HousingJustice.Now exists to fuel a national movement: one that defends housing as a human right and puts homes back in the hands of communities. We’re connecting tenant organizers, sharing winning strategies, and building the infrastructure needed to transform Canada’s housing system.

Organizers everywhere are rising up: forming tenant unions, stopping evictions, reclaiming land, and demanding homes that serve people, not profit. This platform aims to accelerate that momentum by bringing knowledge, tools, and networks together!

Why do we need Housing Justice Now?

The 2008 housing crisis stemmed from risky loans, speculative real estate practices, and a global financial collapse, largely impacting homeowners who couldn’t sustain their mortgage payments. Today’s housing crisis is different. It affects a broader group—especially renters—who struggle with high rents, stagnant wages, and a shrinking pool of affordable housing options.

In The Tenant Class, Ricardo Tranjan highlights how today’s housing market has evolved into what he calls a “financialized” system. In this model, housing is increasingly controlled by large corporate landlords and investment firms, who treat it as a financial asset rather than a basic human need.

Tranjan argues that this shift prioritizes profits over people, pushing rents higher and creating more precarious conditions for tenants. Tranjan’s work underscores a major difference from 2008: today’s crisis isn’t a sudden financial crash but a systemic issue driven by housing’s transformation into a commodity. Renters, who now make up over 33% of the population in Canada and even more in urban centers, are the hardest hit, with little control over rapidly increasing rents.