The National Right to Housing Network, the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights, and Professor Sarah Buhler at the University of Saskatchewan are proud to partner on a research project exploring a human rights and youth-centred approach to eviction law and practice, with the aim of reducing youth evictions and taking seriously the lived expertise, human rights, and unique circumstances of youth.
In Canada, children and youth experience eviction from rental housing at higher rates than most other age groups. Eviction is particularly damaging for youth because of its long-term consequences and propensity to entangle youth with other systems. Eviction into homelessness is also a violation of international human rights law. Yet Canadian eviction laws do not reflect human rights obligations or account for the unique experiences and vulnerabilities of youth. Instead, tribunals often function as “eviction machines.”
Using a human rights and youth-centred lens, this project will explore the following three research questions:
- Access to justice: How can eviction law and processes become more accessible to youth? What types of information and supports will empower youth to participate in eviction hearings?
- Eviction decision-making: What materials can be developed to encourage eviction decision-makers to consider the human rights and unique circumstances of youth?
- Eviction legislation: What legislative reforms can be made to ensure that the human rights of youth are considered in eviction processes?
Research insights to date
Over the course of this project, research insights will be produced and shared on this page.
Research products:
Preventing Youth Evictions in Canada: Building a Framework Based in International Human Rights
Keeping Youth Housed: Preventing Youth Evictions Through Law
Preventing Evictions: What Youth Want Landlords, Lawmakers & Eviction Adjudicators to Know
Workshops
The project team organized two workshops – in Saskatoon and Toronto – to engage housing and youth advocates, and youth with lived expertise in our research questions. The workshops were held in the Spring of 2024. Meaningful engagement is a critical part of a human rights-based approach to addressing systemic housing issues. We hope this report can provide you with a real-life example of what meaningful engagement looks like in practice.
Workshop report:
This report outlines our methodology behind the workshops and how we meaningfully engaged with participants as they shared their stories and ideas on how a world without eviction could look like.
Acknowledgements
This work is funded by Making the Shift Youth Homelessness Social Innovation Lab (MtS), a member of the Government of Canada’s Networks of Centres of Excellence program. Making the Shift funds, conducts, prototypes, and mobilizes cutting-edge research to prevent and end youth homelessness in Canada.