Scrapping rent control will lead to less affordable housing, Sudbury group says

The coordinator of the Homelessness Network in Sudbury says he doesn't think the province's rent control changes will help with affordable housing.

Last week, as part of its fall fiscal update, the Ford Conservatives said they will scrap rent control for all new rental units built in the future. The government says the change will encourage developers to build more affordable housing.

With rent control, the government regulates the amount a landlord can increase the rent annually.

But Raymond Landry with the Homelessness Network doesn't agree. He says by taking away rent control, there will be less affordable housing available.

"It's not a good thing for poor persons. It's not a good thing for persons on fixed incomes," he said.

"Again, we don't want to prognosticate the negative, but we can't see rents becoming more affordable because of the lack of rent control."

Landry says unless developers work with the government to provide more subsidized housing, he doesn't see the change positively affecting low-income people.

"We're just concerned that eliminating rent controls overall on all new developments will just make housing less and less affordable for more people," he said.

Landry says most rent in Sudbury is already beyond what people on social assistance can afford, adding there is already a need for more affordable housing in Sudbury.

He adds that housing is becoming a commodity, where major corporations make a profit, instead Landry wants governments to recognize housing as a human right.