Securing the right to housing for racialized refugees

Discover the housing challenges that racialized refugees encounter in Canada, where discrimination adds to the difficulties of finding suitable accommodation. The COVID-19 pandemic has made these challenges even worse, with marginalized individuals bearing a disproportionate impact. This research examines the barriers that prevent racialized refugees from accessing suitable housing. It also evaluates the effectiveness of rights-based interventions in promoting their right to adequate housing, particularly in Toronto. The aim is to widely share these findings so that stakeholders can use them to address and resolve the existing challenges.

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Project scope and expected outcomes

Overcoming systemic discrimination in housing

The most significant barrier preventing racialized refugees from settling in Canada is being unable to find appropriate housing. The supply of affordable rental housing in Toronto is already severely limited and costly relative to median newcomer incomes and financial resources.

This research revealed that even when housing is available, discriminatory treatment toward racialized newcomers and refugees, particularly lone parents, increases the barriers to access. This leaves countless new residents unable to access adequate housing to start their new life in Canada. The situation became worse during the pandemic.

Recommendations for action

To address discrimination against racialized newcomers and refugees in the rental housing market, the research team made the following recommendations:

• The federal government should develop new funding streams to support newcomers, enabling settlement organizations and other civil society groups to better address the specific housing challenges they face in securing housing.
• Housing providers often deny housing to newcomers due to a lack of Canadian credit history or guarantor. The federal and Ontario governments should establish no-fee guarantor services to support newcomers. Initiatives to investigate the nature, scope and effect of discriminatory housing practices should be funded and undertaken across Ontario.
• The Government of Ontario should fund studies and the Ontario Human Rights Commission should work with housing organizations and advocates. Together, these organizations should investigate the barriers and ensure people have access to housing.
• The Government of Ontario should establish a system to monitor, investigate and meaningfully enforce Human Rights Code protections related to housing.
• The Government of Ontario should introduce policies to preserve existing affordable housing at risk of being lost. The policies should allow localized rental replacement bylaws and fund municipal programs that convert at-risk privately owned affordable rental housing into non-profit housing.
• The Government of Ontario should work with municipalities to encourage developing non-profit and co-operative housing to provide more affordable housing options.
• The Government of Ontario and the City of Toronto should help tenants learn about their legal rights and help housing providers learn about their legal obligations.
• The City of Toronto should adopt regulations that allow the legal operation of multi-tenant (rooming) houses, which provide an affordable housing option for newcomers on lower incomes.

Download the report (PDF)