A recent rental posting in Windsor is being called extremely disturbing and completely unacceptable by a member of Windsor city council.
Ward 2 councillor Fabio Costante, who also serves as the chair of the Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation, says the posting wasn't up for very long but it speaks to a real issue in the community.
The posting was described as six beds/one bath house, but pictures showed mattresses on a floor that were barely separated.
Costante says this is something that's been going on for years, and it's one of the reasons that the residential rental licence bylaw has been debated for many terms of council before getting approved back in the spring.
"This is not a new issue, this is not something that's unique, this has been going on for a long time in our community but it has been exacerbated in the last five to 10 years," he continued. "Because of what's happening in our housing market, generally speaking, and this is not unique to Windsor as we've got a federal and provincial housing crisis and Windsor is kind of enveloped in that."
He says the area has seen a significant increase in postsecondary enrolment at both the University of Windsor and St. Clair College which has also contributed to the crunch on affordable and accessible housing.
Costante says there's a perfect storm of problems right now with high interest rates, inflation, a lot of housing pressures and a lot of people looking for housing.
"And then you've got some landlords that are exploiting that. This is an example of that, this is a clear, cogent example of why I pushed so hard for the residential rental licence and why I've been advocating for more affordable housing in our region for several, several years now," he said.
Costante says he and his council colleagues understand the gravity of the situation and have been working to amend and change a lot of zoning bylaws in recent months as one example of trying to tackle the issue.
He says there's even more they can be doing, and will actively work to do so in the years ahead.
"I think about targeted incentives for affordable housing, I think about a lot of land and opportunity within our built environment to build more housing, and I think about great examples like Meadowbrook. Where we built 145+ units, it's mixed housing, but it's a sustainable financial model. Why can't be replicate that in many different neighbourhoods all across our city?"
Constante believes all of council and Mayor Drew Dilkens are working hard to address this issue, in partnership with those at the provincial and federal level.
Based on the attention placed on housing and affordable housing, Costante is hopeful that the coming years we will see better outcomes, strategies and solutions to the ongoing issues both in Windsor and across the country.