Calgary Renters need City Council to start treating the housing crisis with the urgency it requires

Calgary ACORN went to City Hall to speak at the committee hearing on the City’s Housing Strategy Refresh — and we left deeply disappointed.

Tenants and tenant organizations were not consulted on the housing strategy refresh. And what we saw was a strategy focused only on supply, with targets that aren’t high enough to meet the scale of the crisis — and no guarantee that Council will actually fund those inadequate targets.

If we aren’t building enough non market housing, then we need to protect the affordable housing we already have.

That means landlord licensing.

Calgary needs a system that ensures rental housing is safe, maintained and livable — and that holds landlords accountable when they fail tenants. That includes Calgary Housing. Public or private, landlords should not be allowed to let affordable housing fall into disrepair or treat tenants badly without accountability.

Ultimately, this comes down to the City budget.

We need to make our voices heard at City Hall this November.

We need the City of Calgary to:

• Fund housing at the level of the actual need.
• Protect the affordable housing we already have through landlord licensing.
• Hold landlords — including Calgary Housing — accountable.

This November, ACORN is going to City Hall to make sure Council hears us.