The builder's path
For: Tenants in Yukon have no way to anticipate their rent once the rent cap ends.
“The true creator is necessity, which is the mother of our invention.”
Routes to a solution
Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in Yukon.
Step 1
Join an incubator or startup mission
They connect you to schemes and officials.
Whitehorse makerspace and startup programmes.
Startup loans and mentoring for founders aged 18 to 39.
Civic tech: technologists working with governments on public services.
Where the federal government posts its tenders; search by region and category.
Step 2
Win a seed grant
Prove the idea works with a small, funded prototype.
Advice and funding for technology innovation in Canada.
Funded research internships linking students with organisations.
Startup loans and mentoring for founders aged 18 to 39.
Federal departments post challenges and fund small businesses to solve them, then buy the result.
Step 3
Pilot with a public body
A district, city or department tries it with real people.
Civic tech: technologists working with governments on public services.
Where the federal government posts its tenders; search by region and category.
Federal departments post challenges and fund small businesses to solve them, then buy the result.
The federal business development bank: loans, advice and venture capital.
Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.
Administers the Residential Tenancies Act and would explain the new notice rules.
Says it hears from tenants every day about the change.
Starter prompt
Built from this problem's brief. Paste it into Claude or any AI assistant.
Help me design and build a first working prototype for this problem in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. Problem: Tenants in Yukon have no way to anticipate their rent once the rent cap ends. Who it hurts: Renters across Yukon whose rent has been capped since 2021. The moment it hurts: Receiving the first uncontrolled rent increase or a no-cause eviction notice, and having to decide whether to stay, move or leave the territory. What people do today: Tenants learn about the changes from news coverage and politicians, and have no shared view of what rents are actually doing. Why it is still unsolved: With the cap gone there is no published benchmark for a typical increase, and tenants can't see what others in similar units are being asked to pay. What solved looks like: A free, anonymous rent board for Yukon where tenants report their unit type, area, current rent and any increase or eviction notice, showing typical increases and notice periods by area, with plain guidance on the new six-month notice rule. Where: Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada First, list what you would need to learn from the people affected before building, as interview questions. Then propose the simplest version that would help, the screens or messages it needs, and the data it would use. Keep it cheap to run, accessible, and respectful of people's privacy. Flag anything you are unsure about instead of guessing.
Talk to the people who live it before you build.
“Some things are under our control, while others are not under our control.”
Get a working version in front of people fast.
Using AI is not cheating. Every tool carries the work of the people who made it, and using it well is how knowledge has always moved forward. The thinking, the care for the people who live the problem, and the judgement are still yours.
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
Open data that fits this problem.
“You cannot step twice into the same river.”
Tools matched to what this problem needs.
“Let a person lift themselves up by their own self.”
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं
uddhared ātmanātmānaṃ
Ship it responsibly, and find help and funding.
“Give me a place to stand, and I will move the earth.”
δός μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω
Kit written for this problem from its brief; every link was checked. Links go to each provider's own site. Zetema is not paid for any listing.