What You Need to Know About Housing Suitability in Metro Vancouver

• In Metro Vancouver, 8.1% of households live in homes with fewer bedrooms than is needed for the underlying number and mix of occupants.
• 13.1% of renters in Metro Vancouver live in unsuitable conditions, versus 5.1% of owners.
• While further research on the topic is needed, household unsuitability is likely a symptom of a lack of affordable options within a housing market.

Metro Vancouver has the second highest proportion of households living in unsuitable conditions in Canada—another indication that an expanded housing supply is needed. 

THE LATEST FROM THE 2021 CENSUS

This month, Statistics Canada released a new batch of data from the 2021 Census as part of their year-long staggered roll-out of information on various aspects of the Canadian population. As part of this latest release, data has been made available on, among other things, household tenure (how many households are owners, and how many rent?), shelter-cost-to-income ratios (how much are households spending on housing?), and housing suitability (per the National Occupancy Standard, are homes the right size for the number and mix of occupants living in them?). This brief focuses on the changing tenure mix of housing in Metro Vancouver and the prevalence of unsuitable housing throughout the region.MORE RENTER HOUSEHOLDS

Nationally, the share of households living in rented accommodation has increased slightly over the recent past, going from 31% in 2011, to 32% in 2016, and further to 33% in 2021; in BC, the share rose from 30% to 33% over the same 10-year period. The prevalence of renter households in Metro Vancouver, as in most large urban centres, is relatively higher: in 2021 this region’s share of tenant households stood at 38%, up from 36% five years earlier (and from 35% 10 years prior).

While much discussion on the changing landscape of housing tenure focuses on issues of affordability, a recent surge in rental housing supply is also a factor here, with rental completions across Metro Vancouver during the most recent five-year inter-censal period—27,700—having risen by 115% compared with the previous five-year span, when a woefully-low 12,900 purpose-built rental homes were added. In contrast, the number of completed homes intended for ownership grew by only 12% over the same period (noting, additionally, that some proportion of these homes wind up in the secondary rental stock). UNSUITABILITY IMMUTABILITY? While this brief won’t directly answer the question of whether or not we’re adding enough homes for our existing…and growing…and changing…population, one particular element in the latest Census data release—that of housing suitability, or the prevalence of homes that have enough bedrooms to accommodate their occupants—does point to additional housing supply being needed.

Canada–wide, the proportion of households in unsuitable conditions (that is, where there aren’t enough bedrooms in the home to reasonably accommodate the occupants, given the household’s make-up) grew over the most recent five-year period, rising to 5.4% in 2021 from 4.9% in 2016. A lack of housing suitability is more widespread for renters, with 9.9% of renter households living in unsuitable conditions in 2021, up from 9.4% in 2016.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given their well-documented housing affordability challenges, Greater Toronto (10.3%) and Metro Vancouver (8.1%) top the unsuitability list among metro areas in Canada, while Abbotsford-Mission is the fourth (7.2%). Overall, 13.1% of renters in Metro Vancouver live in unsuitable conditions versus 5.1% of owners. 

Within the region, there is significant variation among municipalities in terms of overall rates of unsuitable housing, but the feature of renter households disproportionately living in unsuitable conditions versus their owner-occupied counterparts is widespread. At the top of the dubious renter unsuitability list is Surrey, at 23.5%, followed by Burnaby at 15.7%, and Delta at 15.5%. The City of Vancouver, meanwhile, is in the middle of the pack at 10.1%, while Bowen Island has the lowest incidence of unsuitable renter conditions, at 5.8%.

IMPLICATIONS

The data show that the prevalence of housing unsuitability in Metro Vancouver is higher than in BC as a whole, with BC in turn exceeding the Canadian average and the prevalence among renters exceeding that of owners. While further research on the “whys” of these changing and varying unsuitability incidences is warranted, a growing lack of suitability is likely a function of existing housing affordability and availability challenges, with many households forgoing the physical delimited space they require because it’s simply too expensive given their incomes and/or budgets (or not available). 

Other factors could be contributing to the current extent of housing unsuitability. For example, within a given housing stock, a higher proportion of newer homes—which tend to be smaller and more expensive than their older counterparts—could yield higher rates of unsuitability. Along with the availability of housing, incomes are another important consideration as part of the housing suitability conversation. Fundamentally, however, the most recent data on the prevalence of housing unsuitability point to a need for greater housing supply across the ownership and rental spectrum and of all physical forms—especially here in Metro Vancouver—to help make housing more suitable for all. Our rennie intelligence team comprises our in-house demographer, senior economist, and market analysts. Together, they empower individuals, organizations, and institutions with data-driven market insight and analysis. Experts in urban land economics, community planning, shifting demographics, and real estate trends, their strategic research supports a comprehensive advisory service offering and forms the basis of frequent reports and public presentations. Their thoughtful and objective approach truly embodies the core values of rennie.