On May 29, the National Housing Council’s review panel on the financialization of purpose-built rental presented a report that highlights the urgent need not only to build more non-market housing specifically, but also to protect Canada’s existing affordable rental housing from financialized landlords through an acquisition program.

Yet, while the federal government has made available $15 billion in loans for private developers, only $1.5 billion has been allocated to Canada’s Rental Protection Fund, a program expected to enable community housing providers to acquire the kind of properties investment trusts target.

“The contrast is how much funding goes to open-ended programs that support landlords like Avenue Living, versus how much money is targeted to non-profit housing, which has a track record of delivering cheaper rents,” Tranjan says. “It’s a contradiction to have all this government funding that is going to landlords that engage in predatory practices.”