Why You Can’t Find a Rental for Your Family (It’s Not Just the Price)

Looking for a family-sized apartment in Canada feels almost impossible. In this episode, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt explore why they’re so rare in Canadian cities and why building regulations, zoning, and outdated fire safety rules make larger units nearly impossible to construct. Restrictive codes, high costs, and policy gaps mean that families often end up squeezed into spaces that don’t meet their needs or leave cities entirely.This shortage has shaped urban life, contributed to declining family formation in cities, and limited opportunities for young families. Are regulations really protecting people, or are they unintentionally blocking the housing Canadians need?In this episode, we discuss:Regulatory Barriers: How building codes and zoning prevent the creation of family-sized apartments.Comparisons with Europe: Why families in cities like Paris and Berlin live comfortably in apartments.Unintended Consequences: How rules meant to improve safety or quality actually reduce housing options.Policy and Change: What it would take to create a housing system that truly supports families.Chapters:00:00 Introduction00:42 Challenges Finding Family-Sized Rental Apartments01:54 How European Families Live in City Apartments02:46 Why European-Style Apartment Units Are Illegal Here03:40 North American Apartment Layouts Create Space Issues04:15 Unintended Consequences of Prescriptive Building Codes04:57 pop up https://youtu.be/TF63Xj_QtjM?si=YKMdLHIs8b_Nchgx05:03 pop up https://youtu.be/WpT0YDY8ejM?si=OIIEQm-y76TZlPEB06:05 Structural Problems in Housing Regulations08:07 Zoning Makes Low-Rise Family Apartments Difficult09:48 Optimism and Next Steps for Policy ChangeResearch/links:Why we can’t build family-sized apartments in North Americahttps://www.centerforbuilding.org/article/why-we-cant-buildWhy Single Stairways are Heaven for Homebuildinghttps://youtu.be/WpT0YDY8ejM?si=OIIEQm-y76TZlPEBHow Elevator Rules Cost Us Homeshttps://youtu.be/TF63Xj_QtjM?si=YKMdLHIs8b_NchgxNorth America's Elevator Problemhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or1_qVdekYM&t=1sAddressing the concerns around single-staircase apartmentshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozwkP9Zsi0YWhy We Don't Build More Apartments for Families | Odd Lotshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76IHpt6q9MEBroken Zoning: Why We Can’t Fix the Housing Crisis Without a Maphttps://youtu.be/yuAsjJsiuyQ?si=1DDXn4pIGUvSjmgCSingle Stair Buildings for San Francisco: The Key to Building Small Scale Infill Housinghttps://openscopestudio.com/single-stair-buildings-for-san-francisco-the-key-to-building-small-scale-infill-housing/Why Are Housing Costs So High? The Elevator Can Explain Why.https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/08/opinion/elevator-construction-regulation-labor-immigration.htmlHosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina MaddeauxProduced by Meredith MartinFunded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/