Income Support in Relation to Housing in Canada and Selected Other Countries: International Jurisdictions
The project on Income Support in Relation to Housing in Canada and Selected Other Countries is part of a broader exercise conducted by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to inform its ongoing work in the development of a National Housing Strategy (NHS) for Canada. Specifically, this project seeks to better understand the characteristics of income support programs such as social assistance and housing/shelter benefits and how they are delivered in Canada and selected countries.
This report reviews social assistance programs and housing benefits in the six international jurisdictions: Australia, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States (New York State). Specific benefit amounts are provided for four household types: a single adult with no dependent children, a couple with no dependent children, a single adult with two dependent children, and a couple with two dependent children. Social assistance benefits were compared with three benchmark measures – the income received by a full-time employee working at a minimum-wage salary, a Low Income Measure (LIM), and the average cost of rent in both the most expensive and least expensive area of each country – in order to assess benefit fairness and adequacy.
Project Details
Published: September 2016
Capability: Policy Research
Policy Area: Income Security - Social Assistance, Housing Policy and Homelessness
Population: Communities and Families - Low-income Populations - Social Assistance Recipients
Type: Report
Other Related Projects
Low-Income Student Experiences After Post-Secondary Education
This project seeks a better understanding of the post-study experiences of former post-secondary education (PSE) students who received student aid. Topics to be explored… Read More
Estimating the Economic Benefit of the Early Years
The Martin Family Initiative (MFI) Early Years began in Maskwacis, Alberta, in 2018 with the aim of co-developing and implementing Indigenous-led, community-based, and relationship-driven… Read More
