I used to consider myself a pure capitalist, fervently believing in the free market’s power to provide housing.I believed that in Canada, all three levels of governments wield the authority to ease regulations and effectively resolve our housing crisis. A crisis that was caused by decades of over-regulation to begin with. I did not believe that the government should be responsible for housing the masses. Quite the contrary.
. “As costs have increased, particularly lately -- inflation, interest rates, construction costs -- and with a healthy rental market and some government programs to assist, the viability for rental grows and it’s important that we all encourage rental living, long-term."that welcomed our new, progressive, pro-renter Mayor, “in Toronto, the number of rental households has grown three times faster than ownership, while the supply of purpose-built rental has only grown by 5%.
Now, without getting to the ‘supply and demand’ argument, I understand the rationale that in a healthy market, a massive increase in housing supply could lead to creating affordable units, not as a result of a top-down government mandate , but as a product of what the market naturally yields. Honestly, if you had asked me just a couple of months ago, I would have said the same thing without a doubt.
As a direct result of offering a steady and ample supply of top-notch social housing, Vienna’s social housing model has successfully removed the stigma around living in a rental for life, which has a positive impact on housing costs for all residents, and not only for those who live in public housing, or rent as a ‘phase in life’.