Seniors, women, families: Report highlights London's housing gaps

London has a pressing need for affordable housing units geared to single people, seniors and larger families, according to a consultant's report presented Tuesday at a city council committee meeting. 

The housing needs assessment report is a requirement for London to tap into the federal government's housing accelerator fund. Its purpose is to identify the city's current and future housing needs.

Using data from the 2021 census, combined with information from local housing groups, the external consultant's report highlights gaps in London's housing inventory by both housing type and neighbourhood. 

Among the report's findings: 

• A shortage of one-bedroom and bachelor apartments. London has 94,305 households consisting of either single individuals or couples without children, yet there are only 26,920 one-bedroom dwelling units available in the city's inventory. Households in one-bedroom units account for 62.8 per cent of all households in "core housing need," which is defined as the cost of their housing exceeding 30 per cent of the household income.
• Shortage of larger units. The report says there are 1,240 London households with five or more members living in homes with two or fewer bedrooms. Also, there's a strong demand for affordable, larger-sized units to accommodate families with two or more children in the current Community Housing system in London.
• Tenant households are more vulnerable to affordability issues. According to the report, 39 per cent of tenant households, where the occupants rent rather than own, are living in unaffordable conditions, nearly triple the rate for owner households. 

The report also found that 55 per cent of households in core housing need were led by women and almost 31 per cent by seniors older than 65. Just over 28 per cent of households in core housing need were led by visible minorities. 

The report also highlighted core housing needs broken down by geographic areas of the city organized by postal code. The two most affected areas include the northeast (postal codes starting with N6H) and the city's east end (postal code N5Y). 

The report was presented at Tuesday's meeting of city council's Planning and Environment Committee. 

Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis said it highlights pockets of need he's hearing about from constituents. 

"The per cent of households in core need led by seniors over 65, I think that number should be of concern in a significant way for us," he said. "That's a number that's been growing." 

Lewis also said the geographic breakdown of housing needs across the city shows it's not limited to east or south London. 

"I really do think we need to be looking very seriously at that," he said. 

The report, which was prepared by Colliers Project Leaders consultants, will be regularly updated.