Relying on private renting: the Canadian experience

Rent assistance for private renters rather than social housing has become the main form of government housing assistance for low-income households in Australia. This is also the case in Canada, which emphasised social housing up to the early 1990s, but now relies primarily on housing-related income supplements and welfare to work programs to enable low-income households to rent privately. This article looks briefly at recent Canadian policy changes, which have been more dramatic than those in Australia, and their impact on homelessness.