Comment 112707

By Jonathan Dalton (registered) | Posted July 09, 2015 at 17:39:45 in reply to Comment 112647

It's easy for the middle class to point out Hamilton's lower-than-average rents as it appears to be a barrier to revitalization. However it is often overlooked that along with lower rents Hamilton has a lower average income. Even with our cheap housing affordability is an issue here already and will become huge as prices normalize with respect to the surrounding area.

Montreal is actually an example of a large and vibrant city with relatively low rents - diminutive compared to Boston or NYC. This is in part thanks to Quebec's tenant protection laws. I visited recently and some friends who had moved there from Toronto (which had become unaffordable for them) told me it was a different world there for tenants.

More rental housing is needed and indeed being built; however that is not the whole solution. New construction rentals will necessarily be at the upper end of the rent scale. The most affordable housing here tends to be older buildings and multi-unit retrofits that come under fire from newer residents of gentrifying neighbourhoods. This housing is the most vulnerable as prices appreciate and it's more likely to be converted back to single family by new owners. Affordable housing needs to be protected as neither the City nor private investors are building much more of it.

Berlin like Hamilton has been historically cheap and attracted artist and musicians who could never afford to live in other European capitals. However as prices rose they did not throw their hands up and say oh well rent is higher in other cities. They actually decided that affordability ought to be preserved and enacted laws to preserve it. It seems to be working. http://www.citylab.com/housing/2015/07/b...

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