Cheryl Rossi
Van. Courier
The city, residents associations and renters are worried about the amount of rental housing in Vancouver.
City staff want to prevent further reductions in Vancouver’s declining rental housing stock. They suggest developers should be required to supply the equal number of market rental housing units on or off site with new developments, or a smaller number of non-market, or subsidized, housing units.
Aaron Jasper, a director with the West End Residents Association, hopes city council will support this staff recommendation.
Council adopted a “rate of change” policy-the percentage net loss of rental housing units in the 365-day period prior to the date a developer submits a rezoning or development application for a dwelling of six or more units-in 1989 for Kerrisdale, South Granville-Fairview and the West End, with amendments in 1990 and 1996. The current rate of change threshold is five per cent in Kerrisdale and Granville-Fairview and zero per cent in the West End.
“Before, as long as that development fell in whatever the rate of change, say five per cent or whatever, that didn’t even have to come by council,” Jasper said. “With having a zero rate of change it still allows the developer the possibility of doing their development, but it brings it out in the open, they’ve basically got to work out a deal with council.”
No rate of change policy is in place for Mount Pleasant, Grandview-Woodlands or Marpole, areas that contain much of the most affordable housing stock.
Staff wants the city to have more say in the potential loss of rental housing stock.
“The preservation of rental housing stock is critical,” staff’s report to council states. “Fifty-six per cent of Vancouver’s households occupy rental housing, and 31 per cent of those households are in core need in that they pay more than 30 per cent of their gross income towards housing.”
The city has seen an increase in redevelopment activity that parallels the rapid increase in condominium prices, and it has already issued demolition permits for more than 260 rental housing units this year.
Rental vacancy rates in the city fell from 0.7 per cent in 2005 to 0.3 per cent in 2006, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Rob Whitlock, a senior housing officer with the city, explained staff don’t imagine such a policy would be in place for an extended period of time, which is why staff recommends a comprehensive rental study. That study, which looks at the role condo rentals play in the market, is to be completed by the end of 2009.
A 2006 CMHC survey reports that 27.9 per cent of the 55,943 condominium units in the city are rented out. But the average rent for a two-bedroom rented condominium is 22 per cent higher than the average two-bedroom apartment.
Little development of rental apartments has occurred in the city since the 1970s because of the withdrawal, at that time, of federal tax incentives. Growing competition from condominium development, and 50 per cent of the city’s rental housing stock was built before 1966 also affected development.
Staff also recommends contacting the federal and provincial governments and urging them to reinstate tax incentives.
A public hearing on the issue was previously scheduled for May 15 but was deferred to May 17, after the Courier’s press time. Twenty-six speakers, including renters, developers and representatives from tenants associations had signed up to speak at Tuesday’s meeting. Council was to reach a decision about whether to proceed with the recommendations at the hearing or wait until its next regular meeting, May 29. If all of the speakers couldn’t be heard last night, May 24 at 7:30 was reserved for a second hearing in council chambers.