Rental Rescue

One of the most sobering indicators of Hamilton’s affordable housing crisis is the erosion of affordable housing stock: increasing rents and the sale of buildings has dramatically reduced the number of affordable units in our city.  

There is no magic wand that will solve this complex issue but there are organizations that are doing what they can. One of those is a new non-profit organization called Rental Rescue, which has a focus on buying properties and keeping them in the affordable housing market through a variety of means.  

In this episode of Future Intended, Rudi Wallace sits down with Krystal Valencia (Founder, Rental Rescue) and Kevin Tom (Chief Investment Officer, FirstOntario Credit Union) to talk about a partnership that resulted in the purchase of a King St. East property that will be preserved as affordable housing. They discuss the logistical challenges, opportunities as well as the need for more partnerships like this one so that individual efforts add up to a greater good.