New Report Released
The 2023 Child and Youth Housing in BC Report
The 2023 Child and Youth Housing in BC Report was released on January 10, 2024
About the Project
The Children’s Right to Housing Project began in 2021.
Canada and BC have made commitments to protect children’s right to housing through the Section 15 of the Charter of Right and Freedoms and through a variety of international conventions and covenants, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
However, BC laws allow for discrimination in housing on the basis of age. For example, a strata corporation can restrict the age of persons who may reside in a strata lot to persons 19+. The impacts of this discrimination on children’s right to housing are greatly magnified in the current context of extremely low rental vacancy rates and very high rents throughout British Columbia.
- Families report fear of the child protection system when they are inadequately housed, as the system’s response is often to apprehend their children. Other families report putting their children into ‘voluntary’ care because they cannot secure the housing they need.
- Youth transitioning out of government care face discrimination in securing rental housing for a range of reasons related to stigma and the lack of financial and other supports during this crucial period of vulnerability.
This project aims to reform the laws that allow for the exclusion of families with children and youth from rental housing and other forms of housing.
Funder
This project is made possible by the Law Foundation of BC.
