housing there for a century. The model shows that strong public commitment can guarantee the right to housing,” she said.
Build at any cost?
Governments often propose massive construction of all kinds of housing, usually private, to meet demand. The “filtering” or “cascade” theory holds that when new units are built—even expensive ones—the households that rent or buy them vacate cheaper units, allowing everyone to find a place. Over time, new units are expected to depreciate and become accessible to lower-income households.
But a recent IRIS study highlights several problems, including major imbalances and reverse filtering. Units are appreciating over time. Without rent control, tenant turnover leads to steep hikes, limiting the share of affordable rentals. In attractive areas such as Montreal, prices tend to rise over time even without renovations.
The study also says rental units depreciate only when landlords let them deteriorate. Low rents therefore lead to maintenance deficits, and affordable units are often unfit for habitation.
Regulate and plan
“We need stronger measures: rent control, taxes on vacant units, zoning reform to encourage density,” Véronique Laflamme, spokesperson for the Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU), said.
The housing-rights group is calling on Ottawa and Quebec to set a target of 500,000 social-housing units over ten years and to fund at least 10,000 new units a year—whether new builds, building conversions or purchases of rental buildings—under non-profit, co-operative or public models.
A question of will
Solutions exist. They require ambition, targeted investment and, above all, a paradigm shift. Canada can draw on European models, strengthen its non-profit sector, protect tenants and build intelligently.
But none of this will happen without political will. The ball is in the court of decision-makers—and of the citizens who elect them.
Municipalities are the most determined to help, but their powers are limited. The new federal government promises impressive solutions, but reality may catch up with it quickly. Provincial governments say they want to act, but will they keep their promises?
“Promises are made, but tenants keep losing their homes,” Laflamme said.
In the end, only time will tell.