LANDLORDS, TENANTS, AND THE INFORMALITY OF THE PRIVATE PROVISION OF LOW-COST RENTAL UNITS: A CASE STUDY OF HAMILTON, ONTARIO

Abstract

Housing affordability is an enduring issue globally. Disproportionately affected by this trend are renters: those households who do not own their primary dwelling. Rather than being a transitionary phase – a stepping stone to homeownership – as in decades past; renting is becoming a permanent, and often financially draining, state for many households. Housing affordability is significant to the lives of renters, as renters overwhelmingly spend more of their income, as a proportion, on housing than homeowners do. In Canada, renters are not eligible for many wealth subsidies that homeowners enjoy (i.e., the exclusion of capital gains tax on the sale of primary residence), have less autonomy over their living space, and less security of tenure. These concerns, combined with aging multi-unit rental stock, disinvestment of governments from social housing funding, and a funneling of private funds towards condominium developments, has left those in the rental market with increasingly fewer housing options. This dissertation seeks to explore how households renting in the low-cost segment of the housing market gain access to housing and why they move. Special emphasis is placed on the nom-purpose built market, and a tool for better enumerating otherwise undocumented housing units is proposed. Findings suggest that previously undocumented, secondary units play a significant role in local housing markets, particularly within dense 19th century neighbourhoods with good access to amenities and transit. The dissertation also suggests that the social milieu of participants’ lives, including relationships with landlords and property managers, highly influences decisions to move. Lastly, the research finds that informal agreements, as well as units, characterizes entry and habitation of many units within the low-cost segment of the housing market. This dissertation contributes to the field of knowledge on residential mobility and housing geographies by exploring two primarily unexamined areas of local housing markets: informal units and informal agreements.