Canadians are being crushed by a housing crisis. Are short-term rentals to blame?

For Tianning Ning and her family, Airbnb was supposed to be a way to live in Toronto after facing the brutal reality of the city's rental market. 

The family — originally from Switzerland — was looking for a place to live for 10 months to accommodate Ning's husband's sabbatical at York University. 

The problem? They could not break into the market due to a lack of Canadian credit history. 

Across Canada, renters desperate to find a place to live are presented with a slim inventory of options mostly out of their price range. 

At the same time, there are thousands of houses, apartments, cottages and condos — alternately advertised as cosy or spacious, rustic or modern, central or secluded — up for grabs.

But the properties are advertised as short-term rentals, not intended for permanent housing.

In Toronto, Ning and her family booked a home in the city's Deer Park neighbourhood last August and found it perfect as it allowed their children to go to a reputable school nearby, while Ning and her husband could work.

The arrangement with the Airbnb host was that the family would stay in the home for 311 days for approximately $5,150 per month, plus taxes and Airbnb's service fees. 

But what started as a dream eventually became a nightmare when the host told the family in January that they would need to leave by the end of the month. 

"We were totally shocked," said Ning in an August interview with CBC News. 

The family's situation has brought into sharp focus how entities like Airbnb shape Canada's housing market and the grey zone that exists because of a lack of targeted regulations.

The rentals, such as those booked through Airbnb or Vrbo, are becoming increasingly prevalent in local housing markets, creating new opportunities for tourists and an additional revenue stream for some homeowners.

But the growth has also renewed concerns about the financialization of housing, a trend that leaves people like renters in the lurch while entities like investors, property developers and landlords profit from the situation.

Short-term rentals, or STRs as they're known, are increasing revenue for the Canadian economy. But the growth has renewed concern from experts surrounding the financialization of housing.