Here is a new report that adds another piece to an understanding of evictions in Canada. The data for this study comes from a national survey, which is carried out by Statistics Canada, the government department responsible for data collection. This means a large sample and robust results.
The sample makes comparisons between different provinces possible. This is a big breakthrough. Provincial governments have responsibility for evictions and landlord-tenant relations. Until now it has not been possible to make comparisons about evictions in Canada’s most expensive rental markets (spoiler alert: Vancouver topped Toronto).
The survey asks about experiences of “forced moves,” rather than “eviction orders.” This means that respondents could have received a notice of eviction and moved before the formal hearing process took place. People in this group do not show up in provincially recorded data, which tends to track decisions at landlord-tenant tribunals.
Framing the question in terms of a “forced move” could also include people who assessed their financial situation and moved in order to avoid being evicted. The report notes that losing a housing subsidy was significantly correlated with a forced move.
This highlights a limitation of many of the housing subsidy programs in Canada, which are time limited. Following a forced move, people reported greater financial hardship and lower physical and mental health status when compared with people who were not forced to move. The benefits of the temporary subsidy could be completely undone if it ends in a forced move.
While this is a ground-breaking study, the report also identifies limitations in its findings. This is standard research procedure, and worth knowing when planning and implementing programs. For example, the Canadian Household Survey does not include people who are homeless. Since eviction is often given as the reason people become homeless, the report cautions that the number of evictions may be undercounted.
The methodology will be interesting for people contemplating similar research in other countries. It may also be useful to people interested in the relationship between evictions and health (mental and physical) and the relationship between evictions and sociodemographic characteristics.
This post has touched on just a few of the findings in the survey. For example, it doesn’t get in to the significant rate of evictions among people who did not identify their race in the survey. You can check out the full article at the Balanced Supply Of Housing Research Centre: Understanding Evictions in Canada
