Are you trying to figure out why renting in Toronto is so expensive? Do you want to know what the high price of rent might do to the city in the future — and what solutions there be?
This week, CBC Toronto rolled out four videos focused on those topics and more to help you understand the rental landscape in the city.
The series is hosted by Shannon Martin and we’ll be continuing our coverage in the coming weeks.
Here are all four videos, plus some links to related stories in case you want to go deeper.
Ever wonder how Toronto can have buildings going up everywhere but still have a shortage of rental units? This video will help.
Let’s start back at Toronto’s rental housing boom and the policy shifts that saw developers in the city pivot to building condos — something that has in part fuelled the current housing crisis.
Toronto’s rental market is in dire need of more supply. But back in the 1960s and 1970s the city had a healthy stock of apartment buildings. So what happened? CBC Toronto’s Shannon Martin explores the timeline of when Canada’s biggest city started running out of rentals.
Before you get much further, you may want to brush up on some key terms you’ll hear in the ongoing housing debate. Here’s a breakdown:
Toronto’s rental market has several pain points. CBC Toronto’s Shannon Martin speaks to several housing experts to better understand how Canada’s largest city has been pushed into a rental crisis.
Is rent control the obvious solution? Five years ago, Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government made changes to rent control in the province. This video breaks down why the government made that decision and what happened next.
In 2018 Ontario rolled back some rent controls to incentivize developers to build more purpose-built rental units. But as CBC Toronto’s Shannon Martin found out, that’s not exactly what happened.
Here’s more on how Ford’s PCs rolled back rent control to spur new rental construction and what happened next, from reporter Lucas Powers.
And finally, perhaps the biggest question facing the city: What happens if Toronto’s rents keep going up and the city becomes completely unaffordable for the people that make it, well, Toronto.
Shannon Martin speaks with the experts as well as Aurora Browne, one of the stars of Baroness Von Sketch Show who has also been one of many Torontonians who has dealt with a renoviction.
Toronto’s soaring rental prices continue to make the city unaffordable for many. CBC Toronto’s Shannon Martin explores what’s at stake for the future of the city if prices don’t get under control.
