Erin Hitchcock
Sun
BURNABY – Burnaby’s low vacancy rate may be forcing people on to the streets, says a tenants’ rights organization.
“Burnaby is getting a lot of criticism,” said Martha Lewis, executive director of TRAC Tenancy Resource and Advisory Centre. “Burnaby just isn’t pulling its weight.”
Lewis said low vacancy rates across the region are making it difficult for people to find affordable places to live, with many tenants being forced out of their current homes due to rent increases.
“It’s having a huge effect because people are being squeezed out,” she said. “Those with more money can always find somewhere to live. Things are getting worse.”
According to a December CMHC rental market report, Burnaby’s vacancy last year reached a low of 0.8 per cent.
“A healthy vacancy rate is three per cent. Anything below three per cent is bad,” Lewis said.
The rate across the Greater Vancouver area is low, averaging 0.7 per cent in October 2006, the lowest rate since 1989, according to the report.
The lowest rate is in Kitsilano/Point Grey at zero per cent. The highest is in Surrey at 2.9 per cent. The vacancy rates, Lewis noted, don’t include condos or secondary suites.
She said the city not only needs to legalize secondary suites, but also needs to repair its housing stock that “is just falling to bits.”
TRAC released its report in January, giving Burnaby a C-minus grade.
Burnaby councillor Garth Evans said the low vacancy rate is a serious problem and that legalizing secondary suites may be an option but there are liability concerns.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007