A primer on affordable housing and homelessness

Capital Gains on Principal Residences

• “Capital gains realized on the sale of a principal residence are non-taxable under the income tax regime in Canada. In comparison, 50% of capital gains from other investments (e.g., equities) realized in a year are taxed at income tax rates.”
• — Frank Clayton

• Nick Falvo: United Church Women (Feb. 17, 2014)

The Economics of Newly-Built Housing

New Housing in Toronto
New one- or two-bedroom apt	$1,500
Household Salary Needed	$60,000

• Nick Falvo: United Church Women (Feb. 17, 2014)

SA Shelter Allowance, Ottawa

• Nick Falvo: United Church Women (Feb. 17, 2014)

SA Shelter Allowance, Ottawa (cont’d)

• Nick Falvo: United Church Women (Feb. 17, 2014)

• Nick Falvo: United Church Women (Feb. 17, 2014)

Social Housing

• Social housing generally refers to housing for low-income households that benefits from substantial funding from senior levels of government.
• Usually, social housing is owned and operated by a not-for-profit entity.

• Nick Falvo: United Church Women (Feb. 17, 2014)

Social Housing (cont’d)

• A crucial point about ‘social housing’ is that a significant proportion of tenants who live there pay reduced rent. This is usually referred to as Rent Geared to Income (RGI).
• Though the precise rent scale varies across Canada and across programs (and years), tenants in RGI units typically pay between 25% and 30% of their before-tax monthly income.
• The highest amount of rent a tenant would be charged in social housing would be ‘break even rent’—that is, the actual market rent that would be charged on the private market. This happens in private non-profit and co-op housing (with tenants who are ‘middle-income’). These would not be RGI units.

• Nick Falvo: United Church Women (Feb. 17, 2014)