“My concern with Bill 11 is that evicting people into homelessness does nothing to address [violence in supportive housing].” BSH's Dr. Alina McKay on BC Bill 11's proposal to expand eviction powers for tenants found in possession of a weapon
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What if affordable housing stayed affordable?
That's exactly what community land trusts do. By removing land from the speculative market, CLTs are rewriting the rules of housing. Now we need policies to match the movement.
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For more research on CLTs, visit buff.ly/HUuqEAd
Read our latest updates in Housing Research Collaborative's Spring Newsletter!
BSH Highlights include:
📊New #evictions research
🎙️Info for our public keynote presentation w/ Dr. Ananya Roy (UCLA) in May
📕Info for our upcoming Evictions Book Launch webinar
Learn more at bit.ly/HRCSpringNewsletter
BSH researchers Drs. Alina McKay and Colin Phillips found 89% of renters with disabilities face discrimination applying for housing. Dr. Phillips, himself a Right Fit client, reflects on what this cut means for #AccessibleHousing in Canada.
Read our blog: buff.ly/V5jmHiW
A critical program that matches wheelchair users to #accessiblehousing just lost federal funding. The Right Fit program has housed over 371 people, 38% of whom were homeless or at risk of homelessness. Demand for the program has also grown and 213 people are currently waiting for accessible housing.
🔗 For more BSH research on evictions, including our new Eviction Process Dashboard, visit bsh.ubc.ca
BC's #Bill11 gives supportive #housing providers new eviction powers, but no proportionality tools, no mandatory mediation & no off-ramp for vulnerable tenants. BSH Research Manager AlinaMcKay breaks down why this is a lose-lose for providers and tenants alike in this recent op-ed.
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See our recent research for more:
📊 Eviction Process Dashboard: buff.ly/esxn0p4
📄 A Review of Canadian Eviction Filing Processes: buff.ly/esxn0p4
📣 12 Policy Recommendations for national alignment of renter protections: buff.ly/8DbHqSo
This isn't just an Ontario problem. Our recent research documents how nearly 5M Canadian renter households face vastly different protections depending solely on where they live.
As Canada debates a federal Renters' Bill of Rights, policies grounded in evidence matter.
Between 2018-2019, Ontario LTB wait times went from 50 to 250+ days. Not because of tenants, but because the Ford government cut adjudicators. Bill 60 doesn’t fix this. Instead, it restricts #tenantrights and speeds up #evictions.
Read our blog for more: buff.ly/01O6TWx
Are you a UBC graduate student interested in housing research? BSH has two great opportunities for you:
1. Investigate property law & innovative land use practices for Northern CLT (UBC Law students only): buff.ly/oUVXHXV
2. Support research operations as our next work-learn student: buff.ly/GBG87S5
As Canada considers a federal Renters' Bill of Rights, this research provides the comparative, evidence base needed to establish national standards for protections that are stable, dignified, and equitable regardless of postal code.
🔗 Explore the dashboard & download the reports at buff.ly/QAjpsgh
📊Eviction Process Dashboard: grades rental regulations across Canada
📄A Review of Canadian Eviction Filing Processes: maps residential tenancy law in all 10 provinces
📣Recommendations for Strengthening Canadian Renters' Security of Tenure: outlines 12 policy recommendations for national alignment
Nearly 5M renter households face vastly different eviction protections depending on where they live.
Our latest research documents this disparity, finding that strong tenant protections already exist within Canada, but they are not applied uniformly. 3 new tools clarify the differences:
AGIs are increasingly common among corporate & financialized landlords.
In our latest Overhead episode, Julie Mah, Martine August & Douglas Kwan argue these increases are being used as a revenue generating tool or even a means to displace tenants.
Listen on our website 🎧️
The NHS promises safe, adequate housing for all, but for people with disabilities, that promise remains largely unmet. Our latest webinar dives into the structural barriers standing between people with disabilities & the housing they deserve.
Watch the recording:
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6/6 CMHC's index is a real advancement in affordability measurement. The next step: explicitly incorporate investor ownership structures & how they shape rental outcomes. With better measurement comes better policy.
Find more research at on housing affordability in Canada at bsh.ubc.ca
5/6 The rental analysis also falls short. It credits future relief to unsold condos entering the rental market, but CMHC's own data shows historically low vacancy rates across key cities. And financialized landlords, above-guideline rent increases & eviction-driven turnover? Not mentioned once.
4/6 The problem: the index assumes homebuyers=homeowners. In TO & Van, that's increasingly not true. When investor demand is ignored, affordability metrics distort. Housing costs ~100% of median income isn't an affordability problem, it's a signal the median household is no longer the marginal buyer
3/6 For renters, the data confirms persistent stress in Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax & Ottawa. Rental affordability isn't a cyclical blip; it's becoming a structural feature of these markets.
2/6 What they got right: the index finally separates renters from owners (long overdue) and confirms what many already know: affordability decline isn't just a Toronto/Vancouver story anymore. Halifax, Montreal & Ottawa are now showing equally concerning trends.
1/6 CMHC announced a new Housing Affordability Composite Index today—a meaningful step forward in how we measure housing stress. But the analysis has some notable gaps worth unpacking.
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Our next Research in Progress webinar is tomorrow!
Join BSH experts Drs. McKay, Phillips & @jeremywildeman.bsky.social to learn about the challenges of navigating accessible housing & how policy changes could make a real impact for people living w/ disabilities.
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4/4 BC has been a national leader on housing policy for years, but this budget leaves the sector asking, 'what happened?'
Read our full take on what the budget got right, where it stumbled, and where there's room for improvement: buff.ly/Uw04leG
3/4 🏠 What does the suspension of CHF mean for non-profit & Indigenous hsg providers that were counting on it?
🔑 85% of BC evictions are no-fault, yet the budget introduces no new renter protections. Affordable supply is shrinking, so why isn't the province taking a stronger stance?
2/4 Our latest analysis asks:
📉 Does "5 times the 2016 investment" hold up against inflation & 20% population over that time? (Spoiler: It doesn't)
❓️ Why does the budget say nothing about CLTs, co-op housing, or the non-market models proven to deliver affordability in perpetuity?
1/4 This week, BC's 2026 Budget took a noticeable step away from affordable housing while quietly suspending the CHF without a word in the budget. While there is some good news, the budget categorically fails to treat housing as the foundational infrastructure provincial stability depends on.
Our right to accessible housing webinar is next week!
Join Drs. @jeremywildeman.bsky.social, Alina McKay & Colin Phillips as they share preliminary findings from recent BSH & @housingrightsca.bsky.social research on how systemic barriers limit housing accessibility in Canada.
🧑💻 bit.ly/AccessibleHsg
The reality is that there are over 5,200 unhoused people in MetroVan. Given the proper supports, “people are often not even aware that it is a supportive housing community because people are just living their lives.” We hope today's BC budget upholds the right to housing for all.