Hamilton family struggling to find a place to live in city's unaffordable rental market

Everything seems to be getting more expensive. Food, gas and housing prices are on the rise while paycheques are slow to keep pace. The CBC News series Priced Out explains why you're paying more at the register and how Canadians are coping with the high cost of everything.

Heather and David Bolduc are in a race against time.

They spent eight years paying $1,112 per month for a three-bedroom unit in Hamilton's east end. Now they have to move out, and in Hamilton's increasingly expensive housing market, there's nowhere for them to go. 

Their landlord has sold the house they've been living in at the end of February. As they search for a new place, they say, potential future landlords think they don't make enough money, but they make too much money to apply for subsidized housing.

They have until the end of April to find a new place. They say they've been searching for a month with no luck.

"I'm getting to a point where I'm afraid my family is going to end up on the street," said David.

The rise in rent costs is part of a trend that is seeing Hamilton become more unaffordable. A recent report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) says new tenants are paying much more than those who already pay rent in the city. It also says units on the market are becoming more unaffordable to mid-income renters.

The price the Bolducs have been paying is a steal. Dayna Sparkes, chair of ACORN's east Hamilton chapter, said the average cost of a three-bedroom unit in Hamilton is now $2,200.  

David is 53 and works at a landscaping company. Heather is 42 and works at a Metro grocery store. They have a 16-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son.

The Bolducs know they have enough money to afford the rent hike. The problem is trying to convince landlords.

The couple say, for example, that they found a place in the Crown Point West neighborhood for $2,200 per month. David said he could have even afforded it on his own, but the landlord still turned away the family.

"It's just impossible because everywhere you look, someone else that has more money is getting the place. It's frustrating," David said.

"I've been missing shifts at work trying to look at properties and every time I miss a shift, I'm missing $200 plus a day."

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