You deserve a safe, secure, and affordable place to call home

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“Young people should be able to get a safe, affordable place of their own when they’re ready. Folks should be able to rent without the constant threat of eviction or bank breaking rent hikes. And buying a home should not be out of reach for hardworking families.” Andrea Horwath (NDP Leader)

No matter where you live in Ontario, no matter your financial situation, your age, identity, or ability, you deserve a safe, secure, and affordable place to call home.

Unfortunately, for too many families, it has become harder and harder to afford a good home, although housing is a basic human right and requirement for good health. According to the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights the right to housing is protected under international law, and Canada has endorsed such rights.

With that being said, according to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, approximately 15 percent of the province’s households are currently in dire need of affordable housing (https://ontario.cmha.ca/). The high cost of rental accommodations has created a critical shortage of affordable housing and is a leading contributor to poverty in Ontario. What does this mean for people who are part of that 15 per cent?

It has been proven that adequate, suitable and affordable housing contributes to our physical and mental well being. It helps with feelings of personal safety, and also assists in decreasing stress. These factors result in better mental health outcomes. When housing is inadequate or unavailable, personal as well as community well being can suffer (https://ontario.cmha.ca/).

Families have been priced out of the neighbourhoods that they grew up in and away from their community support systems. Meanwhile, renters have been trapped in an endless cycle of instability and risk. Government loopholes have left renters vulnerable to escalating rent prices and unfair evictions. With COVID-19 wreaking havoc on the economy, and a lack of secure affordable housing, Ontario is on the brink of a homelessness crisis.

Last month, Andrea Horwath and the Ontario NDP Caucus unveiled Homes You Can Afford, a comprehensive housing plan that ensures: a market of affordable housing, helps first-time buyers with their down payments, and provides renters with the financial help and security that they deserve.

Horwath believes that housing is a fundamental human right, and that everyone deserves a comfortable, affordable, and stable place to call his or her home.

The Home in Ontario Program (HOP) will help people buy their first place by contributing to their down payment with a shared equity loan of up to 10 per cent of the home’s value. The bonus is that repayments on the loan won’t be necessary until the homeowner sells or moves out. Homeowners will have the option of buying back the government’s share at any time.

The Homes You Can Afford plan also helps 311,000 households pay the rent with direct financial help, and protects all renters from bad intentioned landlords.

The plan also looks to build 69,000 affordable homes and 30,000 homes with support, in addition to implementing a Housing First strategy to tackle the growing crisis of homelessness.

The NDP is also committed to:

• Making renting more affordable and giving renters more security by closing loopholes on ‘renovictions’ – where landlords evict people so they can jack up the rent between tenants
• Making it easier to buy and keep a home, and strengthening home buyers’ protections
• Taking on the billionaires, speculators, and bad developers whose actions are causing the housing market to spiral out of control
• Giving survivors of domestic violence a safe place to go with the supports they need
• Addressing homelessness, and giving more people safe and stable housing options
• Supporting a For Indigenous, By Indigenous housing strategy
• Tackling the housing shortage that exists in areas of Northern Ontario

That’s right. You heard it. You might have the ability to buy your own home in the next couple years. For many, this will be a dream come true.