Being a homeowner in Ottawa isn’t cheap. For those like Brent Rizzo, who rents out his properties to students, it can be difficult keeping up with the cost of maintaining each home.
In a recent analysis of the Statistics Canada census, there was a slight decrease in the amount of homeowners who spent over 30% of their income on housing costs between 2011 and 2016.
In 2011, there were 4,098 homeowners who were forced to spend over a third of their income. Meanwhile, in 2016 that number has dropped 2% to 4,003. The spending that is tracked includes monthly payments, rent and any repair costs that a home might need.
Rizzo does not fall into the 2% that have seen fewer costs as his continue to rise each year. So much so that he is being forced to raise the price on houses that he rents to students.
“It’s unfortunate, I’m a fair guy but each year my budget gets tighter and tighter,” said Rizzo on the porch of his home in Barrhaven.
Rizzo says that although many may struggle with house payments his real issue lays in house repairs. Since 2012, the amount of money he spends on fixing his houses increases significantly each year. Three of the houses that he rents were built earlier than 1945 and are starting to become a serious problem for the 57-year-old.
“Things break down after time, whether it’s the furnace or the water pump. Replacing those can be costly and it’s happening more frequently,” said Rizzo.
A major issue for Rizzo was the amount of rain that has experienced in 2017. Ottawa has felt a record number of rainfall throughout the year. By October the city had surpassed the 12-month record set in 2006. The worst of those months was July where nearly 250 millimetres of rain came pouring down.
Rizzo called this year’s span of April to July the “summer of torture” as him and his sons had to repair leaks and shingle damage on two of his houses. Although he does all home repairs he says that the price is becoming too much.
“Doing the work ourselves saves us money, but a downside of owning a house in Ottawa is how much they get beat up by the rain and snow,” said a frustrated Rizzo.
He also mentioned that because of the impact of the weather he needs to raise his price of rent next May to make up for the costs.
Below is a map highlighting the differences of owners who spent 30% or more of their income on housing costs from 2011 to 2016. Purple means a percentage increase, while brown represents a decrease.
All blank areas were not tracked by the latest census.
One of the areas affected by the largest increase in high housing costs is Heron Gate, which is located within the Alta Vista ward. In the 2011 census there were no recorded homeowners that spent over 30% on housing costs. However, in 2016 that number grew to 55, which is the largest growth in a particular area throughout Ottawa.
Rizzo is no stranger to that statistic as he rents out a home on Walkley Road and has seen the area develop.
“It’s a very nice area filled with development and lots of apartment buildings. I find students aren’t as willing to live there because of how expensive it can be,” said Rizzo.
Places that show a reduction included western wards such as Stittsville-Kanata West and West Carleton March. Also within the city, much of Rideau-Rockcliffe saw a lower amount of homeowners who had spent 30% of their income on housing costs.