The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is asking the community to complete a confidential and anonymous online survey as part of a Housing Needs Assessment.
The assessment is currently underway to provide a comprehensive understanding of the housing needs and affordability challenges facing Chatham-Kent.
The information gathered will guide future housing policies and initiatives to improve housing affordability, availability, quality, and overall living conditions, according to the municipality.
The municipality said the project will evaluate the specific needs of a several populations, such as younger adults, seniors, the unhoused, individuals requiring supportive or assisted living, and those seeking non-market housing solutions.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent said it is concerned about lack of housing options for all people in our community because housing has become more expensive and those who are on fixed incomes or who are working but receive modest pay are having a difficult time finding and keeping their housing.
Seniors who wish to “downsize” and move to a smaller, affordable home cannot find a place to live. Young families are struggling to pay rent or gather enough of a downpayment to buy a home, said the municipality.
"As Chatham-Kent continues to grow and more people chose to move here, the municipality needs to understand, through your experience and data what our citizens are experiencing and what ideas you have to “unlock” this growing problem," noted the municipality. "Once the Housing Needs Assessment is complete, Chatham-Kent will have the data and information that it requires to develop a strategy and policies that will be used to create future housing programs, whether it be for future homeowners, renters or those just looking for help staying in their home."
The municipality noted the assessment is not just about those requiring housing in one segment of the continuum – it includes everything up to and including home ownership.
The anonymous and confidential Housing Needs Assessment survey asks several key questions about current housing experiences and is part of the overall data gathering exercise that will help Chatham-Kent move forward to the Housing Strategy stage.
CK Director of Housing Development Ray Harper hopes people are truthful when they fill out the online survey, adding the municipality doesn't have a mechanism to verify identification for online surveys.
"If we try to do that, we'll probably have less engagement from the public and we don't have the resources to ask for ID or anything like that for the survey," said Harper. "This data set is just one of many data sets we're using for the Housing Needs Assessment. So, the Housing Needs Assessment isn't relying on just this one data set. There are many other pieces of information that we're using to complete the Housing Needs Assessment."
CK residents are invited to share their experiences and thoughts about their current housing situation.
“The Housing Needs Assessment is an important opportunity for us,” he added. “The report will help Council understand the housing landscape across Chatham-Kent and will help us plan for future housing initiatives using recent data. Everyone’s input is valuable and appreciated.”
Harper also noted renovictions are an issue, but said it's not something the municipality tracks.
"Renovictions is certainly an issue, but we don't have accurate data to determine how large a problem that is because a lot of that information can be hearsay and it's not something the municipality tracks," Harper said.
The survey is available to all residents through the Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent website from January 6 to January 26, 2025.
The findings of the full Housing Needs Assessment will be presented to Council in mid-March 2025.
For more information and to complete the survey visit www.letstalkchatham-kent.ca/housing-needs.
