Growing need for appropriate attainable housing has brought to life a new group - "Owen Sound's Affordable Housing Crisis - A Discussion Group". An on-line post from last week defines the problem; we are republishing it with their permission.
The cheapest Owen Sound 1-bedroom apartment listed as available for rent right now on Kijiji, where most local listings are posted, is $750 plus heat and hydro. At a very conservative estimate of $50 per month for each utility, this puts housing costs at approximately $850 per month. With other basic services such as a telephone and garbage disposal, iving in this apartment is going to cost you at least $900 per month.
- a single person on ODSP receives $497 per month; a couple receives $781
- a single person on OW receives $390 for their housing allowance; a couple receives $642
- a single person making minimum wage and working 35 hrs/week makes $2123 per month; a couple makes $4246
(Data provided by United Way of Bruce Grey)
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Company (CMHC) housing is considered to be affordable when a household spends less than 30% of its pre-tax income on adequate shelter. Households that spend more than 30% of their income on shelter are deemed to be in core housing need. Those that spend 50% or more on shelter are in severe housing need.
In order to live in the cheapest available 1-bedroom rental in Owen Sound...
- the single person on ODSP must spend 181% of their income on housing
- the couple on ODSP must spend 115% of their income on housing
- the single person on OW must spend 230% of their housing allowance on housing
- the couple on OW must spend 140% of their housing allowance on housing
- the single person working full-time at min wage must spend 43% of their income on housing
- the couple working full-time at min wage must spend 22% of their income on housing
Of these 6 scenarios, the two full-time workers are the least common in Owen Sound. Our city has a higher-than-average proportion of single-person households—37% of Owen Sound households are one person. An additional 12% of households are single-parent homes.
That means 49% of Owen Sound households are either one person trying to survive on one income, or multiple people trying to survive on one income.
The average per-person income in Owen Sound is $17,840. (The median household income is much higher—$69,622, but includes the 1300 households that are clearing $100,000 or more after taxes.) [source: StatsCan]
That person making $17,840 per year must spend 61% of that income on housing to afford $900 per month. That's the cheapest place available today for rent in Owen Sound.
This is a crisis, and it's time for action. We cannot wait for years and hope that investors become interested in building low-income housing. We cannot be satisfied with a few dozen units opening up here and there when hundreds of people and families are living in precarious housing, in housing poverty, and even becoming homeless.
