Canada’s social and affordable rental housing stock is aging, and many units require repairs, as rent prices continue to increase, according to new data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). 

The findings, based on survey responses and administrative records, offer insight into the condition, rent, and vacancy of nearly 593,000 subsidized housing units across all provinces and territories from 2019 to 2024.

The findings largely focus on housing in major urban centres. Toronto alone accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the surveyed units, while Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal collectively make up another 17 per cent.

Nationally, the vacancy rate increased from 1.6 per cent in 2019 to 2.9 per cent in 2024. Most provinces increased at a similar rate, except for Manitoba, which saw its overall vacancy rate increase from 1.2 per cent to 13.7 per cent during this same period.

Proportion of units in poor condition increasing

Among all surveyed units, 43.5 per cent are rated in good-to-excellent condition, while 19 per cent were rated in average condition. 

Just over one-third fall into the fair-to-poor category, with 23 per cent of those deemed poor – an increase from 2.5 per cent 2019.

This happened mainly because fewer units were rated as being in “good” or “fair” condition, reads the report.

At the same time, the number of structures expected to have no repairs within the next five years has declined from 34 per cent to 23 per cent.

Building conditions varied significantly across regions. For example, in Saskatchewan only 15 of social and affordable housing units were rated as excellent or good, compared to 60-70 per cent in British Columbia and Quebec.

Buildings built since 2003 are more likely to be in good or excellent condition, with 77 per cent of them in that category. By contrast, only 38 per cent of units built before 2003 are rated similarly.

The age of the stock of social and affordable units varied significantly by province and territory. In Quebec and the three territories, more than one-third of the stock was built after 2003. In contrast, in Ontario, the Prairies and the Atlantic provinces, 65 per cent to 90 per cent of stock was built before 1987.

Prices soar for most unit types

Between 2019 and 2024, national average rents increased by approximately 16 per cent for one-bedroom units and 22 per cent for 2-bedroom units. Average rents increased by 30 per cent for units with three or more bedrooms. 

Average rents declined by four per cent for bachelor units.

How are units managed?

More than half of the social and affordable housing units in the most recent survey were managed by various levels of government, accounting for 53 per cent of the total.

Non-profit organizations oversaw the management of 26 per cent of units, while housing cooperatives were responsible for another seven per cent.

The remaining 17 per cent were managed by private companies or through partnerships that involved a combination of government, non-profit, and private actors. 

When it comes to funding, government entities were also the primary contributors.