According to the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA), the Ontario government needs to increase rent-geared-to-income (RGI) housing by 68 per cent in order to accommodate demand. As determined by the ONPHA’s annual Waiting Lists Survey, 165,069 households were on waiting lists for affordable housing at the end of 2013.

“These numbers show that the affordable housing crunch is not going to be solved by the current approach,” says Sharad Kerur, Executive Director at ONPHA. “We need a multi-pronged approach that includes rent supplements, housing allowances, new housing stock and repairs to existing buildings.”

Since the ONPHA began collecting waiting list data in 2003, close to 40,000 households have been added to the RGI housing list. In 2013, demand for affordable housing rose 4.2 per cent, year-over-year– the largest annual increase since 2010.

Average wait times also present a problem for those in RGI housing need. The report indicates that, in 2013, the average wait time for RGI housing was 3.89 years and families, in comparison with seniors and singles, wait the longest.

In Ontario, 3.17 per cent of all households were on RGI housing waiting lists in 2013.

“An investment in affordable housing is an investment in people,” says Keith Hambly, ONPHA president. “It pays important dividends to Ontario communities and is the foundation on which people have opportunities to thrive.”