INDEPENDENT Strengthening property rights part of the answer to housing crunch

A poll from Ipsos in the spring showed that about 63 out of every 100 Canadians who don’t own a house have given up on ever getting one. Almost seven out of 10 said that only rich people can afford to own homes.

However, many Canadians may not understand how property rights – or, in many cases, the lack thereof – play a part in the housing shortage, and how robust property rights can help alleviate the problem.

The recently released Canadian Property Rights Index from the Frontier Centre for Public Policy identified how local laws that control how people can use their land are a major cause for concern across Canada. These laws, known as ‘regulatory takings’, can be very limiting. Regulatory or ‘constructive’ takings refer to local land use or zoning laws that limit how individuals may use their land.

Many jurisdictions, provinces and municipalities in Canada have such laws, with the most restrictive coming from the provinces. As a result, this land can’t be used for building houses.

Excluding land from development and urban growth puts upward pressure on housing prices. There is a clear connection between urban containment policies and housing affordability. ‘Urban containment’ is a name for policies that limit the spread of cities and clearly separate city and country land.

Sadly, the image of ‘greedy’ land developers often hides the fact that housing accessibility and affordability mainly affect the less well-off. Critics of ‘McMansions’ in residential development often overlook the typical homes found on the outskirts of major cities. It’s not the wealthy but ordinary Canadian families who occupy these homes. Rather than being criticized, home builders deserve recognition for their contributions.

Policymakers and politicians need to find ways to balance legitimate societal needs with the need for land for housing and other development.

In the case of Ontario’s ‘Greenbelt,’ cynical critics are more often focused on who wants to develop the land than the fact that municipalities are being squeezed and feel that certain lands need to be excluded from the Greenbelt if they are to meet the housing and development needs of their communities.

Experience with urban containment policies in the United States might serve as an inspiration. Facing housing affordability issues, many states have seen pushback against such policies. States such as Colorado rejected overly restrictive urban containment policies and favoured the property rights of land users.

Canadians across all provinces and territories should also push back, stop demonizing land developers and begin to recognize their property rights so we can solve our housing problems.

Joseph Quesnel is a senior research associate with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. He is the author of the newly revised Canadian Property Rights Index.

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