Many Ontarian Renters Are Having To Choose Between Eating Or Paying Off Their Rent

Most Ontarians who rent a place in the province have said that they have to make the choice between eating a meal or living in their apartment right now as prices keep crawling up (and with minimum wage at $15 per hour).

A recent Ontario-wide poll conducted by the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario and EKOS Research revealed that 60% of the province's renters have had to cut back on what they eat in order to have enough money to pay off their rent.

Almost three-quarters of pollers, at a whopping 74%, said they have had to dial back on their spending habits too in order to cover their rent costs.

With the rising costs of rent, the survey revealed that renters with lower incomes would be put into "very precarious financial positions" should they lose their jobs. Sixty-five percent of these renters said they wouldn't be able to afford where they live over the next three months without taking on a huge amount of debt.

Ontarians who pay half of their income (or more) towards their homes are at "very high risk of becoming homeless", according to ACTO.

"Ontario renters are balancing on a knife's edge to stay housed," the advocacy group said.

As a result of the higher costs of living, ACTO's survey revealed that a third of renters have considered moving elsewhere in search of cheaper rent.

ACTO is calling on the Ontario government to intervene to make housing more affordable in the province, and said one thing they can do is introduce"real" rent control.

"This means scrapping the failed 2018 exemption for rent control on new builds, and getting rid of the long-standing policy of vacancy decontrol," ACTO said.

An overwhelming majority of Ontarians, at over 80%, agreed that some kind of rent control should be put in place, particularly by putting down a limit on how much landlords can bump up the rent after a unit becomes vacant again.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.