Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021
Housing suitability

Definition

Housing suitability refers to whether a private household is living in suitable accommodations according to the National Occupancy Standard (NOS); that is, whether the dwelling has enough bedrooms for the size and composition of the household. A household is deemed to be living in suitable accommodations if its dwelling has enough bedrooms, as calculated using the NOS.

'Housing suitability' assesses the required number of bedrooms for a household based on the age, sex, and relationships among household members. An alternative variable, 'persons per room,' considers all rooms in a private dwelling and the number of household members.

Housing suitability and the National Occupancy Standard (NOS) on which it is based were developed by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) through consultations with provincial housing agencies.

Statistical unit(s)

• Private household

Classification(s)

• Housing suitability

Reported in

2021 and 2016 (25% sample) and 2011^{Footnote 1} (30% sample).

Reported for

Private households

Question number(s)

Derived variable: Questions 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and E3b)

Responses

In the standard products, the most detailed classification is as follows:

Suitable

Not suitable

One-bedroom shortfall

Two-bedroom shortfall

Three-or-more-bedroom shortfall

Remarks

The NOS derives the number of bedrooms a household requires as follows:

• A maximum of two persons per bedroom.
• Household members, of any age, living as part of a married or common‑law couple share a bedroom with their spouse or common‑law partner.
• Parents in a one‑parent family, of any age, have a separate bedroom.
• Household members aged 18 or over have a separate bedroom, except those living as part of a married or common‑law couple.
• Household members under 18 years of age of the same sex share a bedroom, except parents in a one‑parent family and those living as part of a married or common‑law couple.
• Household members under 5 years of age of the opposite sex share a bedroom if doing so would reduce the number of required bedrooms. This situation would arise only in households with an odd number of males under 18, an odd number of females under 18, and at least one female and one male under the age of 5.

An exception to the above is a household consisting of one individual living alone. Such a household would not need a bedroom (i.e., the individual may live in a studio apartment and be considered to be living in suitable accommodations).

See also the persons per room definition.

Note(s)

Related 2021 data products

• Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population (98-316-X2021001)
• Focus on Geography Series, 2021 Census of Population (98-404-X2021001)
• Census Program Data Viewer (CPDV) (98-507-X2021001)
• Core housing need by tenure including presence of mortgage payments and subsidized housing: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (98-10-0247-01)
• Core housing need by tenure including presence of mortgage payments and subsidized housing: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations (98-10-0248-01)
• Housing suitability by tenure, with household type including census family structure: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (98-10-0238-01)
• Housing suitability by tenure: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (98-10-0237-01)
• Housing suitability by visible minority and immigrant status and period of immigration: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0327-01)
• Housing suitability with bedroom shortfall by tenure, with household size: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations (98-10-0235-01)
• Housing suitability with bedroom shortfall by tenure: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations (98-10-0236-01)
• Number of persons per room by Indigenous identity and housing suitability: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0285-01)
• Number of persons per room by Indigenous identity, housing suitability and residence by Indigenous geography: Canada, provinces and territories (98-10-0284-01)
• Shelter-cost-to-income ratio by tenure: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations (98-10-0252-01)