This enactment amends the National Housing Strategy Act to require that, in order to reflect more closely the international law principle that the key elements of the right to adequate housing are affordability and security of tenure, the housing policy of the Government of Canada and the National Housing Strategy developed under that Act address the erosion of the supply of affordable housing and the impact on the housing market of investments in residential property by institutional investors.

Preamble

Whereas financial actors are playing an increasingly dominant role in the housing market;

Whereas institutional investors such as pension funds and residential real estate investment trusts allow investors to generate income by investing in residential real estate properties without buying or managing property;

Whereas such trusts and other forms of corporate ownership treat housing as a financial commodity and an asset for profit, which deprives individuals of access to affordable housing;

Whereas Parliament recognizes that the financialization of housing risks leading to the erosion of the supply of affordable housing, particularly during times of high demand for residential rental properties, thereby encroaching on a fundamental human right;

And whereas the Government of Canada is committed to addressing the impact of the financialization of housing on the housing market, the loss of affordable rental housing and the need for greater tenant protection;

Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

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  (a.‍1) recognize that housing is not adequate if it is not affordable and its cost threatens or compromises an individual’s enjoyment of other human rights;

• (a.‍2) recognize that adequate housing as a fundamental human right must take priority over housing as a commodity and a vehicle for wealth and investment;

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Consultations

(1.‍1) In maintaining the strategy, the Minister must consult with representatives of provincial and municipal governments responsible for housing and with Indigenous organizations and communities providing housing services, particularly with respect to the protection of affordable rental supply, the regulation of residential rents and the promotion of tenants’ rights.

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  (b.‍1) provide for measures that can be taken to prioritize the needs of tenants, particularly persons who are members of vulnerable groups, over the interests of investors in residential rental properties, including measures aimed at reducing financial incentives for those investors;

• (b.‍2) establish guidelines to promote efforts across Canada to increase the protection of tenants, including guidelines to

  • (i) increase and strengthen rent control measures,

  • (ii) address the issue of evictions made in bad faith, particularly evictions into homelessness of low-income households,

  • (iii) deter unfair business practices, such as the use of data analytics by residential property owners that enables them to exchange sensitive information, including in respect of rental unit prices and vacancy rates, for the purpose of setting the price of their rental property units,

  • (iv) deter residential property owners, in the provision of rental housing, from denying an individual occupancy of a rental unit or from differentiating adversely in relation to any individual, on a prohibited ground of discrimination within the meaning of the Canadian Human Rights Act, and

  • (v) meet the challenges of enforcing penalties imposed on residential property owners for contraventions of residential tenancies legislation;

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  (h.‍1) submit a report to the Minister on any recommendations for possible amendments to federal laws, policies and programs that would further the housing policy, including recommendations made in the course of consultations with civil society organizations; and

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