Niagara needs 20,000 more affordable housing units, Brock researcher says

Around 20,000 additional affordable housing units will be needed in Niagara by 2041, according to a brief by a public-policy, think-tank at Brock University, due to a widening gap between the housing units available and the people who need them.

Right now, people can spend adecade on the waiting list to rent an affordable one-bedroom apartment from Niagara Regional housing.According to the research brief, the wait time in Lincoln is nine years, and in Niagara Falls, it's 17.

Between 2017 and 2019 alone, the waiting list jumped by 20 per cent.

"I'm telling the community that we don't have enough housing, especially affordable housing, our demand is going to go up, and we need to build more apartment-type housing," said assistant professor of political science and the brief's author, Joanne Heritz,in a media release.

Heritzsays governments and citizens should be planning for ways to increase the rental housing market, and particularly affordable housing for the region's most vulnerable people.

The situation is dire, says the brief titled"Looking Ahead and Looking Up: Affordable Housing in Niagara," especially as the region expects a 30 per cent increase in population by 2041.

The number of residents is expected to rise from450,320 to609,990.

The overall supply of rental units in Niagara already isn't keeping up with demand.

Apartments are in highest demand in Niagara, the brief said, which estimates an additional 19,325 units needed by 2041, or around 870 new units a year.

And households in the region that fall in the "core housing need" range from 18 per cent of households in Port Colborne to four per cent in Lincoln and West Lincoln.

Heritz points out that there are some ongoing construction changes in the region that are expanding the housing supply.

Welland is "leading the way" in building secondary suits, the briefsaid, which are "self-contained, separate units with sleeping, full kitchen and bath facilities and a separate entrance."

In West Lincoln, there's a range and mix of higher density housing options that can accommodate different household sizes within walking distance of amenities.

In St.Catharines, there are two "innovative housing builds," including a127-unit public-private partnership on Church Street that was completed in June 2020 and a 24-unit transitional and supportive housing on Oakdale Avenue, which is scheduled to be completed early 2021.

St. Catharinesis Canada's 10th most expensive rental market

An imbalance in supply and demand of affordable housing is also seen across Ontario. Less than seven per cent of new housing across the province in the past 20 years has been rentals. Rental prices have increased from 10 to 15 per cent since 2019, while incomes increased by just 2 per cent between 2008 and 2017.

Fifty-six per cent of renters in Ontario can't afford a two-bedroom apartment.In 2019, St. Catharines was the 10th most expensive rental market in Canada with an average price of $910 for a one-bedroom rental.

Of particular concern to Heritz are"invisible" housing seekers who earn minimum wage or juggle several jobs for income.

A good portion of Niagara's workforce also consists of low-paying or seasonal employment in the tourism and service sectors, said the release.

Other vulnerable populations challenged by finding affordable housing include Indigenous peoples, single mothers with children, seniors and veterans.

Contributors to the housing crisis in Niagara, the brief said, include:

• Low supply of rental stock.
• Steep increases in housing prices.
• Forecasted population growth.
• Migration of population from the GTA to Niagara.
• Preferences for short-term vacation rentals.
• Renovictions.
• A decades-long waitlist for social housing.
• The gig economy.
• Unmet needs of vulnerable groups.