Across the country, renters reported a poorer quality of life than owners, according to the Canadian Social Survey (CSS) conducted in 2021 and 2022, which highlights that young adults are hit harder by the housing crisis.
People living in rental housing are less likely to be satisfied with life, are less likely to report a strong sense of belonging to their community, and are more likely to report feelings of loneliness than the owners of a house.
These are some of the conclusions that emerge from the data released Monday by Statistics Canada.
For example, 41.5% of renters have “high life satisfaction,” compared to 53.1% of those who live in a home owned by a household member. One in two owners (48.5%) have a strong sense of belonging to their community while the rate is 40.7% among tenants.
Financial pressure is greater on tenants
Housing costs represent the largest share of household expenses, and these costs are increasing: they represented 31.4% of the family budget in 2021, compared to 29.3% in 2019.
Households therefore have less money to devote to other activities, especially in a context of inflation.
“In the second quarter of 2023, nearly 27% of households reported having difficulty or a lot of difficulty meeting their financial needs, compared to less than 19% at the end of 2021,” indicates the Statistics Canada document.
The federal agency highlights that across the country, tenants faced the lowest vacancy rates ever observed (1.5%) and an unprecedented increase in average rent (+8.0%) in 2023.
Still according to the survey, the rise in housing prices has meant that tenants have devoted a larger share of their income to housing costs than owners have done, “which exposes them to a greater financial pressure when costs rise.
Data from the 2021 Census shows that among people who were supporting their household, 63% of those aged 15 to 29 were renters, compared to the national average of 33%. A situation which, according to Statistics Canada, can make this group “more vulnerable during sudden changes in the housing and rental market”.
Young people report a poorer quality of life
This increase in the cost of housing reduces “the ability of young adults to achieve their major financial goals or to have the means to have children” and “also means that they end up with less money for recreational activities ”, according to Statistics Canada.
Young Canadian adults, who are having more difficulty paying their rent than older groups, are also less optimistic than in the past.
“From 2016 to 2021-2022, young people aged 15 to 29 specifically said they were less satisfied and less optimistic about the future than in previous years, in addition to being more likely to feel alone than older adults. Older Canadians,” the survey states.
The data highlights that the proportion of young people not in employment, education or training reached 24% in April 2020, during the pandemic, the highest rate recorded in 20 years.
However, these levels returned to those before the pandemic (11%) in 2022.
“Although young people have shown resilience in overcoming obstacles, they still experience disproportionately high levels of poverty, in part because employment for people in their age group is concentrated in industries where average salaries are the lowest (e.g. catering and accommodation); many graduates are also overqualified for the jobs they hold,” we read in the Statistics Canada survey.