Policy Target
Housing market
EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGY
Government units regulate and oversee the housing market to protect homebuyers from predatory subprime loans.
SAMPLE INDICATORS
- Percentage of homeowners or renters paying more than 30% of their pre-tax income on housing (e.g., utilities, property taxes, and mortgage payments)
- Household stress (using a threshold such as housing costs are more than 30% of disposable (or gross) household income and households are in the bottom 40% of the income distribution (e.g., stratified by homeowners, public renters, and private renters))
- Extreme household stress (using a threshold such as housing costs are more than 50% of disposable (or gross) household income and households are in the bottom 40% of the income distribution (e.g., stratified by homeowners, public renters, and private renters))
EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGY
Government units regulate land appreciation, uncontrolled growth of property prices, and housing shortage to provide opportunities to all people to move from rentership to ownership.
SAMPLE INDICATORS
- Homeownership rates
- Rentership rates
- Percentage of people changing status from tenants to homeowners
- Rental vacancy rates
- Trends in house prices by neighbourhood
EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGY
Government units help to increase availability and affordability of diverse housing options in all neighbourhoods, including those most affluent.
SAMPLE INDICATORS
- Availability of public funding to support affordable housing development projects in high-, middle-, and low-income neighbourhoods
- Supply shortage of affordable housing units
- Variety of affordable housing options (e.g., duplexes and laneway homes) in high-, middle-, and low-income neighbourhoods
- Revisions on single-family dwelling zoning laws
EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGY
Government units develop policies and regulations to encourage and provide for safe, affordable housing developments in desirable, accessible locations (e.g., close to amenities, dispersed throughout the municipality).
SAMPLE INDICATORS
- Adherence to safe, affordable, and accessible housing regulations (e.g., local government units, housing authorities, and housing development organizations)
- Number/percentage of regulated housing authorities and developers following the internal controls defined by government unit policy
- Number/percentage of affordable housing options in diverse and desirable neighbourhoods (e.g., centrally or conveniently located)
- Population density
EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGY
Government units subsidize income and/or housing (e.g., rental supplements, interest-free housing loans) to ensure long-term housing security.
SAMPLE INDICATORS
- Average length of single shelter stay (e.g., for children, youth, and adults)
- Percentage of shelter users with more than one shelter stay per year
- Occupancy rate in emergency and temporary shelters
- Homelessness levels
- Costs associated with re-housing a homeless person
- Number of households on waiting lists for government-unit subsidized housing
- Social housing waiting lists for people experiencing disabilities
- Number of people placed in longer-term housing
- Availability of affordable home-buying schemes, such as shared ownership programs
- Individual’s perception of the ease of application process for affordable home-buying programs, such as shared ownership programs
EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGY
Government units regulate anti-discrimination in housing policies (e.g., preventing landlords from not renting to tenants who are receiving housing supplements).
SAMPLE INDICATORS
- Number/percentage of inclusive, affordable housing options for people experiencing disabilities
- Number/percentage of municipal government units that have addressed age discrimination against children in tenancy rules
- Number/percentage of families with children who report securing affordable, inclusive housing in multi-unit dwellings
- Availability of non-discrimination laws protecting people who receive rental subsidies and income supports
EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGY
Government units provide funding for social housing construction.
SAMPLE INDICATORS
- Availability of funding for social housing projects
- Availability/supply of social housing units relative to population needs
- Average waiting time of applications for a social housing program to be fulfilled
EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGY
Government units invest in diverse options for affordable housing and encourage private providers to supply housing for disadvantaged groups (e.g., seniors, people experiencing disabilities, or low-income families).
SAMPLE INDICATORS
- Availability of affordable housing units for disadvantaged groups
- Diversity of affordable housing units (e.g., multiplexes, high-rise condominiums) for disadvantaged groups