This is a good question! But before I get right into it, I think it’s helpful to discuss the barriers people experiencing homelessness face in securing housing, as well as the current state of housing in Canada.
As noted in our Homelessness 101 section, most people who’ve experienced homelessness only do so for a short time. For them, it only happens once and they transition out of it with minimal support from social services. People who are chronically or episodically homeless, however, have much more difficulty moving out of shelters or off the streets and into permanent housing.
Stigma plays a large role in this difficulty. In one study by researchers at Guelph, an apartment “was 4.50 times less likely to be reported as available when the confederate called claiming to be staying at a shelter than when she did not disclose a living situation.”
The process of applying for housing also presents a number of issues for people who are or have been homeless. A 2010 report on rapid rehousing by Beyond Shelter, Homestart and Partnering for Change discusses the issue of “low renter capital,” writing:
“In addition to financial barriers to housing, homeless persons also face other barriers, to varying degrees, including eviction histories, poor credit or no credit, criminal records, limited rental histories, poor landlord references, and various forms of discrimination based on race, family composition, housing status, and income source.”
Furthermore, low-income earners are frequently denied housing, as highlighted by J. Hulchanski’s case study on income-related discrimination, despite the fact that it’s illegal.
All of this is compounded by the fact that rental markets in many Canadian cities are extremely competitive and favour landlords. Tony Wong wrote about this problem in Toronto in his 2008 Toronto Star article and it is even more of an issue now. In an article for The Grid, Micah Toub reports:
“In the last decade, Toronto’s population has increased by a million. Rent hikes over the long run roughly follow inflation (between one and two per cent annually), but from 2010 to 2012, the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment rose at twice that rate.”
(There are alternatives to privately owned housing, but we simply don’t have enough of them. And with Ontario’s affordable housing wait list at 165,000 households—averaging between four and ten years depending on the region—they’re not helpful for the immediate housing that people need.)
The ideal tenant for many landlords, as highlighted in Toub’s story, is a single, non-smoking professional with no dependents and spotless employment/rental history; who can also pay sky-high rents on his or her own. When landlords operate in markets in which these “perfect” tenants are readily available, people who are currently homeless—or have ever been homeless—are at an extreme disadvantage. Many landlords do, however, work with community housing agencies and rent to homeless people.
Personal experience, compassion and the desire to give back
Highly profit-driven and accidental/absent landlords are less likely to be open to renters with “low capital.” As Crisis, a UK-based charity for single people who are homeless, describes in their Private Renting Toolkit, there are many different kinds of landlords who have varying degrees of risk that they can or are willing to take on tenants.
As with socially driven employers who are more likely to give job opportunities to marginalized people, landlords who care about social issues and/or are familiar with homelessness, poverty, and other issues, are more likely to be open to renting to people who have been or are currently homeless.
In 2007, Teya Greenberg interviewed landlords and property managers in British Columbia who were housing outreach clients, who all spoke compassionately about people who were homeless. One participant said: “People who are trying hard, you help them and give them a chance...I'll revoke an eviction notice if someone starts to change behaviour.” Another referenced the specific mandate: "We provide homes to the ones who cannot afford houses."
Similarly, Valery Couture, a building owner in Montreal who participated in the At Home/Chez Soi project, describes herself as a “mother to 400” people. She wasn’t scared when she was approached about offering housing to homeless participants. In this video, she describes how her previous work as a paramedic and later in prevention services familiarized her with some of the issues her potential tenants might have.
At Kennedy Residence in Toronto, Ken Kennedy and his wife house people who are “the hardest to house.” In this video, he describes his building as a service, which offers tenants three meals a day, a snack, and trips to the hospital or other appointments. Regarding why he rents to homeless people, Kennedy says that it’s a way to give back to his country.
Mediation, resources and support from housing agencies
Landlords have a lot of concerns when it comes to tenants, including paying rent on time and not disturbing neighbours. Those working with community housing agencies are not only (unfortunately) supplied with a steady number of potential tenants, they also have ongoing support, education and mediation services that they do not have with others. As the writers of the Beyond Home, Homestart et al. report note:
“All landlords at one time or another have dealt with problematic tenants, many of whom had never been homeless, and do not easily forget the burden, irritation, and sometimes financial cost of dealing with those individuals. Landlords often feel reassured when they discover that participants receive home-based services and that there is a reliable, sympathetic contact to call in case problems arise. During our 40 years of collective experience, case management services and having a designated, responsible backup have consistently been the most persuasive selling points for landlord partners.”
This support also extends to finances, which are also described in the same report. Most housing agencies have processes in place in case of missed rent/deposits, so landlords are never out of pocket if a tenant is having some trouble making ends meet.
The value of communication, support, and maintaining positive and close relationships with landlords was also underscored in the At Home/Chez Soi report. One property manager said: “…clients come with ample support and funding attached, as well as a plan to prevent eviction. Often, they’re less trouble than regular tenants. The At Home people pay their rent on time and they are coached on how to live in harmony with their neighbours.”
With this kind of comprehensive support, many issues between landlords and tenants are prevented or more efficiently mediated.
For more information on housing, check out the resources in our Housing, Accommodation and Supports section.
This post is part of our Friday "Ask the Hub" blog series. Have a homeless-related question you want answered? E-mail us at thehub@edu.yorku.ca and we will provide a research-based answer.
Photo by interpunct; obtained via Flickr Creative Commons license