It’s time to get speculation out of Ontario’s housing market

June 23, 2023

GUELPH — Ontario Greens leader and MPP for Guelph Mike Schreiner released the following statement in response to new data showing that larger investors dominate condo ownership in smaller cities in Ontario.

Ontario’s housing crisis is at a boiling point – we can’t afford to wait to take action.

We’re already losing affordable rental towers in huge numbers as they are purchased and then renovated to drive up rents – displacing residents along the way.

Meanwhile, new supply is being bought up by speculators, driving up rental and housing markets alike.

First-time homebuyers can’t compete with deep-pocketed speculators. Ontario needs a strategy to clamp down on speculation in the housing market.

Ontario Greens have the bold solutions to ensure we make housing for people, not profit:

• Reinstate rent controls on all units to protect tenants from being unfairly priced out of their homes;
• Implement vacancy controls to get rid of the incentive for landlords to drive out long-standing tenants in order to increase rents;
• Build 182,000 new permanently affordable community housing rental homes over the next decade;
• Implement a multiple property speculation tax on people and corporations who purchase more than two houses or condominium units in Ontario; and
• Implement a province-wide vacant homes tax to make it harder to use vacant homes as a lucrative place to park cash.

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