Consumers Council of Canada has released an in-depth report – “Unconvinced, Unprepared and Out of Money” –investigating homeowners’ and homebuyers’ challenges to prepare for climate change impacts on their homes.

Council researchers found that despite readily available information, most homeowners are taking no action to adapt their homes to well-known and growing risks – a national homeowner survey conducted by Oracle Poll found this to be the case for 75% of respondents.

However, homeowners want safe, resilient homes. Many told researchers, both through a national survey and focus groups, that they lacked time and knowledge, trusted information sources and the money necessary to act.

A challenge facing Canadians is that as climate change progresses, more will be expected from the design of their homes than was originally anticipated, specified or implemented.

Only a minority of homeowners – about 28% – think it’s likely or extremely likely they individually will experience an extreme weather event that will negatively impact their home.

Similarly, and perhaps accordingly, the research found only about 25% of homeowners report having made changes to their homes aimed at protecting them from extreme weather.

However, even when homeowners consider action, they conclude they lack sufficient disposable income to do so in many cases.

The report includes recommendations for assisting homeowners and homebuyers to better understand their risks and to overcome the knowledge and financial barriers to action. It also highlights efforts public- and private-sector stakeholders could take to respond, and provides insights into why it is important for them to do so.

Consumers Council of Canada received funding from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Contributions Program for Non-profit Consumer and Voluntary Organizations. The views expressed in this report are not necessarily those of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada or the Government of Canada.