Gaps in Affordability, Access, and Security Mean Not All Canadians Benefit Equally from the Canada Housing Benefits
Pedram Nojedehi, Jacqueline Kennelly, Catherine Leviten‐Reid, Comfort O. Kusimo, Nazeem Muhajarine, Isobel M. Findlay
Executive Summary
Canada’s National Housing Strategy Act formally recognized housing as a human right in 2019 [1]. However, the current design and implementation of demand-side rent subsidy programs—most notably the Canada Housing Benefit (CHB)—raise concerns about whether they adequately support equity-seeking groups, including people with disabilities, youth, seniors, refugee claimants, women fleeing violence, and households with unstable employment income. This brief argues that while the CHB can provide short-term rent relief, it often falls short of ensuring adequate, secure, and deeply affordable housing for people in greatest need.
Drawing on peer-reviewed studies across multiple provinces, this brief identifies five key concerns: affordability gaps, uneven access for vulnerable groups, limited security of tenure, poor housing conditions, and weak tenant protections. Evidence suggests that CHB benefits have not kept pace with actual rental costs, especially when calculations rely on average market rents and exclude utilities. Restrictive, bureaucratically complex, and uneven eligibility criteria may also limit access for equity-seeking groups mentioned above.
To better align the CHB with a right-to-housing approach, governments need to revise benefit calculations, remove exclusionary eligibility criteria, streamline application processes, strengthen tenant protections, and prioritize long-term investment in rent-geared-to-income non-market housing.