Joint news release – New data highlights troubling housing inequalities for people with disabilities

December 03, 2024

New data shows that people with disabilities face financial hardship, unsafe housing, and a lack of supports and services at far higher rates than people without disabilities.

The findings, released by the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate, add to a growing body of evidence showing that people with disabilities are being denied their basic human rights. They are overrepresented in all aspects of inadequate housing and homelessness.

The new data shows that people with disabilities are:

• more likely to experience homelessness because of violence or abuse, and these figures were even higher for women with disabilities.
• more likely to miss a rent or mortgage payment, and more likely to be forced to move due to financial issues. Financial hardship is also a main cause of homelessness for people with disabilities.
• more likely to have unsafe drinking water, poor air quality, pest infestations, and issues with mould or mildew in their homes. They were also more likely to live in homes that need major repairs.
• not getting the help they need to live independently, such as help to bathe, cook, and clean. They also reported having trouble accessing government services because of where they live and because transportation isn’t accessible.
• less likely to feel like part of their communities than people without disabilities.

This data builds on previously released findings, which showed that people with disabilities are four times more likely to experience homelessness, are more likely to live in unaffordable housing, are almost twice as likely to live in core housing need, and are often living in homes that are not accessible and do not have the physical aids they need.

This work is part of a monitoring project that is tracking the housing outcomes of people with disabilities. It uses publicly available data from Statistics Canada to examine eleven areas, such as homelessness, institutionalization, affordability, and accessibility.

The findings also echo the concerns that people with disabilities have been sharing for many years. Critically, their perspectives and lived experiences helped to shape the development of the monitoring framework.

This project is an important accountability mechanism to help assess whether Canada is meeting its human rights obligations under domestic and international law, including the National Housing Strategy Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Housing for people with disabilities should uphold their fundamental rights – including access to housing that is affordable, safe, and accessible, alongside the supports they need to live independently and feel like part of their communities.

The data and the lived experiences of people with disabilities, however, show that this is not the reality. It is clear that Canada must do more.

In the coming months, the Commission will highlight these findings and make recommendations for Canada to take action in its upcoming report to the United Nations on Canada’s implementation of the CRPD. The UN will be reviewing Canada’s disability rights record in March 2025.

The Federal Housing Advocate is preparing to formally request the National Housing Council form a review panel to examine the issue of inaccessible housing. This pervasive issue affects everyone in Canada, with the greatest impact on vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities and seniors. The review panel will study this issue and send recommendations to the federal minister responsible for housing.

As we mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities today, the findings from this monitoring project should serve as a call to action to improve housing for people with disabilities.

All people with disabilities in Canada should be able to live with dignity, be treated equally, and have their human right to housing upheld.

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Quick facts

• Homelessness: People with disabilities are more likely to experience homelessness because of violence or abuse, and these figures were even higher for women with disabilities – 63% of women with disabilities who experienced homelessness in their lifetime said it was because of violence, compared to 54% of women without disabilities. Overall, 53% of people with disabilities who experienced homelessness in their lifetime said it was because of violence, compared to 36% of people without disabilities.
• Affordability: People with disabilities are more likely to miss a rent or mortgage payment because of financial issues than people without disabilities. They are also more likely to be forced to move for economic reasons, including financial hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial hardship is also a main reason that people with disabilities are forced into homelessness.
  • Missed housing payments: Based on the 2021 Canadian Housing Survey, 10% of people with disabilities missed a rent or mortgage payment in the last year because of financial issues. This is compared to 6% of people without disabilities.
  • Forced to move: 11% of people with disabilities who had been forced to move in their lifetime said it was because of economic reasons. This is compared to 7% of people without disabilities.
  • Homelessness: Money was a main reason for homelessness for 45% of people with disabilities. This is compared to 40% of people without disabilities.
• Habitability: People with disabilities are more likely to have unsafe drinking water, poor air quality, pest infestations, and issues with mould or mildew in their homes. They were also more likely to live in homes that need major repairs, including plumbing that doesn’t work, electrical wiring issues or structural issues.
  • 4% of people with disabilities had unsafe drinking water. This is compared to 2% of people without disabilities.
  • 12% of people with disabilities had poor air quality because of odours from their neighbours or from outside. This is compared to 7% of people without disabilities.
  • 1% of people with disabilities had issues with mould or mildew in the last year (2020). This is compared to 0.2% of people without disabilities.
  • 18% of people with disabilities had pest infestations in the last year (2020). This is compared to 11% of people without disabilities.
  • In 2022, 9% of people with disabilities lived in homes that needed major repairs, compared to 5% of people without disabilities.

  Indigenous people with disabilities also had poorer housing outcomes than Indigenous people without disabilities. In 2017:

  • 15% of Indigenous people with disabilities had issues with mould or mildew in the last year, compared to 14% of Indigenous people without disabilities.
  • 16% of Indigenous people with disabilities had pest infestations in the last year, compared to 7% of Indigenous people without disabilities.
  • 15% of Indigenous people with disabilities lived in homes that needed major repairs, compared to 8% of Indigenous people without disabilities.
• Subsidized housing: People with disabilities are more likely to live in subsidized housing than people without disabilities. This includes housing with rent geared to people’s income, as well as social, public, government and non-profit housing, and households with rent supplements or housing allowances. In 2017, 5% of renters with disabilities lived in subsidized housing, compared to 2% of renters without disabilities. These numbers stayed the same in 2022.Few publicly owned social and affordable housing units are accessible. In 2016, only 10% of all social and affordable housing units were accessible. In 2020, this number dropped to 9%.
• Supports and services: 38% of people with disabilities said they don’t get the help they need to live independently, such as help with bathing, cooking, cleaning, or shopping.People with disabilities have trouble accessing government services because of where they live and because transportation isn’t accessible. In 2017, 14% of people with disabilities couldn’t access government services for these reasons.
• Safety: People with disabilities are less likely to feel safe and secure at home than people without disabilities. In 2021, 16% of people with disabilities didn’t feel safe and secure at home, compared to 10% of people without disabilities.Many people with disabilities don’t feel safe when they leave their homes. In 2017, 29% of people with disabilities said they were housebound because they didn’t feel safe when leaving their homes. In 2022, this had gone down to 21%.
• Inclusion: People with disabilities are less likely to feel like part of their communities than people without disabilities. In 2021, 66% of people with disabilities felt like part of their community, compared to 81% of people without disabilities.
• Earlier findings show that the temporary income supports during the COVID-19 pandemic helped make housing more affordable for people with disabilities. In 2022, the rate of renters with disabilities who lived in unaffordable housing was 35%, down from 45% in 2017. Since these supports are no longer available, many people are again struggling with the cost of housing. The new Canada Disability Benefit should be enhanced and rolled out as soon as possible to help people with disabilities cover their increasing housing costs.
• About 8 million Canadians, or 27% of the population, have a disability. This number is growing – it increased from 22%, or 6.2 million people, in 2017.

Background

• This monitoring project is a joint effort of the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate. It was developed with the input of people with disabilities, their families, and caregivers, including people who have experienced homelessness and inadequate housing.
• The Commission monitors Canada’s implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It is responsible for tracking how Canada is putting the CRPD into action, and whether it is respecting the rights of people with disabilities.
• The Federal Housing Advocate helps promote and protect the right to housing in Canada. The Advocate monitors systemic housing issues, which include barriers to housing for people with disabilities. The Advocate’s Office is based at the Commission.

Related links

• Statement: Ending one’s life must be a true and informed choice
• Joint news release: New project confirms people with disabilities are overrepresented in all aspects of inadequate housing and homelessness
• Monitoring framework: Monitoring the right to housing for people with disabilities
• Engagement: What we did and what we learned – Housing for people with disabilities

Media Contacts

Media Relations
613-943-9118
communications@chrc-ccdp.gc.ca

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