PM Trudeau: What will the Liberal win do for rental?

After the Liberal win, Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau and his family are preparing to make the big move to 24 Sussex Drive (the house his mother, Margaret, wryly refers to as "the crown jewel of the federal penitentiary system"). But there’s plenty of reason to hope that he won’t be the only Canadian reaping real estate benefits from his victory. Assuming they follow through on election promises, over the course of the next several months we can expect to see the new government working towards delivering on the housing promises they made during the campaign. The "real changes" should include:

• Eliminating the GST on new capital investments in affordable rental housing projects. This will amount to a $125 million annual tax incentive for developers of new apartments and townhouses, provided they meet the definition of "affordable," which will come as a welcome relief in cities with low vacancy rates.

• Establishing a Canada Infrastructure Bank to provide low-cost financing of new infrastructure projects, including rental housing and vitally, transit. Access to better transit opens up the more affordable areas outside city centres to workers who might otherwise not be able to consider these options. The new government will also direct the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to provide financing for the construction of new, affordable rental housing for middle-and-low-income Canadians.

• Creating an inventory of federally owned sites suitable for repurposing or construction. Particularly in large urban areas, making these lands available at low cost to landlords and builders could help address the pressing need for reasonably priced housing.

• Conducting a review of escalating housing costs in overpriced markets like Vancouver and Toronto, where prices are currently some of the most inflated in the world. Across Canada, borrowing is out of control as people try to keep pace with these costs, and it is estimated that housing prices are 34 per cent overvalued against the average disposable income. When homeowners’ costs are this high, renters pay a steep price too. Trudeau’s promised to do what he can, while also looking for ways to enact policies that will make home ownership a realistic goal for more Canadians.

• Restoring the mandatory census, to make sure that new housing policies reflect the most detailed and up-to-date information available. In 2011, the decision to replace the long-form census with the far shorter National Household Survey was broadly condemned by business groups, researchers and municipalities. These stakeholders rely on its intricate data collection techniques to make informed decisions about residential development, now and in the future.

• Revamping the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) to allow not just first-time buyers, but Canadians facing situations such as divorce, spousal death or a job-related move, to cash in RRSPs without penalty. This – alongside recent changes to CHMC rules allowing 100 per cent (rather than the previous 50 per cent) of rental income to be considered when qualifying for a mortgage – means more houses being sold to people who can potentially rent to you.

Even our incoming Prime Minister may face somewhat of a housing crisis himself when he takes over in Ottawa. In 2008, an Auditor General’s report concluded that Gorffwysfa (24 Sussex), the 124-year-old heritage building that is the Prime Minister’s residence, had entered a state of decrepitude and required major repairs. For years, the National Capital Commission has purportedly been asking the current residents to vacate to accommodate extensive renovations, but the Harpers wouldn’t budge. So if Justin, Sophie and the kids end up having to camp out in a hotel for a year, we can probably expect some movement on the housing front in our nation’s capital sooner rather than later.