‘Creative Co-Buying: Artists Talking Housing’ Event Spurs Creative Discussion About Co-ownership

Andreas Kalogiannides, Lesley Tenaglia, Lesli Gaynor and Ryan Martin answer artists questions about co-housing. 

Home should be a place of stability, inspiring self-expression and creativity. However, rising rent costs in Toronto and a shortage of affordable housing makes finding a home an anxiety-inducing experience for many artists in our city.

During our 'Creative Co-Buying: Artists Talk Housing' event hosted last night at Yong Space in the Downtown Young BIA, attendees discussed how creative approaches to home co-ownership and co-living could be an affordable option for artists looking to purchase property in Toronto.

Lesli Gaynor, Lesley Tenaglia, Ryan Martin and Andreas Kalogiannides provided detailed and thoughtful insight on real estate, financing and law aspects of co-ownership to attendees, speaking to their needs as creative individuals and communities.

Here are some questions asked during the lively discussion:

• How do you incorporate noise levels and visual art into a co-ownership agreement?

• Can co-ownership work with mixed commercial and residential units? What are the pros and cons?

• Can you write off part of your expenses on the property as a self-employed artist?

• With rising home prices and rents will Toronto’s artists and be forced to move to neighbouring towns, leaving us with a homogenized city?

The networking session fostered further connections and conversations, with incredible music from DJ Beat Sampras.

For information on upcoming events visit our Events page. If you have any questions about the co-ownership process, contact Lesli or take a look at our tools and resources.

Ontario Election 2018 / Affordable Housing: What are the Political Parties Promising?

Image from: Ontario.ca. 

There is an escalating housing affordability crisis in Ontario that desperately needs to be addressed. Nearly half of Ontario renters pay unaffordable housing costs according to The Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario. The YWCA notes that 185,000 Ontario households or 481,000 people are waiting for housing in the province.

Affordable housing is a crucial issue on the minds of voters heading into the election on June 7th and one to which our provinces' political parties have had to pay close attention. Millennials rank housing as a top concern for the election, with 70% of Ontario residents between the ages of 20 and 34 saying they would vote for a political party committed to helping them own a home according to research recently published by the Ontario Real Estate Association.

GoCo Solutions’ mission is to help Ontarians access the housing market in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area by making informed decisions. Below we list some promises offered by the New Democratic, Liberal, Progressive Conservative and Green parties concerning housing for you to consider as you head into the voting booth tomorrow.

New Democratic Party  

• Build 65,000 new affordable homes across the province over the next decade. Signing on to the National Housing Strategy will fund 20,000 of these units, and the party will commit more funding for the remaining 45,000.

• Invest in social housing and shelters by committing to fund one-third of the required costs.

• Assist the co-op housing sector by investing $3 million to seed co-op bid development.

• Introduce a ‘Housing Speculation Tax’ aimed at both domestic and foreign speculators who do not pay tax in Ontario.

• Promise to make rent more affordable by closing the 1991 rent control loophole.

The NDP’s housing plans are available in their Vision for Ontario and affordability section of their platform website.

Liberal Party

• Continue to implement the Fair Housing Plan and maintain an investment of $1 billion each year to support affordable housing, targeting Indigenous people, youth, chronic homelessness, those facing homelessness having transitioned from provincially funded services and institutions as priority areas.

• Develop a legal framework to support co-housing and shared ownership of residential property.

• Develop a toolkit for faith groups and service clubs that want to build affordable homes on their land.

• Support the co-op sector by creating a Cooperative Housing Development fund worth $3 million.

• Support renters in Ontario by strengthening rules to prevent unfair renovictions and rent increases.

The Liberal party’s plan for affordable housing is available on their online platform.

Progressive Conservative Party

• Increase the supply of affordable housing across the Greater Toronto Area while protecting the Greenbelt.  

• Invest $3.8 million to support mental health, addiction, and housing for those in need over the next decade.

The Progressive Conservatives’ plan for housing in part of their Plan for the People.

Green Party  

• Require that a minimum of 20 percent of all new housing developed in Ontario is affordable housing.

• Provide incentives for local developers to achieve affordable housing targets.

• Promise $200 million over projected increases in the 2018 budget to support shelters, and social, co-op and supportive housing.

• Offer support for innovative approaches to housing, from tiny houses and laneway homes to secondary suites to help first-time buyers enter the housing market.

• Extend the non-resident Speculation Tax to include domestic buyers who purchase a home and leave it vacant.

The Green Party’s planned housing initiatives are available on the Unlock Affordable Housing section of their website and their blog.