Comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment Report

The City of Winnipeg commissioned the Comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment Report to better understand the housing needs of Winnipeg's current and future population. The needs assessment identifies gaps along the housing continuum where demand for specific dwelling types is not being met. View the full Comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment Report.

Background

OurWinnipeg 2045 is the City's 25-year development plan, which provides a vision, goals, and policies intended to influence leadership and good governance, priority setting, the delivery of City services, how residents get around the city, and decisions about how Winnipeg grows.

OurWinnipeg recognizes the importance of a healthy housing market that is poised to meet the present and future needsof Winnipeg's population. Access to safe, affordable, and adequate housing is a basic need and critical feature of health and well-being of residents and built environments to achieve complete communities and a high quality of life.

Key Findings from the Report:

Changing Demographics
Segments of the population are growing faster than others with the senior's population growing the fastest. There is also growth in immigrant and Indigenous households who tend to require larger dwelling units. Overall, one-person households account for the highest percentage of household types and have the lowest incomes.

Growth and Household Supply
Growth is steady in the city and Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). Growth in outlying areas is characterized by wealthier and less diverse households. The majority of new housing starts in the CMA are for the ownership market. A growing senior’s population along with a decreased supply of subsidized housing, signals a significant housing affordability gap in the coming years.

Affordability
More than one-fifth of households spend 30 percent or more of their income on shelter. Household age is an important determinant of affordability whereby the youngest and oldest households are bound to face the greatest affordability challenges.

Challenges
Despite significant affordability challenges, recent policy and program initiatives by all levels of government have not reduced the number of households facing affordability challenges and have not reduced homelessness. The National Housing Strategy is an important step, but funding available may not match the degree of need for affordability nor expand the inventory of much needed social housing which has stagnated over the years. The number of households in core housing need has been rising, and at the same time the number of social housing units has been declining, meaning that more households will be facing affordability challenges in the future.

Opportunities
The City of Winnipeg has options to influence the supply and demand of housing across the continuum. The City has a history of working closely with other levels of government to address housing issues. Moving forward, the City should consider the use of the following mechanisms to support affordable housing: research; education and advocacy; policies; secondary plans/ neighbourhood plans; infill development; regulation such as zoning by-laws; inclusionary zoning; fiscal actions (waiving development fees); fast tracking development applications; shifting benefits of infill back to infill neighbourhoods; and tax incentive programs.

Key Population and Housing Statistics
As of 2016, total population	708,823
Total number of dwelling units	281,045
Total number of Apartments	56,801
Total number of market rental units	98,655
Rooming Houses	1,424
Social Housing/ MB Housing	12,286
Private non-profit	1,266
Units on secondary rental market - rented single-family dwellings and semis; accessory dwelling units; condos; 1-2 units with commercial	11,492
Military housing	507
Permanent supportive housing	127
Shelters	699
Transitional housing units	573

Next Steps

Please refer to this page regularly for updates related to the Housing Needs Assessment.

Last update: July 16, 2020

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