Evictions can push people into housing instability, homelessness and poverty. Yet across Canada, eviction is often treated as an inevitable outcome rather than a last resort.
A new publication by Balanced Supply of Housing, Evictions in Canada: The Impact of Evictions on Security of Tenure and the Right to Housing, brings together researchers from across the country to examine the growing impact of evictions on renters and communities.
The collection explores:
- The relationship between evictions and the right to housing
- The lived experiences of people facing eviction
- Eviction decision-making and tenant protections
- Above-guideline rent increases and financialization
- Eviction trends in the Greater Toronto Area and Metro Vancouver
- Policy recommendations to strengthen security of tenure across Canada
Among the contributors is CCHR’s Director of Policy, Research & Law Reform, Margaret Flynn, who co-authored Chapter 3 with Sarah Buhler: Evictions as a First Resort? Proportionality and Discretion in Saskatchewan Eviction Decisions.
The chapter examines 1,906 Saskatchewan eviction cases involving rental arrears and found that eviction was ordered in 99.27% of cases. The research raises important questions about whether existing legal protections are being meaningfully applied and whether sufficient consideration is being given to alternatives that could help renters remain housed.
Most tenants who received eviction orders owed less than two months’ rent
– Chapter 3: Evictions as a First Resort? Proportionality and Discretion in Saskatchewan Eviction Decisions
At a time when governments across Canada are grappling with housing affordability and rising homelessness, this publication offers important evidence on the role eviction plays in housing instability and what can be done to better protect renters.