Based on the failure to produce even a marginal supply of new affordable housing, we now have a 12-month deficit of new units since the release of the Mayor's Task Force report. Let's Build program, this deficit will continue to rise into the foreseeable future without action by senior levels of government. Rents are rising while the vacancy rate drops Vacancy rates remain low in Toronto. The cost of rental accommodation continues to rise at a greater rate than tenant incomes. This represents the period when the Province, through the Tenant Protection Act, significantly relaxed rent controls.
Tenants receiving social assistance are particularly vulnerable.
Now, single parents with one child are in the best position. Single people are even worse off. This means that only nine out of every 1,000 units are available for rent. The social housing waiting list keeps growing As more low-income people struggle with the high cost of rents in Toronto, the demand for subsidized housing keeps rising. Chart 18 shows that the total number of new applications for subsidized social housing increased from 49,120 in September 1998 to 56,215 in July 1999.