Newly elected councils and municipalities across the country in 2019 are grappling with the perennial issues of affordable housing. Affordable residential housing is becoming increasingly scarce, resulting in longer waiting lists and higher prices for single-family homes and rental apartment units.

In London, Ontario more than 3,000 families are waiting to get into public housing, and many more Londoners are in desperate need of more affordable places to live. The backlog in needed repairs to the area's public housing stock, operated by the London and Middlesex Housing Corp., runs to $228 million.

In late December, Peter Fragiskatos, Member of Parliament for London North Centre, announced, on behalf of Jeani-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the Minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the construction and funding of 69 new rental housing units in London to help more middle-class families have an affordable place to live. The units are scheduled to be built in 2019.

Located at 356 Dundas St. in downtown London, the project will provide affordable housing options close to public transit, schools and services for modest and middle-income households. Through CMHC's Rental Construction Financing initiative (RCFi), the federal government is investing more than $4.9 million for the construction of the six-storey building. All units will have rents at or lower than 30 per cent of median household income in the area, and 17 per cent of the units will be accessible.

The Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA), an independent association funded and directed by its members, says on its website: "We believe that secure, decent and affordable housing is a human right and fundamental social determinant of health. It has the power to change lives and is the foundation of vibrant and successful communities. As advocates, we raise awareness of the critical role that affordable rental housing plays in Ontario."

ONPHA is home to more than 700 non-profit housing providers from Windsor to Cornwall, Toronto to Thunder Bay, that house more than 400,000 people in 170,000 homes in 220 Ontario communities.

"Senior housing is a significant issue," says ONPHA member Mary Huang of Ottawa, an engineer who builds planning and forecasting systems as well as data warehouses for large companies. "There is a push, both by people and government, to age in place. More options are needed by some than just LTC (Long-Term-Care) with a long waiting list and expensive private retirement homes, while other seniors would need the help of affordable housing."

Huang is proposing an Age-well National Impact Challenge, an architectural design competition for co-housing or supported housing. This would provide a library of foundational designs that can be purchased for a reasonable cost.

"Governments are recommending aging in place in the community, but there are few concrete plans on how that can be managed successfully for the growing population of aging seniors," she says. "From 1965 to 2015, the average life expectancy has increased by 10 years to 82.14 years. There are over 564,000 Canadians living with dementia today. The early baby boomers at 70 are hitting a four-to-eight per cent dementia rate, and there are increasing numbers of young onset dementia, currently at 16,000. The current systems are not able to accommodate those numbers in terms of aging seniors, nor deal with the increasing tsunami of dementia".

Shelley Raymond of the Haliburton area, President of Solterra Co-Housing Ltd., said "shared housing and shared ownership is the next new and exciting venture for the housing market in Canada."

She searched for other options and found numerous retirement housing models in Denmark, England and New Zealand that, hile not perfect, were the inspiration behind the Solterra Concept...the Solterra model allows seniors the opportunity to age at home'. Each co-owner purchases a percentage interest in a shared home and they are able to maintain financial independence, stability, safety, dignity and self-respect.

Rayond stresses that this particular model results in "substantial savings, both financially and emotionally for the private individuals involved, the families and the public health care system in Canada. As the baby boomers move into their retirement years, shared housing, co-housing, and co-ownership for seniors will take off across North America and provide the solution for economical, independent living."

She argues that affordable senior housing solutions improve housing options available to seniors. Ownership is simple: each co-owner is registered as Tenant in Common on the title/deed. Co-owners control all aspects of operating the entire home, and each resident contributes to, and is accountable for household decisions. Multiple owners are in one residential dwelling unit, or some people refer to it as a single-family home. Either way, it is one home with multiple co-owners, and each interest can be sold on the open market.

"Shared home ownership is growing in popularity, both abroad and throughout North America," Raymond said. "At Solterra, we have adapted this concept to the unique requirements of senior citizens, people with disabilities, students and anyone else who wishes to create an inter-generational home."

Each owner in a shared home has a private bedroom, sitting room with en suite, and everyone has access to the home's common area. Shared amenities often include a kitchen and dining room, workshops, guest rooms, home office, arts and crafts area, laundry, and more, depending on the home's design.

"Today's seniors are re-evaluating their priorities, seeking housing options that balance their wish for independence, with an increasing desire or need for day-to-day support," Raymond said. "A Solterra shared housing solution provides support similar to an Assisted Living Facility', combining personal privacy with the advantages of shared resources and community living."

Various cohousing models (without the hyphen) found around the world are somewhat different than the Solterra model, Raymond noted. While all the cohousing models mirror the original model developed in Denmark, the cohousing models in Canada and the USA are based on the purchase on one large property, and the construction of multiple 30 to 50 single-family homes.

"Shared housing and shared ownership is on the cusp of becoming the next exciting venture for the housing market in Canada," Raymond said. "Buying and selling a home is a primal right of every Canadian."

Mary Huang of Ottawa, also a strong proponent of the co-housing and shared housing concept, stressed that "in view of the crisis on the horizon, we need to have more creative solutions and options for our aging population and groups that need housing. We need to do things better and faster, since our current systems are not going to scale to the numbers that will need support, at a price point that is affordable."