GTA West social housing and health study

PDF - Report

To determine the outcome of housing investments, CMHC provided research funding to examine the mental and physical health outcomes of affordable housing provision in Ontario.

This study examines health and wellness outcomes of people living in rent-geared-to-income (RGI) social housing in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Rent-geared-to-income housing gives people who are vulnerable access to affordable rental units. Researchers have found that the high cost of rent can lead to poor mental health outcomes and housing instability. The waitlists created by the provincial and municipal governments allowed a study to be conducted to examine the self-reported health and wellness outcomes of individuals attempting to access social housing before and after the intervention.

According to the report, over 790,000 Canadian renter households (almost 1 in 5 renters) pay more than 50% of household income towards shelter costs. The affordability benchmark is 30%.

This data suggests nearly 25% of Canadian households pay more than 30% of their income to shelter costs. The number of Canadian households considered in core housing need is just under 1.7 million. This represents a core housing need rate of 12.7%, with Toronto having the greatest rate (19.1%) of Canadian Census Metropolitan Areas.

Learn more about what the GTA West Social Housing and Health Study Research Insight discovered.