Housing Insecurity In Ontario.

When rents on two condo buildings in downtown Toronto doubled from $1,650 a month to $3,300, Ontario. Premier Kathleen Wynne was forced to take a stand. There is rent control on properties built before 1991; the trouble is these were built after. Wynne put a $31 cap on monthly increases on all rental buildings, but to those who had already received notices of rent increments.

Wynne and Housing Minister Chris Ballard also announced that $11.2 billion would be funded over eleven years to housing. This includes $3.2 billion for affordable housing initiatives and repairs to existing housing. There is also $2.1 billion for the Homeless Partnering Strategy, a program that aims to reduce homelessness. The funding doubles the present commitment and extends it from 2019 to 2022. A total of $5 billion will go toward a National Housing Fund which will help finance direct lending for new rental housing.

As impressive as all this may seem, it only concerns rental property, but for those who want to buy it's a different nightmare, especially in Toronto, which has seen double-digit percentage increases in the past year. The average home price there is $916,000 and $1.6 million is the average price of a detached house.

One can imagine the fear of not making rent or mortgage payments this will, and has, caused. Better a society without rent or mortgages. 

Steve and John.