- Approximately 40% of Canadian households who rent and 17% of homeowners spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs. - Housing prices and average rental costs vary significantly between cities, impacting the proportion of income households spend on shelter. - Generally, a higher percentage of renters spend over 30% of income on housing compared to homeowners, as renters tend to be poorer.

1. Housing
Percentage of Households Spending
30% or More of Income on Housing

2. Significance
• Canadians who allocate a high proportion of their
income for housing are more vulnerable to an abrupt
change in financial circumstances.
• Households may spend a large proportion of their
income on housing for the follow reasons:
– housing prices are high; households value housing for
consumption and/or investment purposes; or households are
poor.

3. Core Indicator
• The two indicators for measuring household spending on
shelter distinguish between renters and home owners:
– Proportion of households spending more than 30% of income on
gross rent (renters)
– Proportion of households spending more than 30% of income on
owner’s major payments (home owners)
• In Canada, approximately 40% of households who
rent, and 17% of home owners spend more than 30% of
their income on housing.

4. Renters in Canada’s Major CMAs
• “Gross Rent” includes: monthly rent
payments, electricity, heat and municipal services.
• At the CMA level, Québec had the lowest proportion of
households spending more than 30% of income on gross
rent at 33.0 %, 7.3 percentage points lower than the
national average of 40.3% (see following chart).
• On the other hand, in Kingston nearly half (48 %) spend
more than 30% of their income on gross rent, a rate 7.8
percentage points higher than the national average.

5. Percent of Households Spending More than
30% of Income on Gross Rent for Major
CMAs, 2005
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Source: Census, 2006.

6. The Impact of Average Rental Costs
• One of the major reasons for households spending a high
proportion of their income on gross rent is simply that
rent is relatively more expensive in some cities (see
following chart).
• Other factors could be that households are choosing to
live above their means, and/or high price of electricity
bills, heating bills, or other municipal expenses

7. Comparison of (1) the Percent of Households Spending
More than 30% of Income on Gross Rent and (2) the
Average Annual Rent for a Two Bedroom Apartment as a
Percent of Median Pre-tax Annual Economic Family Income
for Major CMS, 2005
18.0
Rent for Two Bedroom Apartments as a Per Cent of
17.0
16.0
Median Family Income
15.0
14.0
Canada
13.0
12.0
11.0
10.0
35.0 37.0 39.0 41.0 43.0 45.0 47.0 49.0
Per Cent of Households Spending More than 30 Per Cent of Income on Gross Rent
Source: CMHC, 2011; Statistics Canada, CANSIM Table 202-0411 (SLID)
and Census (2006).

8. Home Owner’s in Canada’s Major CMAs
• Owner’s major payments include: mortgage
payments, condominium fees, property taxes, and
municipal service fees
(electricity, oil, gas, coal, wood, water, etc.)
• Toronto and Vancouver tied for the CMAs with the
highest proportion of households spending more than
30% of their income on housing at 27.1 % (see following
chart).
• Quebec had the lowest proportion at 10.6%, followed by
Winnipeg at 11.6 %.

9. Percent of Households Spending 30% or
More of Income on Owner’s Major Payments
of Major CMAs, 2005
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
Source: Census (2006).

10. The Impact of Average Residential Prices
• Housing prices affect the proportion of income families
spend on shelter, which is a result of the fact that
housing is a necessity that homeowners are willing to
pay for (see following chart).

11. Comparison of the Percent of Households
Spending More than 30% of Income on Owner’s
Major Payments and Ratio of MLS Average
Residential Prices and Pre-Tax Median Economic
Family Income for Major CMAs, 2005
7.00
Ratio of Average residential Prices and Median
6.00
5.00
Family Income
4.00
Canada
3.00
2.00
1.00
10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 20.0 22.0 24.0 26.0 28.0
Percent of households spending more than 30% of income on owner's major payments
Source: CMHC, 2011; Statistics Canada, CANSIM Table 202-0411 (SLID);
Statistics Canada and Census 2005.

12. Renters vs. Home Owners
• Overall, there seems to be more renters than home
owners who spend more than 30% of their income on
housing.
• The average for all CMAs was 17.1 % of home owners and
41.7 % of renters.
• This indicates that renters are generally poorer than
homeowners and, as a result, must spend a higher
proportion of their income on shelter.