New Strategies Needed To Tackle Low Supply In The Rental Market

Certain regulations in place to increase supply for the purpose of building rental units are being endorsed as increased cost of renting in the Greater Toronto Area will need intended precise policies.

The author of the report (GTA Housing – Rent Must be Part of the Solution), Benjamin Tal, Deputy Chief Economist of CIBC said; “The GTA housing market is fast approaching a full-blown affordability crisis. Ottawa’s ability to help here is limited since national policies are too blunt to deal effectively with the GTA market. What is needed are GTA-specific policies.” As a result of the restraint on land usage, Tal mentioned that the GTA market is not a normal-functioning one and it needs custom-made strategies and rules. The foreign buyer tax proposal is not the final way out.

Benjamin said; “A much more effective and long-lasting solution would be to dramatically change the role of rental activity in the city’s housing mix. Simply put, the propensity to rent in the GTA must rise, and the market should realign to increase the supply of rental units. Crucial here is the role of purpose-built apartment supply. With some incentives from municipalities, purpose-built rentals could be the difference between an affordable and an unaffordable GTA housing market.”