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Immigrants and Housing

If you're looking to rent, make sure to read through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's 7 part guide on how to prepare for rental accommodation.

Many studies have been written about the challenges facing immigrants in fulfilling their housing needs. 

• "You cannot settle like this": The housing situation of African refugees in Metro Vancouver Source: Written for Metropolis British Columbia by Jenny Francis
• "Diversity Profile of BC" Source: Law Foundation of BC
• “A Study of Poverty and Working Poverty among Recent Immigrants to Canada”   Source: 2007 Report Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
• "Faces of Refugees"  Source: 2007 Report by Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia
• “The Profile of Absolute and Relative Homelessness”   Source: 2005 Report by MOSAIC
• “A Survey on the Extent of Substandard Housing Problems Faced by Immigrants and Refugees in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia”  Source: 2002 Report by MOSAIC
• “Cultural Divide: A neighbourhood study of immigrant rental housing in Vancouver”  Source: 2008 Report by Pivot Legal and MOSAIC
• "2006 Census: Immigration, citizenship, language, mobility and migration"  Source: Stats Can
• "Settling In: Newcomers in the Canadian Housing Market 2001-2005" Source: CMHC

For more information see the following links:

• Immigrant Public Legal Education and Information (PLEI) Consortium
• Justice Education Society - Court Information for Immigrants
• Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC (AMSSA)
• Metropolis: Enhancing Policy Through Research
• Laurier Institution
• Urban Futures
  
• Immigrant Services Society of BC
• MOSAIC
• Options Services to Communities Society
• Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (PICS)
• S.U.C.C.E.S.S.
• Government of Canada
• Province of British Columbia

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) produces the following guides for newcomers to Canada:

• Welcome to Canada
• Renting in Canada: What Newcomers Need to Know
• Newcomer's Guide to Canadian Housing — How to Find, Rent or Buy a Home in Canada

Click here to access these resources in English, French, Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Punjabi, Tagalog and Spanish

For more information from CMHC, click here.