Suzanne Anton
Sun
Many people, not enough homes, and one of the best pieces of real estate in the world — that combination in the West End of Vancouver has led to significant price pressures on renters.
What can the city do? What can citizens do?
– Zoning: Prevent outright demolition and loss of rental housing by requiring a one-for-one replacement of rental units in the apartment districts. This policy has been implemented by council. We are reviewing the zoning bylaws to see how we can strengthen and improve the stock of rental housing.
– Conversion of rentals to condos: Not a big issue in Vancouver. Council must approve all applications to change existing buildings from rental to condos. They are not particularly well-received and are very costly to property owners so there are very few of them.
– Speculator tax: A tax on vacant properties may have some initial appeal, but would require an army of bureaucrats peeking through keyholes to see who’s in and who isn’t. It is the kind of big government intervention that I don’t favour. The city could not implement a tax of this nature as property tax is a provincial responsibility.
– Federal tax treatment of rental property: Federal tax laws discourage rental housing so essentially none has been built for 30 years by the marketplace. Here’s a “to do” for everyone — talk to your federal representatives and let them know that some very straightforward changes to federal tax laws will open the market up again for new rental construction.
– Condo rentals: Allow all condo owners to rent. Many condos are empty because strata councils prohibit rentals when owners aren’t using their units. City council has asked the province to make this kind of prohibition illegal. This would free up many empty units for rental and requires virtually no government intervention.
– Right of first refusal: Renters need to be given the option of returning to their suites after renovations. We have asked the province to address this issue.
– EcoDensity: This city-wide initiative is attempting to answer the issue above — many people, not enough housing.
Mayor Sam Sullivan on behalf of Vancouver council has written to the provincial government to ask for its consideration of these many issues.
Suzanne Anton is a Vancouver city councillor.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008