Build more. Lose less: Why maintaining existing homes matters

We often think about housing supply in terms of the homes we need to build. But we should also think about the homes we cannot afford to lose.

As of 2021, nearly 1 million homes across the country already required major repairs, putting existing housing supply at risk at a time when Canada needs it most.

This doesn’t mean Canada's housing stock has been neglected. In fact, overall repair rates have remained relatively stable since 2016. But because the housing stock kept growing over the last several decades, the number of housing units requiring major repair has also grown.

Housing maintenance is about more than buildings and investment. It ensures housing supply is readily available and remains habitable. It can also protect people's health. When maintenance is deferred, the impacts are most likely to be felt by people already facing the greatest housing challenges.

Housing conditions aren’t equal across Canada. Indigenous people and those living in subsidized housing are more likely to live in homes requiring major repairs. This can reduce housing supply and contribute to poorer housing conditions that can affect their health.

Continued investment in maintenance and renewal remains important if Canada wants to maintain enough housing to meet people’s needs and that keep it affordable.

Indigenous and subsidized housing face the highest repair needs

Deferred maintenance doesn’t threaten all parts of Canada's housing stock equally. The greatest risks are concentrated among Indigenous communities and residents of subsidized housing. This is where major repair needs are above the national average. When these homes deteriorate beyond repair, Canada risks losing some of its most affordable and hardest-to-replace housing supply.

Overall, Indigenous populations live in housing with a rate of major repair needs about 3 times the national average. Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat and First Nations people living on reserve are 5 to 6 times more likely to live in a home that needs major repair. Housing repair needs in these communities are linked to factors such as:

• location
• climate
• resources available to build, maintain, and improve homes

Residents of subsidized housing also face elevated needs for major repairs, at 1.7 times the national average. Renters are also more likely than homeowners to live in housing requiring major repairs (7.3% versus 5.3%).

Table 1 shows that renters, especially those in subsidized housing, are more likely than homeowners to live in homes needing major repairs.

Notes:

• Data sourced from 2021 Canadian Census.
• Differences by broader Indigenous identity supported by Statistics Canada Tables 98-10-0286/0287. 
• Calculations by CMHC.

Poor housing conditions can harm health

Discussions about housing maintenance often focus on buildings and infrastructure spending. But the consequences are ultimately lived by people. When homes deteriorate, the consequences are felt most acutely by the populations already facing the greatest housing challenges. Beyond the risk of losing affordable housing supply, these repair needs can also contribute to poorer housing conditions that affect residents' health and well-being.

Housing requiring major repairs is roughly 13 times more likely to contain mould or mildew than housing in good condition and almost 4 times more likely to have pest infestations. Maintaining existing housing is therefore also an investment in health and well-being.

Table 2 shows that homes needing major repairs are much more likely to have mould, pests and unsafe drinking water.

Note: Data sourced from 2022 CMHC Canadian Housing Survey.

Repair needs vary across Canada

The national picture is important, but regional differences help identify where maintenance is most needed. These differences in the housing stock conditions are most acute in the North. Major repair rates are as high as 26.6% in Nunavut, followed by the Northwest Territories at 18.4% and Yukon at 12.3%. These rates are well above the national average of 6.1%.

In contrast, the condition of housing improved in most provinces and major centres across the country between 1996 and 2021. Provincially, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario showed the most improvement in declining rates of major repair need. In Canada’s larger urban centres, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg showed the largest improvements. This was driven by new construction and renovation activity outpacing the deterioration of housing, improving the overall quality of the housing stock.

Table 3 shows that major repair need rates fell in every province and in Yukon between 1996 and 2021, with the largest drop in New Brunswick, while the rate rose in the Northwest Territories.

Note: Data sourced from 1996 and 2021 Canadian Census.

Table 4 shows a similar pattern in the selected census metropolitan areas between 1996 and 2021.

Note: Data sourced from 1996 and 2021 Canadian Census. 

Governments and households are investing in repairs

Canadians are already heavily investing in their houses. Statistics Canada’s data show that Canadian households spend roughly $25 billion annually on housing maintenance and repairs. Rental housing shows spending about 23% higher than in owner-occupied housing, partly reflecting the older age of the rental stock.

The federal government has also made significant investments in maintaining the housing stock over time. For example, the Affordable Housing Fund committed more than $2.89 billion to renew over 174,000 non-market units since 2018.

Provinces and municipalities also invest significant funding to maintain aging rental housing. For example, Ontario has funded repairs to more than 30,000 affordable rental units, Quebec supports the renewal of social and community housing through dedicated repair programs, and cities such as Toronto and Vancouver help finance building retrofits that improve energy efficiency and resilience.

Maintaining housing is as important as building housing

Despite those significant investments, a million housing units required major repairs in 2021. Often, those units count among the most affordable supply and house some of the people facing the greatest housing challenges.

Canada's housing challenge is often framed as a race to build enough homes for a growing population. New construction remains essential. But maintaining the homes we already have is also important, especially in the context of an aging stock when housing supply is needed to support affordability across the country.

Maintaining and repairing current housing stock can be a critical strategy to preserve affordable homes and prevent neighbourhood decline, proving that maintenance is just as important as new construction.

Ultimately, pairing the maintenance of existing properties with new development is the best way to successfully combat housing shortages without leaving vulnerable communities behind.

Every home successfully renewed through maintenance and repair:

• protects housing supply
• supports healthier living conditions and
• reduces risks for the Canadians who are most vulnerable

Contributors to this article: Kathleen Worton, John Baker, Camille Farrag and Penny Wu