A growing number of Canadian couples and singles live in homes with vacant bedrooms, a phenomenon that is coming to light as local governments across the country grapple with acute housing needs.
“It does speak to the underuse of housing. The question is what do you do about it and what can you do about it,” said Aled ab Iorwerth, deputy chief economist with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the federal housing agency. Even in big cities such as Toronto and Montreal, where smaller detached houses and semi-detached homes account for a larger proportion of the housing stock, the share of empty bedrooms rose over the past 15 years.
That includes Mississauga, a major urban area west of Toronto, which estimates that its population over age 55 will double by 2031. The most recent census shows that a higher share of seniors than younger people live in single-family homes. The typical home price across the country is above $750,000. And the average rent increased 10 per cent over the past year to more than $2,000 a month in May, according to Rentals.ca. In Toronto, the monthly rate climbed by 21 per cent over the past year to just over $2,500, according to Rentals.ca.
The study also found that in the highly populated areas of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, where the cost of living is higher than other cities and neighbourhoods, households were less likely to have extra bedrooms, and that vast majority of households living in detached houses were more likely to have extra bedrooms.
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