Let's be Clear about "Affordable Housing"

It is important how language is used.

So it bothers me when the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) takes liberties with the English language.

They did it today (November 10th) - and it is not the first time.

A Senior Market Analyst for the Hamilton area reports that housing prices will remain steady for the next year “thereby keeping homes affordable” in the city.

Affordable, for whom?

The spokesperson is speaking of the resale housing market, of course, which means little to those 40% of Hamilton residents who choose to rent or are forced to rent.

For them the housing “market’ is not one that is affordable.

Affordable housing is accommodation where housing costs do not exceed 30% of income. You can find that generally accepted definition on the CMHC website.

Using that measure, according to data from the Social Planning and Research Council (SPRC – www.sprc.hamilton.on.ca), many in our community are living in housing that is not affordable.

In fact, more than 11,000 (36%) of all families who rent and 17,700 (52%) of all singles are living in housing that is not affordable - that’s 44% of all renter households in Hamilton.

The kind of housing that CMHC talks about being “affordable” is not an option to nearly half of Hamilton’s renters. It is, therefore, a disservice to them to present the current housing market in such positive terms.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is Canada’s national housing agency. Established as a government-owned corporation in 1946 to address Canada’s post-war housing shortage, it describes itself “as a major national institution.”

This major institution would make a better contribution to discussions on housing policy if it was more careful with its language.