Social Determinants of Health – Housing Insecurity
The following information is compiled and presented by Quality of Care NL, an applied health and social systems research and evaluation program aimed at improving social and health outcomes in Newfoundland and Labrador. This page is best viewed in full screen on a computer. Click here to download a PDF version of the information presented below.
Housing insecurity refers to the inability to secure safe, adequate and affordable housing. It can take a number of forms: housing cost burden; residential instability; evictions and other forced moves; living with family or friends to share housing costs; overcrowding; living in substandard, poor quality housing; and homelessness.
Housing adequacy, housing suitability, housing affordability, acceptable housing and core housing need are key household indicators and topics of interest for governments and housing organizations.
- An indicator of housing adequacy is the condition of the dwelling.
- An indicator of housing suitability (commonly used to measure “crowding”) is whether the dwelling has enough bedrooms for the size and composition of the household. Another indicator of crowding is the number of persons per room in a dwelling.
- An indicator of housing affordability is the proportion of household total income that is spent on shelter costs.
- Acceptable housing refers to housing that is adequate in condition, suitable in size and affordable.
- Core housing need is an indicator of a household’s relative ability to afford the median market rent of a dwelling in its region that meets its needs.
Housing Need: Housing Adequacy
Inadequate housing conditions have been associated with numerous physical and mental health conditions. Structural features of the home (e.g., mold, water leaks, pest infestation, peeling paint, drafts and energy inefficiencies, physical crowding) directly impact health and increase the risk of injury and illness due to safety issues.
Dwelling condition (an indicator of housing adequacy) is classified into three groups: needing regular maintenance only, needing minor repairs, and needing major repairs. Major repairs refer to problems that compromise the dwelling’s structure or major systems (i.e., heating, plumbing and electrical).
- The percentage of private dwellings needing major repairs decreased for all provinces from 2016 to 2021.
- In 2021, NL (and AB) had the lowest rate requiring major repairs with a 15% reduction from 2016.
Housing Need: Housing Suitability
Housing suitability (commonly used to measure “crowding”) classifies dwellings as not suitable if they do not have enough bedrooms for the size and composition of the household, as calculated by the National Occupancy Standard (NOS) developed by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
- The percentage of private dwellings considered not suitable increased for all provinces, except for NL and QC, from 2016 to 2021.
- In both 2016 and 2021, NL ranked first regarding housing suitability (1=best and 10=worst).
Housing Need: Acceptable Housing
Acceptable housing refers to whether a household meets each of the three indicator thresholds established by the CMHC for housing adequacy, suitability and affordability.
- Adequate housing is reported by their residents as not requiring any major repairs.
- Affordable housing has shelter costs equal to less than 30% of total before-tax household income.
- Suitable housing has enough bedrooms for the size and composition of resident households according to the National Occupancy Standard (NOS), conceived by the CMHC and provincial and territorial representatives.
- From 2018 to 2021, acceptable housing rates have remained fairly stable across Canada, including in NL.
- Just under 20% of persons in NL live in unacceptable housing.
- In both 2018 and 2021, NL ranked first for acceptable housing rates among the Canadian provinces (1=best and 10=worst).
Housing Need: Core Housing Need
Households in core housing need live in an unsuitable, inadequate or unaffordable dwelling and cannot afford alternative housing in their community.
Core housing need refers to whether a household’s housing falls below at least one of the above three indicator thresholds and would have to spend 30% or more of its total before-tax income to pay the median rent of alternative local housing that is acceptable (attains all three housing indicator thresholds).
- The rate of core housing need has decreased from 2016 to 2021 across Canada, including in NL.
- In NL the rate dropped from 10.5% in 2016 to 8% in 2021. Approximately 1 in 12 households were in core housing need in 2021.
- In both 2016 and 2021, NL ranked fourth among the Canadian provinces (1=best and 10=worst).
Newfoundland & Labrador Housing Corporation (NLHC) Programs
The NLHC offers a number of programs to support individuals and families who are experiencing housing insecurity.
- Clients accessing the Transition House Program increased by 13% from 2019-20 to 2021-22.
- Clients housed by the Supportive Living Program increased by 38% from 2019-20 to 2021-22.
- Individuals at risk of or experiencing homelessness that were assisted by the Supportive Living Program increased by more than 145% from 2019-20 to 2021-22.
Homelessness
End Homelessness St. John’s (EHSJ) exists to prevent and end homelessness in St. John’s. EHSJ, along with its partners and volunteers, conducted three homeless point-in-time (PiT) counts between 2016 and 2022.
PiT counts provide a one-day snapshot of homelessness in a community. It includes individuals experiencing homelessness in shelters, unsheltered locations, transitional housing, and those who are in health or correctional facilities, or who are staying with others because they have no access to a permanent residence.
- From 2016 to 2022, the percentage of homeless people staying in emergency shelters has increased by over 60%.
- The percentage of homeless individuals identifying as youth has increased by over 65% from 2016 to 2022.
- Three out of four people experiencing homelessness self-report having a mental health disability and more than half report addiction issues.
Homelessness
The By-Name List, or BNL, serves as a real-time roster that includes the names and relevant information of all individuals experiencing homelessness within a community. These individuals are known to the housing and homelessness system and have given their consent to be included in the list. In St. John’s, individuals are added to the BNL via completion of a consent and intake package which is submitted to End Homelessness St. John’s.
- It was estimated that a minimum of 900 people experienced homelessness in St. John’s from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. This estimate combined data from the PiT Count and the BNL, which is the community’s real-time register of all individuals and families known to be experiencing homelessness in the community.
Rental Market in Newfoundland & Labrador
The CMHC Rental Market Survey is conducted annually in urban areas with a population of 10,000 or more. It provides a snapshot of vacancy, turnover rates, and average rent in new and existing structures.
Due to the nature of the survey and the size of some communities in NL, not all data is available for all urban areas.
- Low availability of rental properties can contribute to housing insecurity for individuals with insufficient income to purchase a home in those communities
- In 2022, Bay Roberts, Corner Brook, and Gander had vacancy rates below the provincial average.
- St. John’s had the highest median and average rent in the province and Bay Roberts had the lowest.
- Large increases in rental costs in a short period of time can contribute to affordability challenges for households. There was a provincial average of a 4.8% increase in rent from 2021.
- Corner Brook saw a 6.9% increase in rent from 2021 to 2022.
Review other data relating to food security, sex/gender, income, education, and more!