Preserving Low‑Rent Housing

In this episode of New Housing Alternatives, hosts Cherise Burda and Ren Thomas speak with housing policy expert Steve Pomeroy about Canada’s rapid loss of affordable rental housing, often cited as 11 affordable units lost for every 1 built, with even higher ratios in cities like Ottawa and Waterloo.

We cover:

• What it actually means to “lose” an affordable unit (demolition vs. rent inflation)
• How population growth, immigration, and homeownership barriers are driving rental demand
• The role of rent control and vacancy decontrol in accelerating rent hikes
• The growing impact of financialization and large‑scale investors
• Why non‑profit acquisitions, Rental Protection Funds, and rent benefits are key tools to preserve and expand non‑market housing

The conversation digs into policy options for protecting existing low‑rent units, improving the viability of the non‑market sector, and designing smarter, more efficient affordability supports.

New Housing Alternatives is made possible with the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Explore our Vision & Objectives and Research Clusters & Projects, and subscribe to our blog at the link below:
https://newhousingalternatives.ca/blog/

What is New Housing Alternatives?

What if the solutions to Canada’s housing crisis are already out there, just hidden in plain sight? New Housing Alternatives Podcast digs deeper to uncover what really works in solving the affordability issue.

Despite dominant narratives claiming our housing crisis can be solved by simply building more market-rate supply, nearly half of Canadian households can’t afford average rents today. The crisis is deeper than a numbers game; it’s about who we’re building for, who gets left out, and what kind of communities we want to live in.

Join hosts Ren Thomas and Cherise Burda as they explore real solutions to this once-in-a-generation housing crisis and cut through the noise on Canada’s housing affordability crisis to spotlight real solutions that already exist, and the people making them happen.

New Housing Alternatives is made possible with the support of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Partnership Grant, a partnership that is co-directed by Alan Walks and Susannah Bunce and based at the University of Toronto.

In this series, we talk to the people doing the work: nonprofit and co-operative developers, community organizers, and researchers reimagining housing not as a commodity, but as a human right. These are the underdogs creating affordable homes against the odds, proving it’s possible to build housing for people, not profit.

You’ll hear from:
-Ground-breaking developers creating alternative models of co-ownership and co-ops
-Policy experts who challenge the supply-only narrative
-Economists and data experts unpack how affordability vanishes, and how to bring it back
-Community leaders who are preserving existing homes and building new ones in ways that centre dignity and access

Whether you're a policymaker, housing advocate, or simply someone trying to make rent, this podcast brings you stories and insights that show a different future is not only possible, it’s already being built.