About HNAs

A Housing Needs Assessment is a structured analysis of a community’s current and projected housing needs. It brings together data on population change, households, income, housing supply, affordability, core housing need, homelessness, and projected growth to identify where pressures exist across the housing system.

HNAs typically examine both existing conditions and future demand, including gaps by tenure, income level, household type, population group, unit size, affordability, and geography. When paired with public and stakeholder engagement, they can also help contextualize how housing challenges are experienced at the local level, including barriers that may not be fully captured in standard datasets.

The result is a practical evidence base that can support planning, policy, funding, and investment decisions.

Housing Needs Assessments are typically prepared by municipalities, regional governments, provincial governments, planning or housing consultants, non-profit organizations, or research partners. The process typically involves bringing together multiple sources of information, including, but not limited to, census, housing market, and local/provincial administrative data, policy documents, and feedback sourced through community or stakeholder engagement.

Smaller and rural communities may rely more heavily on consultants or regional partners when conducting an HNA, particularly where internal staff capacity or data access is limited.

An HNA provides an evidence base for housing-related planning, policy, funding, and investment decisions. Its findings can inform official plans, zoning and land use regulations, housing strategies, infrastructure and capital planning, funding applications, and non-market housing development.

HNAs can help communities identify where housing gaps exist, what types of housing are needed, which populations are most affected, and where future growth may create additional pressure. By establishing a shared evidence base, an HNA helps communities clarify priorities, align policy and investment decisions, and better understand what actions may be needed to respond to housing need.

Housing Needs Assessments have become increasingly important as governments, funders, and communities seek clearer evidence to guide housing policy, planning, and investment. In many cases, they are now required or strongly encouraged through federal and provincial funding programs, legislation, or planning processes.

At the federal level, programs such as the Housing Accelerator Fund have reinforced the importance of demonstrating local housing need, identifying barriers to supply, and showing how proposed actions respond to evidence. Even where a formal HNA is not required by name, communities are increasingly expected to show that housing decisions are grounded in data and linked to clear priorities.

Provincially, some governments have introduced formal HNA requirements through legislation, regulation, or funding conditions. Others have encouraged similar work through housing strategies, planning reforms, or program eligibility requirements. Together, these changes have made HNAs an increasingly common part of local and regional housing planning.

More broadly, HNAs reflect a shift in how communities approach housing. Rather than treating housing primarily as a market issue, governments and partners are increasingly recognizing the need to understand housing conditions, identify gaps, and coordinate responses across policy, infrastructure, funding, and service systems. An HNA helps provide that shared foundation.