Built Environment. For almost everyone, housing represents the largest living cost.

Housing that is affordable, suitable, and adequate is a key determinate of an individual or family’s health and well-being. However, housing that is overcrowded, in need of repairs, or has health risks (for example, has mould or poor ventilation) can directly impact an individual’s physical and mental health. Additionally, paying for housing that is unaffordable (that is, costing more than 30% of a family’s income) reduces a family’s overall ability to address other determinates of health.

 The availability, affordability, and adequacy of housing are therefore crucial to the quality of life for both renters and homeowners.

Renters tend to have lower and more variable incomes and are therefore less able to afford substantial rent increases or the cost of purchasing a home. Vulnerable groups that face barriers, such as recent immigrants, refugees, and Indigenous peoples, often live in crowded or substandard housing.

Homeownership rates are an indicator of the overall level of financial independence in a community. Buying a home requires savings that many low- and moderate-income families do not have. Rising housing costs can make it more difficult to enter the housing market.

Incomes are intricately linked to housing affordability. If incomes do not keep up with the rising cost of housing, people’s ability to cover other living costs and to save for their future (education, retirement, etc.) declines.