Everyone has the right to housing
Canada recognizes adequate housing as a human right and defines affordable as 30% of a household’s gross income.
Housing now costs over 70% of gross household income
Change municipal bylaws to increase density and reduce the cost of housing to 30% of household income.
Antiquated municipal housing policies place citizens in crisis.
Discriminatory housing policies, such as restricting density, dominated municipal policy for more than 20 years, created the current crisis, and denied citizens with median and entry level income their right to adequate housing.
In 2001 housings costs were 30% of gross household income and now it’s more than 70%.
Discriminatory housing policies must stop.
Below is an example from the Saanich Peninsula in BC
*Stats updated January 2024
Median Household Income
$100,314
Median House Price
$1.23 Million
Income Spent on Housing
71%
I WANT TO HELP.
THINK
DIFFERENT
It’s time to think differently.
For more than 20 years, local municipal policy overextended land reserves for detached single-family homes, grossly underserved multifamily zoning, underestimated the true level of housing demand, and stifled the approval and building of new housing.
The result is extremely high housing costs that infringe on the rights of working citizens with median and entry level income.
Canadian Bill C-97 through the National Housing Strategy Act gives everyone the right to adequate housing.
Municipalities need to rethink their zoning strategies and policies. They must reduce the cost of housing to the affordable level of 30% of gross household income as specified by the federal government.
Bill C-97 and the Housing Strategy Act state:
Affordable: “Personal or household financial costs associated with housing should not threaten or compromise the attainment and satisfaction of other basic needs”
Current average housing costs of 70% of gross household income leaves many median and entry level citizens struggling for groceries, further education, and extended healthcare.
Location: “Adequate housing must allow access to employment options, health-care services, schools, child-care centres and other social facilities and should not be built on polluted sites nor in immediate proximity to pollution sources”
High housing costs coupled with poor transit alternatives have forced many working age citizens to have to relocate their families farther away from employment opportunities, and in some cases leave their work for new, less costly locations.
We are asking municipalities to:
- Recognize the importance of housing to the inherent dignity and well-being of all people.
- Develop and maintain a housing strategy to support improved housing outcomes for the all people.
- Further the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing as recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Canadian Federal Government.
It’s time to think and act differently!
Focus on creating inclusive adequate housing for all people!
I WANT TO HELP.
The Saanich Peninsula needs 10,000 New Homes
Number of regional Jobs, job growth, and median house price as a percentage of median income, should be key indicators for calculating actual municipal housing demand.
Current and historical municipal housing studies are weighted to look to historical municipal household growth which does not accurately asses current housing demand. It is only a measure of how much we allowed the region to grow previously.
Treating “historical municipal household growth” as demand overlooks people who are priced out of a municipality and thus cannot form households in the municipality. For example, suppose that a municipality adds 2,000 apartments for 2,000 new households, but another 5,000 households want to live in the municipality but are priced out. Obviously, the demand for the apartments should include not just the 2,000 households who can afford the municipality, but the 5,000 more who cannot, but want to!
Second, the “2,000 households” figure even includes people who are forced to live together by high housing costs, but who in an affordable municipality would choose to live alone. For example, suppose that two people live together as roommates in order to avoid high rents, but would live alone if rents were lower. For purposes of calculating demand, are they one household or two?
Building new multifamily homes that are as close to working centres as possible is the best thing municipalities can do for the environment and for housing affordability. Ensuring their municipality provides housing at affordable levels (30% of gross household income) for all categories of income is the bare minimum we should expect from our municipal leaders. They are responsible for ensuring they build an inclusive non-discriminatory place to live.
That means that, based the regional number of jobs, job growth, and median house prices on the Saanich Peninsula, we need to build almost 10,000 new housing units to come close to the actual current real demand for housing.
Central Saanich
Median:
Household Income $103,000
House Price $1,186,100*
7621 Homes
79 Airbnbs
6,150 Jobs
4,295 Homes Needed
1 Br – 774 Needed
2 Br – 1,826 Needed
3 Br – 1,695 Needed
68%
% of Houshold Income Spent on Housing Alone
North Saanich
Median:
Household Income $121,000
House Price $1,389,300*
5235 Homes
90 Airbnbs
3,735 Jobs
2,614 Homes Needed
1 Br – 436 Needed
2 Br – 1,207 Needed
3 Br – 971 Needed
68%
% of Houshold Income Spent on Housing Alone
Sidney
Median:
Household Income $77,000
House Price $1,060,868*
6312 Homes
71 Airbnbs
4,350 Jobs
2,591 Homes Needed
1 Br – 381 Needed
2 Br – 1,208 Needed
3 Br – 1,002 Needed
76%
% of Houshold Income Spent on Housing Alone
* Median House Price – Jan 2024 from Victoria Real Estate Board
I WANT TO HELP.
Join the movement now!
Let’s start taking care of all citizens in our municipalities and not let income discriminatory municipal policies ruin our communities. Show your support by joining the email list.
Workforce housing is in crisis
The workforce on the Saanich Peninsula shrank by 7% between 2016 and 2021 and is estimated to shrink another 20% over the next 10 years while available jobs are on the rise.
There are currently 14,235 people who work on the Saanich Peninsula. Of those 74% have to commute an average of 40km per day. 74% of those commuting come by car alone. Most workers say a lack of affordable housing complicated by poor public transit is the reason.
Increasing housing density leads to adequate housing, increased public transit, and better environmental stewardship.
68,000 tonnes
Of CO2 from commuting per year
40km
Average Daily Commute