Good references may not be enough anymore. Over the past two years, Powell River renters have faced increasing challenges in finding an affordable place to live.
This rental “crisis,” as some are calling it, is due to many homes being taken out off the rental market, as well as the lack of construction of properties specially for renters.
Backed by independent research by local housing advocates, information in Powell River Community Foundation’s recently released Vital Signs report and the experience of one of Powell River’s largest rental-property managers, the rental shortage is affecting the livelihood of many local residents.
A paradigm shift is necessary if Powell River is to address the problem of rental-home shortages and homelessness, says one housing advocate.
Kathleen O’Neil, Powell River Educational Services Society (PRESS) contract supervisor, runs Housing Hope, a two-year program using the federal government’s Housing First fund.
Housing Hope, which aims to help those at risk for homelessness, began October 1 and grew out of Youth Across the Threshold, a program focused on teens and young adults.
“We really have tried to move the focus from homelessness to housing, to get it off the problem and on to the solution,” said O’Neil.
According to the community Vital Signs report, released publicly on October 7, the rental vacancy rate in the City of Powell River has been in steady decline for the last few years.
It was at 6.1 per cent in 2011, 5.5 per cent in 2012, 5.4 per cent in 2013 and down to 2 per cent in 2014. O’Neil estimates that it could currently be as low as 0.5 per cent.
The report also estimates that as much as a third of rental properties are in need of major repairs, which could include mechanical or structural problems.
Apartments, which traditionally rent for a lower price, are becoming increasingly scarce in Powell River and no new apartment buildings have been constructed since 2005, according to the report.
Chris Carlos, property manager for RE/MAX Powell River, said a similar thing is now happening with basement suites and houses. Many homeowners who may have rented their properties or suites are either selling or moving to Powell River to retire, he said.
“Landlords who purchased property 10-plus years ago are selling them, and instead of getting sold to another investor, a first-time homebuyer is purchasing them, so your typical single-family home is now off the rental radar,” said Carlos.
Carlos manages properties in a wide spectrum of rentals and has seen prices tick up over the past few years, particularly since 2008.
Carlos said he sometimes receives more than a dozen applications from renters when new rentals in the highly sought after $800-$1,000 range become available, and the majority of those are not coming from people who are moving to Powell River.
“It’s mostly Powell River renters who are trying to find a better, more suitable place to live,” he said.
Despite projections for a roughly two per cent decrease in population in the region over the next two decades, the demand for rental homes will increase, according to BC Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA).
That increase will be pushed by the demographics of the baby boomers, people born between the late 1940s and early 1960s, who no longer are able to stay in their homes for reasons of health or lifestyle and could be looking for a place to rent.
BCNPHA projects that there will be a need of between 96 to 310 new rental properties in the region within two years.
Assuming they can be found, monthly rents for housing in Powell River are still about $350 less than than the BC average at just above $1,000 per month, according to the Vital Signs report.
O’Neil said that despite rent being cheaper than the provincial average, overspending on housing is still a severe issue.
She estimates that about a quarter of Powell River renters are spending more than half their gross income on rent, and almost half are spending more than 30 per cent, a burden that, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), puts them at increased the risk for homelessness.
O’Neil added while she recognizes that there is not enough housing, part of the housing solution has to do with ensuring people have sufficient household incomes.
“It’s always a better situation for people when they are able to have earned income,” she said. “There’s also this problem that you can limit economic development if you don’t have the housing.”
Demand for rentals may become even more competitive after the City of Powell River launched a resident recruitment program called Live and Invest Powell River last year.
In 2014, 36.5 per cent of homebuyers were from outside Powell River and, of those, more than 40 per cent were from the Lower Mainland, 24 per cent from Alberta and 8 per cent from Vancouver Island.
Councillor Maggie Hathaway said that one of Powell River’s best selling points is its proximity to Vancouver and the cost of houses here, though she added that majority of those moving to Powell River are coming as home buyers, not renters.
Increasingly the problem of housing is falling on the shoulders of local governments to solve, she added.
Hathaway said the city has identified the problem of rental shortages and has made it a strategic priority.
She said she plans to bring forward the motion to create a select committee on housing in the city, comprised of one councillor and several community members to address the problem.
“What we want to do is look at how we can help for those who are severely under the poverty line and on assistance,” said Hathaway.
Vital Signs report did publish a number of suggestions for housing in the area. They include local governments working with developers to increase the amount of housing suitable for people who receive income assistance; more innovative choices for seniors housing; tax incentives for homeowners to renovate and create secondary suites to increase the available housing stock; and a mandate for social and low-cost housing into developer building codes.
