The ongoing crisis in housing affordability means nearly two-thirds of Ottawa residents fear losing their home if their financial situation changes. That finding, a detail that’s likely startling to anyone who doesn’t closely follow the housing situation, is just one of many in a just-released survey on the state of housing in Ottawa conducted by Abacus Data for the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB).
The survey of 1,000 Ottawa residents in September 2025 shows the rising cost of living, a lack of affordable housing options and homelessness outpace public concerns about everything from the economy to health care, according to the board.
Anxiety about potentially losing their home, whether owned or rented, has been a “general feeling for the last few years,” says OREB president Paul Czan. “Families are stretched, and people are worried.”
It’s an anxiety shared by many other Canadians, according to a separate but similar survey conducted last month by Abacus Data for the Canadian Real Estate Association.
Of those surveyed in Ottawa, 54 per cent said a 20 per cent drop in family income would put their housing at risk.
That worry, says Czan, is part and parcel of the larger housing affordability crisis examined in the survey. “Young buyers are losing faith that they’ll ever be able to enter the market, and there’s simply not enough housing being built.”
What the public wants
Residents of Ottawa are keenly aware that there’s a housing crisis, according to the report: four in five survey respondents said they’re concerned about the current state of housing in the city.
Most of those people identify a lack of affordable housing for low- and middle-income families and the high cost of construction as contributors to the city’s housing crunch.
A majority of respondents also dissed the leadership efforts of federal, provincial and local governments in addressing housing issues.
“Ottawa residents are telling us that what they need are more affordable housing options —especially missing middle housing like duplexes, triplexes, townhouses and small apartment buildings that seniors, families and young people can afford,” says Nicole Christy, CEO of OREB, in a statement. “The good news is that there’s broad public support for action on things like lowering development costs, modernizing zoning and reducing red tape.”
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What OREB is asking
To ensure the faster building of more affordable homes, the board is asking the City of Ottawa to undertake three key actions:
- Reduce and reform development charges, which are levied on new homes to help pay for the creation or upgrading of city infrastructure and which currently add as much as $63,000 to the cost of building a new low-rise home. While Czan doesn’t identify how much the board would like to see development charges slashed, he says charges need to be reduced for “entry-level homes or purpose-built rental, anything that would help builders get that affordable housing to the consumer.”
- Institute a new zoning bylaw to permit up to four residential units on serviced lots, cut outdated parking minimums and speed up the approval process. Such a bylaw would change some neighbourhoods, says Czan, but change is inevitable and can help communities and the city flourish by increasing affordable housing options.
- Introduce a new rental renovation licence bylaw to protect tenants from “renovictions,” where tenants are forced to leave their homes under the guise of a renovation so landlords can then jack the rent to unaffordable levels. Toronto has already created such a bylaw, and the City of Ottawa is currently exploring its feasibility with final recommendations expected in 2026.
While Czan’s organization is dedicated to the resale housing market, “we’re concerned about affordability in any market… ultimately if there’s no new supply being added in the new market, then the cost of housing is going to increase,” he says. “OREB’s goals really help all residents find attainable housing.”
