LISTOWEL – A recent United Way Perth-Huron study is debunking long-held stereotypes as it has found that the impact of the housing crisis is spreading through renters to homeowners, and; financial strain is extending from part-time workers to full-time workers.
The Our Stories of the Housing Crisis report and the findings from the Cost of Housing Survey was presented to North Perth Council on May 25 by United Way Perth Huron Social Research and Planning Council Manager Will Wellington.
Lived experiences from 716 Perth Huron residents affected by rising housing costs were collected from January to April 2024 through the Cost of Housing Survey.
Wellington said all 15 municipalities within the two counties were represented, with 70% of respondents being employed full-time across all major regional industries, and 74% being parents.
The study organized respondents into income categories based on the estimates of what income would be required to afford 2023 housing market rates.
“We heard from lower-income residents and higher-income residents, and the income categories that we used in our survey suggest that almost half of respondents could not have afforded a market-rate one-bedroom unit at the time, and over three-quarters of the respondents would have been unlikely to qualify for a single-family home at the time,” Wellington said.
The report states that 37% of respondents reported a household income of $57,000 or less, meaning they would likely be unable to afford a one-bedroom unit in the region. Additionally, 78% of respondents reported a household income of $110,000 or less, meaning they would have been unlikely to qualify to buy a single-family home in 2023.
Wellington said, “both homeowners and renters were hurt by high housing costs.”
Thirty-one per cent of respondents said they had been affected by increasing or unaffordable mortgage payments, primarily through hiked rates on existing mortgages.
“Dramatic increases like the ones that they reported can easily stretch a household budget to the breaking point and put people in painful situations, like this North Perth respondent, “When my mortgage comes due in the next year or so, my income will be at its lowest point in a very long time. My children could contribute, but how will they ever save for their own future?’” Wellington shared with council.
As for renters, 21% of respondents said the rental market is unaffordable.
“Some respondents reported spending large parts of their income on rent, some were facing unmanageable rent increases in their current unit,” Wellington said. “In many cases, renters in our sample concluded that, while their current unit might be unaffordable, all of the units on the market would be worse, and the rise in market rents has been so extreme in this period that moving can often lead to both a leap in rent and a drop in unit quality.”
A North Perth respondent shared their housing situation in the survey, “We can’t afford better housing, we’ve gone six months without a stove, there’s mould in our bathroom, and my boys’ room has water damage.”
While the above North Perth resident was forced to settle for housing that was in poor condition, on the other end 16% of respondents reported having to move when they didn’t want to, and 14% were sharing housing to save money.
These aren’t the only compromises being made. The survey found that the number one way surveyors are coping with increased housing costs was by spending less where possible, for example 65% of respondents described cutting back on general spending, on extras, on recreation, and some described harsh and widespread cuts, including an almost total loss of social life.
Additionally, 58% of respondents were cutting back on essential categories, with almost half reporting that they were spending less on food and groceries.
“Some of them are even making comments indicating various levels of food insecurity, from cutting out types of food to eating less healthily to skipping meals and going hungry,” Wellington said of the commenters.
Some commenters shared that they are trying to earn more by working more: 15% of respondents are working more, most commonly by taking on more than one job (7%), and 4% of respondents reported working more than full-time.
“My wife and I both work full-time jobs, but we also both pick up other part-time shifts on the side,” said one North Perth resident in the report. “This area is not affordable in the slightest.”
Despite trying to earn more, 34% of respondents reported an unstable or declining financial position, saving less, living paycheck to paycheck, and in some cases taking on debt.
“Our mortgage has gone up by $1,000 per month, mixed with grocery costs and gas prices, there is no money for savings,” one respondent said. “We have had to use savings and put more things on credit.”
Seventy-four per cent of respondents are parents, and at least 25% said that high housing costs were worsening their mental well-being, causing them stress, fear, frustration, sadness, and hopelessness. Additionally, 27% of respondents with children reported their children being affected.
“We can no longer afford registration and sports equipment,” one North Perth resident shared. “We had to cancel our family vacation. Our kids will be heading to college in four years, and we aren’t sure how we will afford it.”
The survey finds that people almost equally see the public and private sectors as responsible for an unfair crisis: 22% for the public sector, 17% for the private sector.
“These respondents saw this crisis as enabled by both neglectful public officials and selfish business people, as in this quote from a North Perth resident, ‘Is there a point they don’t seem to notice or care if people struggle?’” Wellington shared. “While respondents often expressed a lack of faith in decision makers, they also expressed a yearning for change and for leaders who deliver it.”
United Way Perth Huron Social Research and Planning Council is calling on individuals, organizations, and especially governments to set ambitious regional targets for new community housing and make serious investments to achieve them.
The entire Our Stories of the Housing Crisis report can be read online at https://perthhuron.unitedway.ca/research/.
By Kelsey Bent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Jun 12, 2026 at 07:00
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