Rental Coalition | Apartments For Rent Vancouver and Apartment Condo Rentals in Vancouver

The renter’s experience in the GTA

rentalcoalition — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:30:57 +0000

Soaring rents, owner-occupation evictions, and line-ups and bidding wars on rental units. This is what you can expect as renter in the GTA.

Rental demand in the city has been surging, due in part to high real estate prices and lifestyle factors. The vacancy rate in the city has steadily dropped from a recent high of 3.5% in 2009 to around 1.4% today. The condo boom in the city has given the illusion of a lot of supply, but these new units are not keeping up with demand for rental units. In addition, many of the newly purchased units will not come online for 3-5 years. The condo market supplies approximately 5000 new rental units each year, but with approximately 10,000 new renter households per year in the GTA, there is a huge gap between supply and demand.

The result of this supply-demand imbalance is bidding wars on rental condos, rent offers hundreds of dollars over asking, line-ups and demanding application screening processes for renters as young professionals, families, and students all compete for the same small supply of rental units.

These challenges highlight the need for new purpose-built rental housing in the GTA. Purpose-built rental provides a number of key benefits over rental-condos, including enhanced housing stability and increased affordability over time. In fact, the effects on affordability would likely be even more immediate given that renters are currently paying a premium for the high-end finishes and amenities of rental-condo units (a 40% premium according to CMHC).

The experience of renters in the GTA is common in cities all across Canada. The Canadian Rental Housing Coalition is building multi-stakeholder support from local government, development and real estate industries, non-profit rental housing groups, tenant rights organizations and rental housing managers to send a strong message to the Federal Government to provide incentives for the creation of purpose-built rental housing. Please read our Charter and add your organization’s endorsement here: The CRHC Charter.

Related articles on the rental experience in the GTA:

Rental condos new bidding-war battleground
Toronto Star

Condo boom backfiring on renters
Toronto Star

It’s a renters’ revolution: Spiffy condos for the tenacious and brave of heart
National Post

Students still can’t find rooms – in October
MacLeans

New market rental units highlight ongoing rental debate

rentalcoalition — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 23:34:14 +0000

The City of North Vancouver recently approved the development of a 77-storey mixed-use condo building in the Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood that will contain 18 market rental units. The units were made possible through a two-floor density bonus granted by the City. This development reignited a long standing debate in the city, and one that is common on councils across the region – Is the provision of market rental housing enough to justify additional density and allow developers to avoid contributing cash or other community amenities? In the end, council decided in favour of the density bonus in exchange for the new market rental housing, citing that the addition of new rental housing contributes to net affordability in the city and is consistent with the City’s official community plan.

The City of North Vancouver should be commended for taking the necessary steps to address the need for rental housing in their community. In the absence of senior government leadership on housing, municipalities are forced to find their own ways to address their community’s housing needs. If senior governments were to develop policy and incentives to encourage the development of purpose-built rental, there would be less pressure on local governments to forgo community amenity contributions in favour of market rental housing. This is precisely what the Canadian Rental Housing Coalition Charter advocates for. The City of North Vancouver is one of 27 municipalities and housing organizations to endorse the CRHC Charter. Read the CRHC Charter and to add your organization’s endorsement: The CRHC Charter.

Related Media:
Condo approval reignites city rental debate
North Shore News

Tax changes to relieve rental housing crunch

rentalcoalition — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 23:01:56 +0000

In 1972, the federal government eliminated capital-gains deferrals for rental apartments & buildings. These tax deferrals gave owners of rental building incentives to continually reinvest in purpose-built rental housing. Without this incentive, owners are encouraged to hold onto real estate longer, slowing the redevelopment process. Since this change in tax policy, investment in new purpose-built rental housing has been stagnant all across Canada. The Victoria Real Estate Board supports tax policy change that would re-instate the capital-gains deferral and has recently provided funding to the UBC Sauder School of Business to study this policy question. These changes are also supported by tenant advocacy groups who point to low vacancy rates and rising rents as two of the consequences of a limited supply of purpose-built rental housing.

The Canadian Rental Housing Coalition supports these proposed tax policy changes towards apartments for rent Vancouver. Goal 2 of the CRHC Charter states: Reinstate federal tax incentives to stimulate private market rental housing. Read the full CRHC charter and add your organization’s endorsement here: Canadian Rental Housing Coalition Charter

Media:

Times Colonist: Tax change prescribed to relieve rental squeeze & Are tax changes needed? Study to take hard look

Other Related Resources:
Reinvestment in Real Property: The Canadian Real Estate Association’s Submission on Why Canada Needs Capital Gains Tax Deferrals – Canadian Real Estate Association, January 2008
Creating a Positive Climate for Rental Housing Development Through Tax and Mortgage Insurance Reforms – Ontario Housing Supply Working Group, November 2002
Options for Changes in Federal Taxes to Encourage New Rental Construction – Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing – March 2002
Fiscal Impact of Federal Tax Legislation on Residential Rental Rates in Canada – Prepared by Crawford Paterson Campbell for CFAA, 1999
Economic Impact of Federal Tax Legislation on the Rental Housing Market in Canada – Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations – November 1998

City of Vancouver: Final Report from the Mayor’s Task Force on Housing Affordability

rentalcoalition — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 23:08:40 +0000

On September 27, the Mayor’s Task Force on Housing Affordability released its final report that outlines its recommendations for affordable housing solutions in the City. Vancouver City Council will vote October 2nd on priority action items developed by City staff based on the recommendations of the Task Force. These priority items have been identified as having the potential to contribute to affordability in the immediate term and are targeted at moderate income households with incomes ranging from $21,500 to $86,500:

Action 1: Implement an Interim Rezoning Policy that increases affordable housing choices across Vancouver’s neighbourhoods
Action 2: Implement the Thin Streets concept identified through the re:THINK HOUSING ideas competition
Action 3: Develop an operational and organizational model for a City Housing Authority, including a business plan.
Action 4: Use current community planning programs to increase the supply of affordable housing
Action 5: Revise and clarify Council’s inclusionary housing policies (i.e. the 20% Policy) to emphasize a flexible and creative approach to the delivery of affordable housing in large developments.
Action 6: Identify additional City-owned lands that may be underused and undertake planning work to bring these sites forward for affordable housing development.
The action items presented in the report focus on actions that the City itself can take to address housing affordability for moderate income households. Missing entirely from both the priority action items and the additional action items presented in the staff report is any mention of the role of senior governments in the development of affordable housing, and rental housing specifically. The Task Force report suggests using the influence of the City and the Task Force membership to lobby for federal and provincial tax incentives to stimulate the development of purpose-built rent housing, but these recommendations are absent from staff’s action items. The City of Vancouver is to be commended for its leadership and its efforts to find solutions to affordability. However, it is important that senior governments are not let off the hook as cities cannot solve housing affordability on their own. Addressing the affordability challenges facing Canadian cities requires the cooperation of all levels of government.

Staff Report and Mayor’s Task Force on Housing Affordability Final Report
The Canadian Rental Housing Coalition Charter
Media coverage of Mayor’s Task Force Final Report:

Globe and Mail
Vancouver Sun

Rental Housing Demand & Core Housing Need Projections

rentalcoalition — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 22:50:10 +0000

The BC Non-Profit Housing Association has released 29 reports on rental housing demand and core housing need in the Province of British Columbia. These reports offer projections of the demand for rental housing and core housing need to 2036 for the Province as a whole as well for each of the 28 regional districts. The reports address an evidence gap that exists with respect to housing projections in the Province and will be a valuable tool going forward as the non-profit housing sector, and local, regional, provincial, and federal governments endeavour to adequately plan for the future.

Each report provides 10 and 25 year projections for two separate scenarios – constant tenure and shifting tenure. The constant tenure scenario assumes that tenure patterns will stay constant at 2006 levels. The shifting tenure scenario assumes that tenure patterns will follow the same trend seen over the past decade, with a shift away from rental towards ownership.

Some highlights:

Rental housing demand projected to increase by up to 36% over the next 25 years, with more than two-thirds of that demand in Greater Vancouver. Nearly 75% of the growth in rental demand will be in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley combined.
Demand for households who struggle to afford market rents is projected to increase by 43% over this same period.
There will be up to 764,000 households requiring rental housing in BC by 2036, which is 200,000 more renter households than in 2011.
In Greater Vancouver, rental housing demand is estimated to range between 428,755 and 466,477 households in 2036, an increase of between 97,669 and 135,391 households from 2011.
Core housing need among senior households will increase by 120% by 2036 (Households in core housing need cannot afford market rents.)

Our Home, Our Future: Projections of Rental Housing Demand and Core Housing Need to 2036 – Reports:

British Columbia
Greater Vancouver
All 29 Reports

A policy framework for public, private, and non-profit partnerships in affordable housing

rentalcoalition — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 22:19:07 +0000

The Canadian Centre for Community Renewal has released a report titled How to Break Our Housing Logjam: PPSEPs in BC’s Fraser Valley Regional District which argues that a new policy framework is required to address housing affordability in the Fraser Valley Regional District and across Canada. In BC’s Fraser Valley, like so many other regions across the country, growth in household income has been outpaced by rising housing prices. Since 1992 there has been an absence of policy and strategy at the national level for affordable housing. The authors contend that the public, private, and social economy sectors each working independently have proven to be ineffective at addressing housing affordability. The current funding approach is fragmentary, focussing on emergency shelters and managing homelessness rather than a comprehensive framework that addresses the range of affordability challenges facing Canadian households. Independently, each of these sectors is not capable of addressing housing affordability. We are asked to imagine a policy framework that taps into the strengths of each sector and provides incentives to initiate collaboration and develop cross-sector partnerships. These partnerships are dubbed public, private, social economy partnerships, or (PPSEPs). Such partnerships are not new, and the report gives three recent examples of successful partnerships from the Fraser Valley Regional District. Through the development of partnerships, or networks of public, private, and non-profits, affordability challenges across the housing continuum can be addressed. However, the authors stress that for such partnerships to become the rule rather than the exception, a national framework is required with incentives and mechanisms to stimulate collaboration between local public, private, and social economy players. It is precisely this kind of collaboration between public, private and non-profit stakeholders that the Canadian Rental Housing Coalition is advocating for in the Canadian Rental Housing Coalition Charter.

Ending the Discriminatory Tax Treatment of New Purpose-Built Rental Housing

rentalcoalition — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 22:04:48 +0000

For the Summer of 2012, the Canadian Home Builders’ Association has released a brief titled Ending the Discriminatory Tax Treatment of New Purpose-Built Rental Housing. CHBA argues that new rental construction is far below the level required to meet Canada’s projected demographic requirements. The surging demand for rental housing combined with low volumes of rental construction will lead to extremely tight rental markets in communities all across the country.

The CHBA recommends several tax reform measures to enhance the appeal of purpose-built rental housing projects, asserting that the federal government must end the discriminatory tax treatment of private purpose-built rental housing.

The Canadian Homebuilders Association of BC is one of the founding members of the Canadian Rental Housing Coalition. Add your voice along with CHBA BC and many other stakeholders from local government, the development and real estate industries, non-profit groups, tenant rights organizations, and rental managers by endorsing our Charter.

Financial model from the UK for debt and equity investment in purpose-built rental

rentalcoalition — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:11:11 +0000

The Resolution Foundation in collaboration with The Royal Bank of Canada has developed a model for debt and equity investment in purpose-built rental housing. Their July 2012 report, Making Institutional Investment in the Private Rented Sector Work, sets out an approach to developing purpose-built rental housing that could attract institutional investors, such as pension funds and life insurance companies. The report lays out the model and identifies the various policy changes that would be required to support such an initiative. Registered Providers (non-profit and for profit housing providers) are identified as having a critical role to play in kick starting this institutional investment.

This approach could be a potential solution to the pending crisis posed by expiring social housing operating agreements across the country over the next 20 years. Given the many similarities between Canada and the UK, such a scheme could be adapted to the Canadian context. In fact, a recent report by the City of Vancouver Mayor’s Task Force on Housing Affordability mentioned working with pension funds and private financial institutions to finance and develop purpose-built rental housing.

Older Rental Stock in Metro Vancouver at Risk of Redevelopment

rentalcoalition — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 22:14:09 +0000

Metro Vancouver Rental Inventory and Risk Analysis is a study that was recently completed by Metro Vancouver showing about 7,000 rental units or about 14% of the pre-1980′s private rental stock outside the City of Vancouver is currently at risk of redevelopment. This number is projected to rise to nearly 25% in the next decade. The study builds on the findings of a 2009 City of Vancouver study showing about 12% of Vancouver’s rental stock at risk without the protection of the ”rate of change bylaw” that prohibits loss of rental stock in designated neighbourhoods. The Metro Vancouver report provides an inventory of the purpose-built rental stock in the region and a case study analysis of the degree to which older rental buildings are at risk now and in ten years in six municipalities .

FCM Report – No Vacancy: Trends in Rental Housing in Canada

rentalcoalition — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 22:16:07 +0000

A healthy housing sector that meets the needs of Canada’s diverse population is critical to both the economic and social wellbeing of Canada’s communities. While renters make up one-third of the population, rental housing is too often overlooked as a component of Canada’s housing system. No Vacancy: Trends in Rental Housing in Canada, a report prepared by FCM using their Quality of Life Reporting System takes a look a current trends in rental housing and homeownership in communities across the country. The report provides insight into various initiatives introduced in communities across Canada designed to stimulate investment in purpose-built rental and affordable housing. The report concludes by offering three options for the federal government to adopt that will stimulate investment in the rental housing market:

The Building Canada Rental Development Direct Lending Program to stimulate investment in new market-priced rental units

The Rental Housing Protection Tax Credit to preserve and stop the serious erosion— through demolition and conversion to condominiums— of existing lower-rent properties.

The Eco-energy Rental Housing Tax Credit to improve the quality of the rental stock; reduce high utility costs for tenants; reduce emissions and environmental impact; and increase resale and future rental value to landlords.