West Vancouver council had something of a reckoning this month, approving its first rental development in roughly 40 years. The 41-unit Hollyburn project was fought bitterly by the neighbours, many of whom were skeptical that there was even a need for more rental housing.
Well, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. stats show vacancy rates on the North Shore range from 0.1 per cent to 0.3 per cent, all dangerously low, putting renters looking for a home in a desperate state.
Few people realize that almost all of our existing “affordable” rental housing stock was built only because of federal tax subsidies offered to developers. When tax credits were cancelled in the 1980s, it was the end of new purpose-built rental housing. With natural population growth and new generations coming of age with no new units to accommodate them, it’s no wonder we’re now in a vacancy crisis.
And these 41 units are a tiny drop in the bucket. A study by the B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association estimated Metro Vancouver is going to need 116,000 new units of purpose-built rental housing by 2036 to accommodate the expected growing population.
The province and the feds are slowly getting back in the business of supporting purpose-built rental housing, which we welcome, but we have a lot of lost ground to cover.
All of our councils need to show some initiative when it comes to increasing rental supply. But many of our existing affordable units are now under threat of redevelopment into much more expensive housing. We’d argue every time one of these old walk-ups gets knocked down, the developer should be required to pay back the initial subsidy – adjusted for the cost of housing, of course.
What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.
