Petition updateRequire landlords to appear at House of Commons Review of Financialization & Rent GougingSTOP THE FAIL. STOP THE LOSS. STOP THE HARM. STOP FINANCIALIZATION OF HOUSING.
Anne LandryCalgary, Canada
Mar 10, 2024

STOP THE FAIL.  STOP THE LOSS.  STOP THE HARM.   STOP FINANCIALIZATION OF HOUSING.

Thank you for signing my CHANGE.ORG petition entitled:  Require landlords to appear at House of Commons Review of Financialization & Rent Gouging.

Martine August, Ph.D. is the award-winning Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo School of Planning who is a housing expert regarding financialization of housing in Canada.   Martine August defines financialization of housing to be (page 4):  “…The financialization of housing refers to the growing dominance of financial actors in the housing sector, which is transforming the primary function of housing from a place to live into a financial asset and tool for investor profits. The financialization of housing is recognized as a trend that is undermining the realization of the right to adequate housing….Financial firms that invest in housing manage it for investors to produce maximum profits…” [Emphasis added]

The Office of the Federal Housing Advocate states:  “Financialization is a term used to describe how housing is treated as a commodity – a vehicle for wealth and investment – rather than a human right and a social good for people and communities….Financialization is a human rights issue. It has significant consequences for the affordability, security of tenure, and habitable conditions of rental housing for tenants. It is associated with elevated risks of illness and death for seniors and people with disabilities in long-term care facilities. Addressing financialization is a priority issue for the Federal Housing Advocate.”  [Emphasis and link added]

In February 2020, the research of Martine August Ph.D. appeared in the Journal of Urban Affairs in an article entitled:  The Financialization of multi-family housing from trailer to tower with CHARTS and Map regarding the spread of financialization of housing in Canada.  See the image ABOVE – an extract from page 4.  Please NOTE:   

  • “…When a building becomes an asset, an important struggle begins in each suite, where tenants are freshly exposed to the logics and practices of finance capital, and where financialized landlords attempt to produce investor returns via ‘accumulation by dispossession’ targeting tenants…Capital continues to expand not simply through commodity production, but through force, violence, and ‘extra-economic means (Andreucci, Garcia-Lamarca, Wedekind & Swyngedouw, 2017;  Glassman, 2006)…(at page 4)

 

  • “…these strategies have been called ‘squeezing’ and ‘gentrification by upgrading’ (August & Walks, 2018). ‘Squeezing’ extracts value with minimal investment, and can be achieved via strategic deployments of capital, finding operating efficiencies, and by extracting revenue from tenants (via rent increases, fees, sub-metering, AGIs [Above Guideline Increases] and so on).  In areas with a rent gap, ‘gentrification-by-upgrading’ goes a step further and features investments in upgrading (lobbies and suites) to attract higher income renters.  It requires tenant removal (sometimes through harassment or eviction), and includes significant rent increases.  In both cases, repositioning is a business model that accumulates by dispossession – it extracts greater value from sitting tenants or displaces them and extracts higher rents from the subsequent (potentially more affluent) tenant who replaces them…”  (at page 11) 

 

  • “…my analysis has shown that in Canadian provinces with rent controls, financialized landlords have been less active in acquiring properties…”  (page 17)

 

 [Emphasis added]

Martine August spoke before the House of Commons HUMA Committee Review of financialization of housing, rent gouging, renovictions, and related issues on May 16, 2023:

  • “…These firms are violating that right to housing. I think the government should decide to no longer use national housing strategy funds to support firms that are violating the right to adequate housing.  That would mean no longer providing national housing strategy funds to financial firms such as real estate investment trusts, asset managers, private equity funds, institutional investors and so on, whose business strategy in rental housing is to raise rents and extract more value from tenants, make housing less affordable and decrease the security of tenure. There's no social purpose associated with this approach, and so no justification for using federal funds to support these types of companies. That will go for national housing strategy funds and also for preferred financing from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and again, also for tax subsidies. REITs have preferential taxation in this country, and there's no social justification for that. In terms of the stick approach, we should definitely not be using federal taxation policy and subsidies and support for these firms that are actually violating the right to adequate housing in Canada…(page 6)

     

  • …We have such an important, valuable stock of social housing, albeit a small proportion of Canada's housing stock, that is underfunded and been under-maintained ever since the federal government withdrew support for social housing in this country. Preserving and maintaining that super important, very affordable, crucial element of the stock is key. Preventing more housing from being lost, as I just spoke about, is also key, and then building new affordable supply that is deeply affordable in perpetuity. It's all of those things…(page 8)

 

  •  …Yes, I could support that [a call for a moratorium to be put in place on the acquisition of housing stock by financialized landlords].  Unless financialized landlords can indicate that they plan to pursue affordable housing, to not raise rents, to not pursue evictions at higher rates than other types of landlords, to ensure security of tenure for people and to basically not work toward a violation of the right to adequate housing, there shouldn't be support for these firms to acquire and to consolidate ownership of our very important rental housing stock in Canada…”  (page 8)

 

[Emphasis added]

 

Martine August, Ph.D. spoke during the public Oral Hearing of the National Housing Council Review of financialization of purpose-built housing on October 23, 2023 (Session 1):  

  •  “…The careful examination of this trend and the fact that it’s being taken seriously by government is threatening the business model of firms that have found it very profitable to make housing less secure and less affordable for renter families…I have found that financial firms file for eviction at higher rates than other types of landlords…we found that financial firms raised rents more aggressively than other types of landlords…” (page 31)

 

  • …Based on the examination of 10 years of data, over 200,000 eviction filings in the City of Toronto, my co-author Julie Mah and I have found that financial firms file for evictions at higher rates than other types of landlords – even chains which are also large, for-profit landlords…In our data we also looked at transactions, over 700 instances where buildings were sold.  We found that when the buyer of a building was a financial firm, evictions tripled on average after a sale…. (pages 31 – 32)

 

  •  …What about rents? Are these firms really making housing less affordable?  In a paper with Cloé St-Hilaire, we looked at how much landlords raised rents in the City of Toronto in 2022 and 2023…Looking at over 900 buildings and controlling for neighborhood and for building quality, we found that financial firms raised rents more aggressively than other types of landlords…

 

  • …The types of recommendations presented by the [Federal Housing Advocate], recommendations that would strengthen security of tenure, control rents, and enhance non-market housing supply – these can rein in the behavior of financial firms and have a positive effect more widely in all rental properties regardless of who the landlord happens to be.”

 

[Emphasis added]

Martine August, Ph.D. also led the research regarding financialization of housing that was the basis of the Canada’s two national housing reviews regarding financialization of housing in 2023:  

See at Corporate investment in housing is linked to unaffordable rents, evictions and long-term care deaths and in NOTE2, BELOW.

I stated the following in my BRIEF to the National Housing Council Review of purpose-built rental housing that is entitled It is the WILD, WILD WEST IN ALBERTA. Calgary is apparently a GROUND ZERO for HOUSING HUMAN RIGHTS violations for which submissions can be made to the Federal Housing Advocate (at pages 4, 2):

  • “…As per my BRIEF [NOTE1] to the House of Commons HUMA Committee Review regarding financialization in which I referred to the 6 reports regarding financialization before the Federal Housing Advocate [NOTE2] and the research by Martine August, Ph.D., Associate Professor School of Planning University of Waterloo [NOTE3], there is absolutely NO justification for continuing the financialization of housing model.  Financialization of housing did NOT always exist but was created in the 1990s at the time that the Federal Government stepped out and let the "market” take over building social housing and provinces stepped out of rent protection. In essence, policy has created predatory financialization of housing and policy can end it, as swiftly.

 

  • Instead of the market INCREASING affordable housing, the OPPOSITE has occurred – we have LOST affordable housing due to financialization of housing. [NOTE4]

 

  • Moreover, the financialized model is apparently HARMS-based – it harms some people (tenants), to benefit others (investors). ‘Violence’ is mentioned in the research of Martine August – as per the screen print ABOVE [and included, with highlighting in this UPDATE, ABOVE – NOTE3]

 

  • Financialization of housing is incompatible with the human right to housing and has resulted in the growing EMERGENCY of housing in Calgary and across Canada. Every means should be taken to curtail it – NOW…

 

  • …It seems to be the WILD, WILD WEST in Alberta – where protections for renters and LAWS and HUMAN RIGHTS seem NOT to matter. Alberta is apparently a POSTER CHILD for financialization of housing and Calgary is apparently a GROUND ZERO for HOUSING HUMAN RIGHTS violations for which submissions can be made to the Federal Housing Advocate [NOTE5]…”

[Emphasis added]

 

See my CHANGE.ORG petition UPDATE entitled “Enough is enough!  Canada’s housing crisis has reached catastrophic proportions.”  This UPDATE reveals how badly the housing “market” has apparently failed to meet demand for housing – including a housing gap to 2030 that is estimated (variously) to be 3.5 million (CMHC), 5 million (CIBC) or 9.6  million (Carolyn Whitzman for the Federal Housing Advocate).

Please write/call Federal/Provincial/Municipal politicians TODAY to summon the financialized landlords + DATA to the House of Commons to LOWER RENT-GOUGED RENT and to account for practices fostering the growing HOUSING EMERGENCY in Calgary, across Alberta and across Canada.  Marie-Josée Houle, Federal Housing Advocate stated the following on May 9, 2023 during her testimony before the House of Commons HUMA Committee Review of financialization of housing, rent gouging, renovictions, and related issues:  

  • “I also urge the committee to call industry witnesses to account for their practices that undermine housing affordability, security of tenure and habitability, with data about their strategies and their profit margins.”

See the LIST of some CONTACTS in my CHANGE.ORG petition UPDATE entitled: “Urgent, urgent action to stop the harm and protect human rights” – re financialization of housing.

NO means NO.  In MY Calgary, in MY Alberta, in MY Canada we don’t HARM one person to benefit another.  PERIOD.  Enough is enough!  

We can do this together!   Please spread the word!

 

Anne Landry

 

Calgary, Alberta

EMAIL:  Info@CalgariansForHousingRights.ca 

******

NOTE1:

See my BRIEF dated May 26, 2023 to the House of Commons HUMA Committee Review regarding financialization of housing, rent gouging, renovictions and related issues that is entitled STOP THE HARM. STOP Predatory Financialization of Housing and RENT GOUGING – HOUSING is a HUMAN RIGHT!

 

NOTE2:

Corporate investment in housing is linked to unaffordable rents, evictions and long-term care deaths – Office of the Federal Housing Advocate – September 8, 2022.  See the 6 reports regarding financialization of housing:

 

1.  The Finalization of Housing in Canada:  Project Summary Report – A Summary Report for the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate – Martine August Ph.D. - June 2022

2.  The Financialization of Seniors’ Housing in Canada – A Report for the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate – Jackie Brown – June 2022

3.  The Uneven Racialized Impacts of Financialization – A Report for the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate – Dr. Nemoy Lewis – June 2022

4.  Housing Financialization: The International Landscape - A Report for the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate – Manuel Gabarre – June 2022

5.  The Financialization of Multi-Family Rental Housing in Canada – A Report for the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate – Martine August, Ph.D. – June 2022:  “…From 1996 to 2021, REITs alone grew from holding zero to nearly 200,000 suites.  Financial firms comprise 17 of the top 25 largest landlords in the country, with those largest financial firms alone holding over 344,000 suites – about 20% of the nation’s purpose-built rental housing stock…”  (page  iii) [Emphasis added]  See  CHARTS and Map regarding the spread of financialization of housing in Canada.

6.  The Impact of Financialization on Tenants – Findings from a National Survey of Acorn Members – A Report for the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate – ACORN Canada - June 2022

 

NOTE3:

The financialization of Canadian multi-family rental housing:  From trailer to tower – Journal of Urban Affairs, Martine August – February 28, 2020. See also research regarding financialization at the WEBSITE of the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate at https://www.housingchrc.ca/en/financialization-housing.

 

NOTE4:

  • Why Canada needs a non-market rental acquisition strategy. – Focus Consulting, Steve Pomeroy -  March 2020. Research reveals that for every 1 affordable housing unit that is built, 15 affordable housing units (rent below $750) are lost – primarily due to financialization of housing.  

 

  • Updating analysis on erosion of lower rent stock from 2021 census – Steve Pomeroy -  October 2022:  “The loss of affordable housing in Canada is occurring at such a high rate that it will be impossible for current NHS [National Housing Strategy] initiatives to maintain, never mind expand, the net stock of low-rent units research shows…”   [Emphasis added]

 

Also see by/regarding Steve Pomeroy:

 

NOTE5:

  • Housing advocates say big money is transforming rental markets. And Alberta could be a poster child. – CBC - August 2, 2023:  “ …in 2020, University of Waterloo professor Martine August tallied up the publicly-traded investment companies in Canada and found that of the largest provinces, Alberta has the highest proportion of private multi-family apartment buildings owned by those companies — 24 per cent, compared to 10 per cent nationwide.…Research published in the Journal of Urban Affairs in 2020 suggests that, of Canada's largest provinces, Alberta has the highest proportion of apartment buildings owned by real estate investment trusts (REITs). (Journal of Urban Affairs)…”  [Emphasis added]

 

 

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