A widening gulf between the cost of rent or mortgage payments and the paycheques of Ontario residents is putting shelter out of reach for many. This housing crisis has hit individuals already disadvantaged much harder. To mark National Housing Day on Nov. 22, Shelter from the Storm, a Metroland news series, explores deepening cracks in the foundation and amplifies the voices of those often left out of the conversation. Reporters speak to racialized people, individuals living with disabilities, seniors and the LGBTQ2S+ community to learn what it really takes to put a roof over their heads.
Ontario’s housing crisis has become a tangle of good intentions and grim math.
While housing prices have begun to trend down, home ownership remains out of reach for many Ontarians.
It’s not just that more houses need to be built in Ontario; those homes need to be built at a cost that makes them attainable for the average Ontarian.
While advocates say affordable housing should cost 30 per cent of one’s income, municipalities define it as costing 90 per cent of market rates, meaning more and more Ontarians are unable to afford a roof over their head.