Non-market housing refers to housing that is provided for income groups not served by the private market. This type of housing is typically made affordable through public and/or non-profit ownership of housing units, or through rent supplements that allow low-income households to access housing in the private market. Approximately one in five households fall under the threshold for needing non-market housing. These households cannot afford to rent or buy housing at market prices.

Housing affordability is about the overall market. It is when there is a balanced housing market, where the demand from buyers is equal to the available homes from sellers, and people or households have access to a variety of housing options where they do not have to spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Put another way It means a household can pay for their housing costs within their income level without having to make significant sacrifices in other basic needs.

Non-market and affordable housing serve people in varying circumstances. In a city as diverse as Calgary, it's important to have a wide range of housing options for people at all income levels and stages in life. 

Households in need of, or living in affordable housing include working professionals and families who earn less than estimated $63,700/year (as of the 2021 census), as well as people who require subsidized housing for a variety of reasons, such as age and disability.

In Calgary, nearly one in five Calgary households are struggling with housing costs and 42,000 households are at risk of becoming homeless due to spending more than half of their gross income on housing costs.

In 2025 only 3.5 percent of all housing stock in Calgary is non-market rental.

The City's goal is to increase the supply of non-market and affordable housing to ensure people at all income levels can live and work in our city.

City Council approved Home is Here: The City of Calgary's Housing Strategy (2024-2030), which delivers a variety of actions that will work together to address the complexity of housing and housing affordability.

Housing is ultimately about positive outcomes for people and is foundational to community and economic prosperity. The Housing Strategy positions The City to be more intentional in supporting individual and community wellbeing and improving the housing outcomes of Indigenous people and equity-deserving populations. This will be done by incentivizing the right type of supply to meet their respective needs and by reducing barriers to access housing.

Calgary Housing (CH) operates City-owned affordable housing. CH serves more than 25,000 Calgarians in more than 10,000 households and provides a variety of mixed-income housing options and has operated affordable housing for more than 40 years.

Many property managers in the non-market and affordable housing sector use qualifying criteria to select renters, such as household income. Households on the Calgary Housing waiting list are prioritized according to The Government of Alberta's Social Housing Accommodation Regulations (SHAR), which set out a scoring system according to need.

At its most fundamental level, non-market and affordable housing is about people. Access to safe and stable housing helps create inclusive communities and adds to the overall health, prosperity and safety of our city.

People in non-market and affordable housing have greater chances to find and keep jobs, to learn and build skills, and be active participants in their communities.

Non-market and affordable housing also help boost the local economy by increasing the purchasing power of residents and by attracting investment and employers to Calgary with the promise of a stable workforce.

Keeping vulnerable residents off the streets also helps to reduce demand and pressure on emergency services, hospitals and correction facilities. Providing housing for one homeless person has been shown to save taxpayers $34,000 annually.

Developing, redeveloping, and maintaining non-market housing creates jobs and supports Alberta’s economic resiliency. Every million dollars invested in housing grows the economy by $1.4 million and generates up to 13 indirect and direct jobs.

Further, investments in housing reduces demand for and pressure on emergency services, hospitals, and correctional facilities. Providing housing for one person experiencing homelessness has been shown to save taxpayers $34,000 annually.  The availability of non-market housing for people at lower income levels also supports employers and the attraction of businesses and investment in Calgary.

Non-market and affordable housing locations are chosen based on certain criteria such as proximity to amenities including schools, grocery stores and transit.

Council has approved non-market housing going into every Calgary community. Currently, less than 50 per cent of Calgary communities have non-market housing.

Rents in City-owned affordable housing developments are set according to a mixed income model. This helps maintain the financial sustainability of the building and provides an inclusionary approach to housing where tenants of mixed financial means are blended together.