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The supply of affordable housing in Waterloo has not kept pace with demand. Over the past few decades, housing prices and rents have increased substantially faster than incomes, creating affordability challenges for many Waterloo households. The impact of reduced affordability can be seen region-wide in increased homelessness and a growing community housing waitlist and longer wait times. Populations most affected by the gap between income and housing costs include older adults, Indigenous peoples, new Canadians, single parent households, and individuals experiencing mental health challenges and/or addictions. Increasingly, young adults and moderate income earners are also finding it challenging to secure housing that they can afford.
To address the growing problem of housing affordability, the City of Waterloo is developing an Affordable Housing Strategy. The strategy will identify actions to be undertaken by the City to protect the existing affordable housing stock and to increase the supply of new affordable housing in the City. The strategy will consider approaches to address affordability challenges for low and moderate income households, and options to ensure a sustainable supply of a diverse range of housing types, sizes and tenures (i.e. ownership or rental housing).
Check out our latest research and recommendations in the documents section on the right side of the page. You can leave a comment at anytime if you have ideas or suggestions about affordable housing.
The supply of affordable housing in Waterloo has not kept pace with demand. Over the past few decades, housing prices and rents have increased substantially faster than incomes, creating affordability challenges for many Waterloo households. The impact of reduced affordability can be seen region-wide in increased homelessness and a growing community housing waitlist and longer wait times. Populations most affected by the gap between income and housing costs include older adults, Indigenous peoples, new Canadians, single parent households, and individuals experiencing mental health challenges and/or addictions. Increasingly, young adults and moderate income earners are also finding it challenging to secure housing that they can afford.
To address the growing problem of housing affordability, the City of Waterloo is developing an Affordable Housing Strategy. The strategy will identify actions to be undertaken by the City to protect the existing affordable housing stock and to increase the supply of new affordable housing in the City. The strategy will consider approaches to address affordability challenges for low and moderate income households, and options to ensure a sustainable supply of a diverse range of housing types, sizes and tenures (i.e. ownership or rental housing).
Check out our latest research and recommendations in the documents section on the right side of the page. You can leave a comment at anytime if you have ideas or suggestions about affordable housing.
In order to create an Affordable Housing Strategy, we need to know more about how our residents believe the City of Waterloo can improve housing affordability. The questions in this survey will help our project team to understand more about how we could protect the existing affordable housing stock and to increase the supply of new affordable housing in Waterloo. The survey will be open until December 17, 2021. To provide additional feedback on where in the city we should be planning for more housing in general, please tell us, Where should new housing go?
Individual survey responses will not immediately be made available publicly, but your feedback (including overall results of polls and surveys, and in some instances, unidentifiable and randomly chosen quotes or comments from surveys) may be published in publicly available reports at the end of the consultation period. Please note, if you choose to provide personal information in your comments, it will be available for City staff reviewing responses to this survey. Responses to surveys are subject to Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.56 (as amended) and can be a part of a Freedom of Information request. For more information, please refer to our privacy policy.
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Page last updated: 28 Nov 2023, 04:25 PM
Lifecycle
Phase 1: Research and Information Gathering (Winter/Spring 2021)
Affordable Housing Strategy has finished this stage
Identify specific local housing needs, drawing from data in the Housing Need and Demand Analysis and in consultation with stakeholders and the public
Phase 2: Identify Goals and Targets (Spring/Summer 2021)
Affordable Housing Strategy has finished this stage
Develop goals and targets that address housing needs for public/stakeholder review and feedback
Phase 3: Identify Actions (Spring 2022)
Affordable Housing Strategy has finished this stage
Research innovative practices, policy tools and partnerships and identify gaps and opportunities in existing policies and practices. Consult with private, non-profit and government housing and service providers to understand barriers to providing affordable housing. Identify possible actions to address goals and targets.
