Housing Affordability and the Experiences of Racialized Young Adults from Immigrant and Refugee Families

The housing affordability crisis in Toronto and Canada has gradually made housing out of reach for many residents. With annual labour wages not being able to keep up with the rise of housing costs, many households are dedicating more than 30 percent of their monthly income to housing costs. Many residents in Toronto have been feeling the impact of the housing affordability crisis. However, the severity of the housing affordability crisis becomes evident when examining the housing experiences of first-generation and second-generation racialized young adults at the early stages of their housing careers. First-generation and second-generation racialized young adults are one of the fastest-growing populations in Toronto. Despite having high education attainment, some first- and second-generation Canadians are unable to reach their homeownership or affordable rent housing goals. This Major Paper asks (1) What are the effects of the housing affordability crisis on first-generation and second-generation young adults from low-income immigrant and/or refugee households in Toronto? (2) How can these experiences help inform future housing policy, planning and development processes? I address these questions through data gathered from one-on-one semi-structured interviews with nine first and second-generation young adults from immigrant/refugee families still in the early stages of the housing trajectories. Findings indicate that housing-insecure young adults are caught up in the reality of living for years in their multigenerational households at the expense of their sense of independence. They stay with their families, sometimes to save up for homeownership or to move into a rental unit arrangement later. While they postpone their housing aspirations (and desired household formation), they also see the family home in a positive light as a strategy to save for more desirable housing futures. In fact, this was a strategy learned from their first-generation parents, who were often able to achieve both reasonable rent and homeownership. I argue that housing policies and urban planning and development processes should consider the needs of first- and second-generation young adults who currently stay longer in the family home with the hopes of eventually reaching their homeownership goals or affordable rent. As such, this Major Paper also explores the implications of planning for multi-generational households as well as housing policies to help young adults transition into their desired housing paths.