Affordable Housing
Presentation to the Public Health & Community Services Committee
ByTom Cooper, Representing SHAC
November 9, 2004

The Solutions for Housing: Action Committee (S.H.A.C.) is a volunteer, non-profit, community-based organization in Hamilton. We believe that affordable, safe, secure, appropriate and accessible housing should be available to everyone in our community. We are committed to providing an effective forum for education and advocacy to encourage the creation of new affordable housing in the Hamilton area. We promote systemic changes to protect low-income housing and affordable rental stock. We advocate for tenants' rights and fair housing legislation at all levels of government.

I would like to outline our support of the general themes outlined in "Keys to the Home" and urge Council's adoption of the report. We view this report as an important first step towards the implementation of an encompassing and effective housing policy for our City and its residents. The recommendations are not an end product, but rather the beginning of an ongoing dialogue between the City, other levels of government, the community and organizations that work on housing issues on a daily basis.

Without a doubt, affordable, accessible, safe housing is a necessity. Unfortunately, for many Hamiltonians that necessity is out of reach.

Vulnerable and low-income tenants are facing severe difficulties finding appropriate and affordable housing in our community. Not only are thousands of tenants at risk of losing housing, but there are very few options available to them if they are required to leave their current accommodations. As a result, homelessness becomes a reality.

Close to one-third of our community lives in rental housing - however renters as a group earn only about half of the household income of home-owners. Senior citizens, single parents with children, poor working families, newcomers, disabled persons, and people on fixed incomes make up a significant percentage of the rental housing population. Many tenants are paying unsustainable rents - as you can read in Keys to the Home, many are paying as much as 60 or 70 percent of their total incomes towards rent.

For the past six years, average rents have been rising significantly. Many affordable apartment units disappeared off the market as they were converted into less-than affordable condominiums. While it is important that new 'market units' are being developed in the downtown, it must be recognized that for the one-fifth of Hamiltonians who live in poverty, these market rents are simply unaffordable and unattainable.

We strongly support the recommedation on increasing the shelter portion of social assistance. To an outside observer, it seems ludicrous that a shelter bed subsidy costs the government nearly $1200; while simply increasing the Shelter component of Ontario Works could potentially keep a vulnerable tenant in housing - while costing less than half that amount. It has been our mantra that it is far more efficient to keep people in affordable housing than to deal with homelessness once it becomes a reality.

The City has an important role to play in helping vulnerable tenants to maintain affordable housing. I would like to commend this Committee for its recent discussions on exempting low income seniors and Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program recipients from excessive hydro security deposits. This is exactly the type of forward thinking that is needed. The City also should be extremely active in helping tenants to maintain housing by serving as a source of information and assistance.

We were pleased to see recommendations in 'Keys to the Home' on establishing an Eviction Prevention Policy. The community has been extremely successful in developing partnerships that provide tenants with information on rights and responsibilities. Through the federal government SCPI funding, private and foundation grants, agencies in Hamilton - such as SHAC, the legal clinics, Housing Help Centre and SPRC devleoped the 'Hamilton tenant education project'. We produced and distributed informational brochures, videos and with the help of the City's Information Technology division, a website to assist vulnerable tenants.

It is also essential that the information that is imparted recognize the diverse needs of Hamilton 's growing multi-ethnic community. Hamilton remains one of the top five points of entry for new immigrants and refugees in Canada .

I attended a meeting a few weeks ago where I heard of one particular unscrupulous landlord who was charging new immigrants, not just first and last month's rent - but demanding a year's rent up front. Other common problems include harassment and discrimination, invasion of privacy and most common: landlords' refusual to make repairs because quite simply tenants feel intimiated by the system and don't complain.

With the help of SISO, we have developed information in multiple languages. These are languages of newly arriving immigrant communities for which there is not a great degree of resources available.

In Toronto, the City government is extremely active in funding tenant education initiatives such as the Federation of Metro Tenants Association. It provides tenants with information on rights and responsibilities.

We recognize Hamilton 's budgetary constraints, however, community agencies cannot fill the 'information' gap alone. We need support from the City to continue the ongoing work to ensure that tenants do maintain housing whenever possible.

Like the SPRC, we are concerned about the lack of specifics on capital investment in new affordable housing. Ontario 's Tenant Protection Act was supposed to create a climate that would stimulate the creation of new rental housing. The result has been the opposite. Instead we have a piece of legislation that prompted a 'survival of the fittest' social darwinism in the rental marketplace. The onset of vacancy de-control has been a misery for low-income and vulnerable tenants. Tenants are being evicted at alarming rates and in their place landlords are renting to the highest bidder - forcing low-income and vulnerable tenants into situations of destitution and despair.

Finally, it is important that we not view this document in isolation from other city endeavors; with the development of a new official plan for the City, a strongly worded statement on housing in will ensure these considerations are front and centre. SHAC supports the concept of assessory apartments - as of right - to increase the availability of affordable housing in the community. Through the GRIDS process, it is clear our community will grow, we need to ensure that housing remains affordable and accessible. Intensifcation in the lower city will inevitably mean more tenant households - and a more activist role for the City in inspections, education and community development.

We also must recognize that Hamilton is under tremendous budgetary pressure. Two years ago, the community had to fight tooth and nail to maitain subsidies for residential care facilities which house some of the most vulnerable members of our community. Homelessness would have been the only recourse if residential care facilities were to turn away people from this vital component of the housing continuum. We must avoid narrow, short term thinking during budget deliberations and remember one of the key messages in this document: housing is not a cost, it is an investment.

In conclusion, I would like to complement the department for its wide ranging consultation. I am extremely impressed with this document and looking forward to working towards the implementation of the recommendations.

Over the last two decades, governments - on all levels have washed their hands of low-income housing. I hope that with this roadmap, the City of Hamilton will once again take its vital and essential role at the forefront of ensuring housing is affordable, accessible and safe for all of its residents.

ANNOUNCEMENT: NATIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING DAY

NOVEMBER 22nd 10:30-12:30

Starting at 10:30 at Wesley Centre, Mayor DiIanni will be joined by community advocates to tour services for Hamilton 's homeless population.