New 10-Year Housing Strategy shows hidden realities of housing instability in Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton

Kawartha Lakes, ON — Local leaders have unveiled the Deeply Affordable and Supportive Housing Strategy (DASH), a 10-year roadmap designed to confront a rapidly intensifying housing and homelessness crisis across Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County. Built on extensive data, community insights, and the region’s responsibilities under Ontario’s Housing Services Act, the strategy reveals issues far deeper and broader than rising rents alone.

“Housing is at the heart of quality of life in our region,” said Cheryl Faber, Kawartha Lakes Director of Human Services. “More people are struggling to keep a home, more families are feeling the impact of rising costs, and more community partners are stretched to respond. Housing is essential to health, well-being, and the strength of our community.”

Key findings revealed in the Housing Strategy research

1. Affordability gap becomes a breaking point

The cost of local housing has far outpaced what many residents can afford. A one-bedroom unit averages $1,612, despite shelter allowances as low as $390 for those in receipt of Ontario Works. Full-time minimum-wage workers would need to spend more than 53% of their income on rent, which is well above the affordability benchmark. The report concludes: “the private market is already out of reach for half of renters in Kawartha Lakes.”

2. Inaction could triple homelessness

Without intervention, homelessness is projected to rise 243% in the next decade: from about 450 people today, to 1,545 people in the next ten years. The resulting strain on shelters, emergency services, and community resources would be severe. Without new investment, homelessness will more than triple, but targeted action can reverse the trend.

3. Seniors and homeowners are increasingly vulnerable

The housing crisis extends well beyond renters. In 2021, 52.5% of households in core housing need were homeowners, many of them seniors living on fixed incomes in aging homes they can no longer maintain. Seniors also account for 27.8% of the 2,496 households currently on the affordable housing waitlist.

4. Wait times stretch over a decade

Nearly 2,500 households are waiting for community housing, with some applicants in line since 2014 or earlier. About 70% are seeking bachelor or one-bedroom units, the types in shortest supply.

5. “Renovictions” erode housing stability

Rising use of “renovictions,” where tenants are displaced under the pretext of major renovations, threatens long-term affordability. Across Ontario, these eviction notices rose 300% between 2017 and 2021. One local resident summed up who is most affected: “All of us that are on set incomes… got evicted.”

A regional path forward

The DASH is supported by a strengthened governance model shared between the City of Kawartha Lakes and the County of Haliburton, ensuring coordinated planning, oversight, and accountability across the region.

Faber emphasized that the Housing Strategy is grounded in conversations with residents, service providers, and partners living the reality of housing pressures daily. It outlines six priorities to guide action:

• Expand deeply affordable and supportive housing
• Prevent homelessness and improve pathways to stability
• Strengthen community and supportive housing delivery
• Align municipal systems to enable housing delivery
• Strengthen governance for housing delivery
• Advocate for investment by other levels of government

“These priorities form a roadmap for action,” Faber said. “This plan sets the steps needed to reduce homelessness, expand deeply affordable housing, and support affordability across the region.”

“This plan gives us a clear path forward,” she added. “It builds the capacity needed for future housing infrastructure and strengthens our ability to deliver more housing tomorrow. Partnerships with provincial and federal governments, and with community providers, will be critical.”

The DASH gives Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton the direction needed to respond to today’s pressures, and the foundation to build a stronger, more stable housing system for the years ahead.

For more information on the Deeply Affordable and Supportive Housing Strategy, please contact the Kawartha Lakes Human Services Department.