Financialization of Purpose-Built Rental Housing
On November 4th 2024 Sean Fraser, Federal Minister of Housing, Infrastructure & Communities tabled his September 23, 2024 response to the review panel on the Financialization of Purpose-Built Rental Housing in Parliament. It’s an informative read.
While our sector continues to advocate to the federal government for a tenable legislative and financial environment to operate and build rental housing, it is nevertheless encouraging to see that this Minister acknowledge the importance of the private sector for the delivery of rental housing. One paragraph on page 5 in particular highlighted the importance of our sector’s contribution to ensuring Canadians have access to safe and secure rental housing.
“We recognize that homes are where people live and should not be treated as a speculative financial asset class for large investors. While we work to keep affordable housing affordable, it is important to acknowledge that most rental housing will continue to be built and managed by the private sector, as you noted in your report. Increased private sector participation will be critical to accelerate new housing and address the scale of the challenge facing our nation. While I note the panel’s recommendation to reserve government funding and financing for existing purpose-built rentals for the non-profit or public sector, I also recognize the expertise, capacity, and the scale of the investment that the private sector is positioned to contribute to addressing this housing crisis. No one player alone can address this crisis. All sectors have a key part to play in ensuring everyone has a safe and affordable place to call home. I am eager to work with the community housing sector as well as the private sector to adequately and effectively incentivize the creation and maintenance of affordable housing. In the meantime, I agree that we need to better understand the role of financialization on purpose-built rental housing to inform the appropriate responses.”