Tool 1: Determining Priority Groups and Required Units

This tool can assist you in determining the priority groups for affordable housing. This, in turn, will enable you to determine the kind and number of housing units required (based on the needs and population of selected priority groups).

Please note that the blue cells below are calculation cells and thus, do not require entered information.

Steps:

1. In column A, enter the various demographic groups that face affordability issues in a selected community (e.g., lone-parent family households, single individuals, Aboriginal Canadians, recent immigrants, market renters).
2. In column B, enter the total number of households for each demographic group within the community. This information can be obtained from Statistics Canada (or, for homeless estimates, from the United Way).
3. In column C, enter the number in each demographic group spending over 30 per cent of their before-tax income on shelter. This information can be obtained from Statistics Canada.
4. For column D, click "calculate" to determine the rate of unaffordability in each demographic group.
5. In column E, decide on priority groups based on the rate of unaffordability in each demographic group. (Note that there is no specific threshold above which a demographic group should become a “priority”—this is at your discretion).
6. In column F, decide on the number of units required for priority groups. Again, the methodology used is at your discretion. One way, for example, is to set a percentage target reduction (e.g. 25 per cent) in the number of individuals in each priority group spending over 30 per cent of their income on shelter (C).
7. In column G, decide on the types of units required. This will depend on the characteristics of the priority group. Families, for instance, will require units with two-plus bedrooms, while single individuals require only one-bedroom or studio units.

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