The most recent survey from Modalis Public Opinion by Modus Research finds that an increasing number of Canadian renters are spending over 30% of their gross monthly income on rent.
Key findings in this release:
- Canadians are spending more of their income on rent than at this time last year
- The number of Canadians that want governments to invest in public housing has increased
- Over half of Canada’s highest earners also think government should invest in public housing
The percentage of income Canadians are spending on rent has gone up.
Our September 2022 survey showed that 3-in-5 Canadian renters were spending over 30% of their household’s gross monthly income on rent. In August 2023, this number has gone up to 7-in-10.
About 4-in-5 Canadian renters who make under $40k/year spend over 30% of their income on rent. Half of even those making between $100k/year and $149k/year spent over 30% of their income on rent.
Of even greater concern is the fact that 1-in-5 Canadians who make under $100k/year spend over half of their income on rent.
More Canadians think that senior levels of government should invest in public housing than they did last year.
Over 70% of Canadians support federal and provincial governments investing in publicly-owned and operated housing, the way they used to before the 1990s.
Support for public housing is strong across income groups.
While it is unsurprising that low-earning Canadians support governments investing in public housing, our study finds that over half of the highest-earning Canadians – those who make over $150k/year – also support provincial and federal governments investing in publicly owned and operated housing.
The support for public housing is also fairly unanimous across Canada’s provinces.
Discussion
Historically, conventional wisdom – “the 30% rule” – has advised that renters spend no more than 30% of their household’s gross monthly income on rent. Unfortunately, it appears that a growing number of Canadians are spending considerably more than this amount on rent.
Additionally, it is clear that Canadians think there may be a solution: for senior levels of government to invest in publicly owned and operated housing, as was the case prior to the 1990s. This is another case of Canadians feeling that their governments are not doing enough to help their living situation in a time of growing economic precarity.
Methodology
The survey was conducted from August 1 to 8 using the Modalis Public Opinion panel – 100% recruited using random probability telephone sampling. Because the panel is built entirely using random probability sampling, it is valid to cite the margin of error for this survey. The survey is based on a representative sample of 1,618 Canadian adults and has a margin of error of +/- 2.4% points, 95 times out of 100. The survey data is weighted by age, gender, and region according to the latest Statistics Canada census.
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