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January 27th, 2023

Liberals fail to crackdown on greedy corporate landlords

Thursday’s report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation shows the average rent increase for people who moved in the last year is a whopping 18.3 per cent, with an overall average increase of 5.6 per cent. Vacancy rates have hit a two-decade low at just 1.9 per cent. NDP Housing critic Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East) released the following statement in response:

“No one should have to live in a home that’s unsafe, and everyone deserves a home that fits their family. But the latest report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) confirms what families already know: it’s getting tougher to find and afford a good place to call home.

Behind the CMHC’s numbers, it’s obvious that corporate landlords are making massive rent hikes in between tenants, that interest rate hikes are making rent and mortgages less affordable, and that Canada is simply not building enough homes — especially when it comes to missing-middle homes that families can afford.

New Democrats have been calling on the Liberals to crack down on gouging by corporate landlords and REITs and help Canadian families find a home they can afford. CMHC was once a leader in building permanently affordable homes that couldn't be scooped up by greedy investors. This forced competition for affordable rent, but Liberal and Conservative governments left these programs gutted since 1993 as the housing crisis got worse.

That's why New Democrats continue to call on the Liberals to take greed out of the rent that Canadians pay by creating an acquisition fund for non-profits and restoring CMHC to its former mission of building large scale non-profit housing.

The Liberals and Conservatives continued corporate pandering is putting homes out of reach for Canadian families. The NDP has called on the Liberals to stop rewarding rich investors for buying up rental units and then jacking up the rent. This is what the financialization of housing means and it must stop.

New Democrats are fighting for you and your family—not greedy corporate landlords. We’ll continue to fight to make sure Canadian homes are for people to live in, not for investors to make a mint.”