The supply of private rented housing in Canada

Basement suites: Demand, supply, space, and technology

“…From 1955 to 1980, Canada's net rental demand was met largely by production of private‐sector apartment buildings developed entirely for rental. Output averaged 70,000 new private rental units each year, peaking at 104,000 annually in 1968–1973 according to Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC) data (Crook ). Until 1966, over 90% of these apartments were private‐sector rental; but for the next three decades this was topped up by an average 17,000 new social housing units each year, accounting for 27% of rental production over the period (Suttor 2016, Table 8.3).…”

“…The production regime for apartments was extended several more years, from the mid‐1970s to the early 1980s, through large federal subsidies to private rental development. Over half of private rental apartments built from 1975 to 1982 benefited from programs that provided forgivable loans and grants for up to one‐third of project costs—most importantly the Assisted Rental Program and the Canada Rental Supply Program—and a majority of new private rental in this period involved Multiple Unit Residential Building (MURB) tax incentives (Hulchanski ; Crook ; Pomeroy et al ).…”

“…In the early 1970s, rental production was still at its peak, but demand was dropping off. There was a housing bubble, a private rental stimulus program in the mild 1970–1971 recession, a surge in social housing production, and a peak of private Limited Dividend production (Crook ; Suttor ). The short‐term result was production exceeding net rental demand by 34% in 1971–1976, at 90,000 versus 67,000 a year.…”

Secondary suites, second‐class citizens: The history and geography of Calgary's most controversial housing policy

“…By 1998, an estimated 45% of emergency shelter users were employed, but unable to find a place to live (Williams ). In light of the growing demand for rental housing, landlords began to convert a portion of traditionally owner‐occupied stock into accessory apartments, including secondary suites, which often violated municipal zoning regulations and building codes (Crook ). Evidently, from 1985 to 1990 the number of illegal suites reported to the City more than tripled, from 252 to 926 (Ferguson ).…”

“…The housing situation in Calgary and elsewhere in Canada had experienced a dramatic transformation by the 1990s. As home ownership increasingly became widespread, Canada's rental sector became a residual one restricted primarily to low‐income Canadians (Hulchanski ; Crook ; Gaetz et al ; Falvo ). In Calgary, the retrenchment of social housing programs at the provincial and federal levels of government, soaring local construction costs, lack of restrictions on condominium conversions, and redevelopment of older affordable housing has meant a net loss in rental housing during a period of rapid population growth (Miller and Smart ).…”