Their children left the old family home in Orléans several years ago. The couple wanted a smaller residence by moving a few kilometers east, but a decade later, this second home still seems too big for them, notes Lorraine.
But his search has so far been fruitless, as their current home, valued at around $800,000, now costs as much as a bungalow.
It would be like selling our house and buying a smaller one, giving us less [en termes] of value, but for much more expensive, in a context of two people who have a fixed income
laments Lorraine.
According to the results of Radio-Canada’s Electoral Compass, housing is the most important political issue for 18% of respondents.
What to do? Radio-Canada surveyed the main political parties in Ontario to find out their commitments to improve the lot of buyers and tenants on whom the pressure does not ease.
Common promises
Candidates from the Liberal Party, NDP and the Green Party in Ottawa responded to interview requests from Radio-Canada. This was not the case for the Progressive Conservative Party.
Currently in Ontario, most rents can increase by 1.2% per year, but increases can be higher for units rented for the first time after November 15, 2018.
All three parties want to address this inequity by introducing rent control. The Greens and the NDP both want to extend this measure to take place between tenancies to discourage evictions.
A second common goal is to tax investors who do not live in their property. For the Liberals, it would be 5% for foreign investors, and 2% for others. the NDP speaks instead of a 2% target. The Greens have not quantified this tax, but they propose to introduce a new tax of at least 20% for those who own three or more properties.
The three parties also want to build new urban housing by making cities denser.
Building new housing is an objective shared by all three parties, but the targets and the means differ (archives).
Photo: Radio-Canada / Jean Delisle
Finally, the Greens and the NDP propose to end blind auctions in order to reduce overbidding. Both plan to encourage the construction of more housing and affordable units by tackling zoning regulations.
Some numbers
The Ontario Liberal Party is committed to lowering the cost of homes and condos by ensuring that 1.5 million new housing units are built over the next 10 years. He also wants to create a provincial land development corporation whose revenues would be reinvested in affordable housing.
New Democrats want to build 250,000 social housing units managed by a new public body. The party also intends to correct shortcomings
in the tax imposed on foreign investors.
The Greens (New window) promise, among other things, to build 182,000 affordable rental units in 10 years, including 60,000 homes with mental health and addiction support. They also undertake to subsidize half the cost of shelters and social housing in municipalities and to make it easier to transform single-family homes into plexes.
Other green promises aim to tackle corruption and speculation in the real estate market, make home ownership easier, provide more options for Ontarians and end homelessness.
With information from Rémi Authier
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca