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What Spring Views Await You? Here is another piece of Canada’s current housing that needs our attention:

Profile of Rooming House Residents

Did you know that rooming houses, one of the most inexpensive types of housing in most cities, play an important role in addressing the housing needs of very low-income single people?

A study was done by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Here are a few of their Research Highlights on Rooming House Residents.

Methodology

The study included two phases. In the first one, researchers came up with a working definition of a rooming house, which the researchers used to gather the research sample:

A “rooming house” is a permanent form of housing that consists of a building, or part of a building, where living accommodation is provided in at least four, separate, habitable rooms, each of which may contain limited food preparation facilities or sanitary facilities, but not both.

In the second phase, researchers interviewed 240 rooming house residents—80 in Vancouver, 80 in Ottawa and 80 in Montréal—and a small number of landlords in each city. The researchers chose those three cities because each has a unique rooming house history.

Two recent studies on rooming houses—one in Toronto and the other in Winnipeg — also provided information about rooming house residents and the quality of rooming houses in Canada.

Profile of Rooming House Residents

The typical rooming house resident in Canada is likely to be:

- A single or divorced Canadian-born male of British, francophone (in Montréal) or First Nations ancestry in his late 30s to late 40s living well below the poverty line. In many cases, he is unable to work because of poor physical or mental health or addictions. In other cases, he will be recovering from ill health, substance abuse or other disruptive life circumstances and will be trying to re-enter the mainstream of society by looking for work, volunteering his time, or working.

- Many students (including foreign students) appear to be turning to rooming houses as an alternative to more expensive on-campus housing. Recent immigrants to Canada are also using rooming houses as they settle into a new location. In a few instances, individuals who can afford other forms of housing choose to live in a rooming house because they do not want the responsibility of a larger home.

- A small and steady proportion of women live in rooming houses. Their profile is much the same as for men. However, this study and others show that some rooming houses are problematic for women— particularly for those with multiple health and social needs. This subject needs further study.

Are Rooming Houses Temporary or Permanent Accommodation?

The study found that most rooming house residents viewed their tenancy as temporary. Students or young people trying to get an independent start in life often lived in a rooming house less than a year or two.

About one third of the residents interviewed called their current place home and saw their rooming house as long-term accommodation. Experts consulted during the results workshops felt that good quality rooming houses could be a feasible housing choice for low-income, single people either as a temporary or longer-term arrangement.

The Affordability and Quality of Rooming Houses

Although it may appear that rooming houses are an affordable housing option for low-income people, the study found that most tenants pay more than they can afford on rent. Many rooming house residents use food banks. Some earn money by dumpster diving, panhandling or involvement in illicit activities.

Implications of Results

To name just a few.

- As the population ages, so will rooming house residents age— making the need for “supportive housing” more pressing.

- Good quality rooming houses can play a role in the array of housing options for low-income people and those who choose this form of housing for lifestyle reasons.

- There is growing pressure on cities to further regulate rooming houses and enforce violations to ensure properties are properly maintained.

- There is a need for different government sectors to work together to maintain or increase the affordability of rooming houses.

- To read the full Study or find more Research Highlights plus a wide variety of information products, visit their website.

or contact:

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
700 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0P7
Phone: 1-800-668-2642
Fax: 1-800-245-9274

Housing Research at CMHC

Under Part IX of the National Housing Act, the Government of Canada provides funds to CMHC to conduct research into the social, economic and technical aspects of housing and related fields, and to undertake the publishing and distribution of the results of this research.

CMHC Project Manager: Anna Lenk
Consultants: Christine Davis (Social Data Research Ltd.);
L. Bonnie Dinning; Nick Istvanffy and Margaret Condon (SPARC BC);Luba Serge; Laura C. Johnson (Laura C. Johnson Associates Inc.)

Profile of Rooming House Residents

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