Estimating No-Fault Evictions in Canada (CHS 2021)

Background

Understanding the prevalence and drivers of eviction is essential for designing effective tenant protections, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This project aimed to produce national estimates of the proportion of renter households experiencing eviction and to analyze the reasons for eviction using CHS data. It also examined how eviction patterns vary across regions, tenure types, and demographic groups, and whether eviction rates changed during the pandemic period.

Methodology

This project used quantitative analysis of microdata from the 2021 CHS, a biannual survey sponsored by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), with data collected between January and June 2021. The survey used stratified random sampling across 43 geographic areas, including major Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), with a final sample of 40,988 households. Survey weights were adjusted for non-response bias and calibrated to reflect population totals.

First, this project estimated eviction rates and analyzed reasons for eviction using self-reported survey responses, distinguishing between no-fault and at-fault evictions, and examining variation across regions, tenure types, and demographic groups.

Second, this project addressed data limitations by aggregating smaller geographic and demographic groups where necessary to ensure statistical reliability and protect confidentiality.

Results

The project produced a report providing national estimates of eviction rates and reasons for eviction using CHS data. British Columbia had the highest eviction rate in Canada, with 10.5% of renter households reporting being forced to move between April 2016 and early 2021, compared to 5.9% nationally. This higher rate was driven primarily by no-fault evictions, which accounted for 85% of evictions in British Columbia compared to 65% nationally.

Nationally, renter households reported that one third of evictions in the five years prior to data collection were motivated by the landlord wanting to sell the property, a quarter by the landlord wanting the property for their own use, and 7.5% by the landlord’s desire to renovate, repair, or demolish it. Only about one in twenty evictions were caused by late or non-payment of rent, and two in ten were due to other reasons related to tenant behaviour.

Tenants living in housing owned by non-profits, co-ops, or governments were significantly less likely to have experienced eviction in the five years prior to data collection than tenants in privately owned housing. National eviction rates were lower than in the previous wave of the CHS, though the difference was not statistically significant; results suggest pandemic-related eviction bans may have slightly reduced evictions, though tens of thousands of renter households were still evicted during the first year of the pandemic despite them.

After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, self-reported life satisfaction and mental health were significantly lower for tenants who had experienced an eviction within the prior five years than for those who had not. Few differences in eviction rates were discernible across demographic groups, though Indigenous renters had a higher five-year eviction rate (10.4%) than non-Indigenous renters (6.2%).