WEST VANCOUVER APPROVES NEW DEMOVICTION PROTECTIONS FOR RENTERS
West Vancouver renters can rest a little easier knowing that developers will have to make significant accommodations for them should their existing homes be demolished and redeveloped. At a meeting Monday evening, council unanimously approved a newly created rental replacement and tenant assistance policy. The final version of the policy includes a more tailored approach to tenant relocation plans than previous iterations, considering factors such as the size of renters’ units, their length of...
read moreCANADIAN RENTAL HOUSING CRISIS: A CALL FOR LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT
Canada faces a significant challenge in its rental housing crisis due to a lack of new affordable units being built. Despite efforts through the National Housing Strategy’s five programs, only 17,000 units were delivered over four years, barely improving Ottawa’s track record from the past 30 years. For instance, between 1996 and 2013, provincial and federal governments provided less than 7,000 new units. On the other hand, between 1987 and 2021, the United States constructed 3.5 million...
read moreNOVA SCOTIA TO OVERHAUL PUBLIC HOUSING RENTS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nova Scotia is overhauling its public housing rent system, transitioning fixed-rate rents to an income-based model for over 1,400 tenants. The changes will mainly affect tenants with higher incomes, who will see their rents rise gradually over the next few years. Housing minister John Lohr said the new model aims to create a “fairer and more consistent” system. Under the new system, tenants with higher incomes will see their rent increase by 5% annually for the first three years....
read moreCHANGES COMING FOR TENANTS PAYING FIXED RENT IN NOVA SCOTIA’S PUBLIC HOUSING UNITS
Nova Scotia is changing the rules for those who pay a fixed amount of rent for public housing, a move the government says is aimed at achieving fairness and consistency. Housing Minister John Lohr made the announcement Thursday, saying that over the next four years, 1,445 public housing tenants — about 13 per cent of the total — will start paying rent based on their household income, which means they could be paying more or less than they are now. Lohr said the other 87 per cent of tenants...
read moreCANADIAN REAL ESTATE MARKETS WON’T SEE A BIG BOOST FROM RATE CUT
Canadian real estate markets hit pause, with the theory being rate cuts would revive the market. That theory is playing out for sellers, but one of Canada’s banks doesn’t see it driving many new buyers. A new analysis from BMO argues the Bank of Canada (BoC) rate cut may boost sentiment, but won’t provide much affordability relief. In the near-term, they see the market being contained by surging inventory and a lack of affordability. Canadian Real Estate May Get A Sentiment Boost From Cuts,...
read moreSEVEN YEARS OF NDP AND HOUSING KEEPS GETTING WORSE
After seven years under the NDP, British Columbians face an escalating housing crisis. Despite a series of big and shiny promises made since 2017, the policies implemented by David Eby’s NDP government has exacerbated the problem at a time when the government should be doing everything possible to help alleviate it. As the housing minister and now Premier, David Eby’s approach has been filled with empty announcements and a lack of results. British Columbia now has the highest rental costs in...
read moreTRUDEAU WANTS TO MAINTAIN HOME PRICES WHILE PUSHING AFFORDABILITY. IS IT POSSIBLE?
The federal government is aiming to make housing affordable for younger Canadians while retaining property value for existing homeowners, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an interview with the Globe and Mail. “Housing needs to retain its value,” Trudeau told The Globe and Mail’s City Space podcast last week. “It’s a huge part of people’s potential for retirement and future nest egg.” However, some experts argue that may not be easy to do. “His comments are extremely problematic,” John...
read moreCITIES ACROSS CANADA OFFER PROPERTY TAX BREAKS TO NON-PROFIT HOUSING. NOT MONTREAL
If the Yellow Door Housing Corp. were renting its rooms and apartments to low-income people in Toronto instead of Montreal, it would likely be exempted from property taxes. Same thing if it were in Edmonton, Calgary, Halifax and some communities on Vancouver Island. Instead, the non-profit corporation that houses vulnerable people in Plateau-Mont-Royal borough is spending what little money it has on lawyers’ fees to fight the City of Montreal in court to lower — not eliminate — its nearly...
read morePROVINCE GRANTS VANCOUVER’S REQUEST TO CAP RENT HIKES IN SROS
The B.C. government will grant the City of Vancouver’s request to implement so-called “vacancy control” on single-room occupancy buildings.The province’s move, which Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon called an “urgent action to reduce the displacement of vulnerable tenants” in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, was welcomed by both housing activists and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim. The City of Vancouver contacted the province earlier this year to make an urgent request, Kahlon said, raising “serious...
read morePOPULATION BOOM HITS LIVING STANDARDS IN CANADA’S OIL PROVINCE
Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta saw its economy shrink to 2004 levels on a per-person basis as the region’s population swelled, according to economist Charles St-Arnaud. Alberta’s gross domestic product per capita fell 2.2 per cent in 2023, the second-fastest decline out of any Canadian province, St-Arnaud, chief economist at the Alberta Central association of credit unions, said in a note to investors. The drop was driven by population growth of 4.1 per cent, well outpacing the 1.5 per...
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