This thesis explores the relationship between restrictive screening techniques imposed by landlords and the ability of refugee claimants to access housing in a medium-sized Canadian city. While existing research has explored refugees’ experiences with resettlement, few have focused specifically on refugee claimants who arrive in their destination country with specific health needs, limited resources, and access to different services compared to other entry categories. Using qualitative research techniques, this study sought to better understand the experiences of refugee claimants as they search for housing in a medium-sized Canadian city. Through interviews with service providers, volunteers, and refugee claimants themselves, three main themes were identified. First, we explore the relationship between a competitive housing market and the ability of landlords to be selective about who they rent to. Our findings suggest that the power imbalance between landlords, tenants and applicants is only amplified in a competitive market and allows landlords to choose applicants based on their own personal biases. Second, participants identified strict rental applications as the primary mechanism used by landlords to filter applications and identify tenants that they deemed to be “desirable”, while excluding other groups. In many cases, refugee claimants were found to be uniquely (and negatively) impacted by this practice because they often do not have the personal or financial resources available to successfully fill out these applications. Finally, participants identified two structural barriers which hindered a refugee claimants’ ability to access housing and, when combined with strict rental applications, often resulted in their exclusion from housing. This thesis is relevant to the current Canadian context, given the government’s continued commitment to resettling refugees and the increasingly competitive housing markets across Canada. Overall, this thesis adds to the existing literature regarding the resettlement experiences of refugee claimants and their ability to access housing in a medium-sized Canadian city. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Housing is a key social determinant of health. Further to this, my research will show that it is through housing that all other health determinants are fully actualized. For refugee claimant (RC) families, housing is the most immediate and pressing need upon their arrival in Canada. The objective of this exploratory qualitative study is to examine the housing experiences of refugee claimant (RC) families in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and its impact on the health, well-being, settlement and integration of this population from the perspectives of services providers. Given the increasing inflows of asylum seekers in Canada over the past few years, there is an urgent need to examine their housing experiences and subsequent impacts on health and well-being. Using purposive sampling, seven service providers from five different refugee centres and family shelters in the GTHA were recruited. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted, recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed thematically. Findings demonstrate that accessing both emergency and permanent housing upon arrival is particularly difficult for RCs, given that the demand for housing continues to surpass availability in the emergency shelter system and private housing market in the GTHA. In their search for permanent housing, many RCs rely on the private housing market, where discrimination and affordability are common barriers. With an uneven and difficult trajectory towards housing access, many RCs face health issues associated with stress, poverty, and homelessness, which disrupt their settlement and integration in Canada. This research concludes by offering recommendations for policy and program level changes to improve refugee housing access in the GTHA. These recommendations include increasing service provision capacity in shelters, expanding transitional housing options for RCs, increasing investments in subsidized housing, limiting government involvement in REITS and increasing incentives to build more subsidized housing. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)