{"id":11061,"date":"2025-12-12T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T13:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/?p=11061"},"modified":"2025-12-11T16:13:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T21:13:49","slug":"the-overhead-decommodifying-housing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/national\/2025\/12\/12\/the-overhead-decommodifying-housing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Overhead: Decommodifying Housing"},"content":{"rendered":"

THIS EPISODE: Decommodifying Housing<\/h3>\n

On previous episodes of this series, we’ve talked about the impact of an over-financialized housing market. It adds to the affordability crisis, and leads to eviction and displacement.<\/p>\n

In this episode, we ask two experts if it’s possible to decommodify housing. To build housing that isn’t simply a product to be bought, sold, and traded.<\/p>\n

David Wachsmuth<\/a> is an associate professor in the School of Urban Planning at McGill University, and he describes a sort of catch-22 in the the current housing market:<\/p>\n

It’s actually quite problematic to on the one hand say, very appropriately, we need to protect tenant rights and prioritize letting tenants stay in apartments, but then also say we really hope that the private market is going to build housing to meet those demands. You’re making it impossible for the private market to do that, because you’re not letting them make money. But you’re not supplying the alternative which is non-market housing that can fill that need. So we’re left with the kind of worst of both worlds.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Leila Ghaffari<\/a> is an assistant professor of geography, planning, and environment at Concordia University, who says part of the barrier to decommodifying housing is it doesn’t actually benefit the politicians who say they want to create more affordability:<\/p>\n

They don’t really want to decommodify housing… because our economy is so dependant on real estate right now, the real decommodification of housing is not in the interest of our governments at the moment. Not even at the municipal level: they are so dependant on property tax money. So it’s something we say, but the actions don’t show that we really understand the crisis we are living in. And this crisis today, the vulnerable population has been living through it for years and years. It’s just that now it’s more visible because the middle class is also feeling it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Is it truly possible to decommodify housing when it’s become one of the biggest industries in the country?<\/p>\n

Listen here for The Overhead:<\/em><\/p>\n

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