The housing needs report presented at the regular council meeting Tuesday evening painted a stark picture of the on-island housing crisis.
“…[It’s] the most acute affordability issue I’ve seen,” said consultant Sophie Payne from Urbanics.
Payne told council that 84 per cent of residents cannot afford to buy a new single-family home, and single-family homes are 90 per cent of the housing stock. No median-earning household can afford a market-rate home said Payne.
People unable to afford to buy homes turn to rental, which puts more pressure on an already stressed rental stock, said the report.
The study found low vacancy rates and high insecurity in the rental market––the report describes dozens of renters vying for a single vacancy.
Urbanics found that people in retail on Bowen are mostly renters. “It’s clear that the local economy hinges on the rental market available for current or potential employees,” said Payne. She pointed out that nearly two-thirds of renters live on-island while nearly two-thirds of owners commute off.
Lone-parent households face barriers in needing more rooms, especially if they have children of different genders, and (median) one-person households cannot afford any rental on Bowen.
Competition between short-term rentals and long-term housing stock came to the fore. Landlords can often make more on short-term rentals so some renters are forced to move out for the summers, which adds to housing insecurity, says the report. Payne said that based on case studies in other communities, short-term rentals drive up the price for long-term rentals. The report noted that decision makers may need to clarify priorities between housing and tourism.
A growing number of seniors and unsuitable housing for aging people was another focal point of the report and pointed to a need for more diverse housing.
Urbanics provided a five-point strategic plan for addressing housing on-island, with the suggestion it be reviewed every five to 10 years (Payne noted that given the shifting situation with COVID-19, this would be particularly prudent.) Among the recommendations are: increasing density in properties with municipal services (water and sewer), particularly in the cove––including encouraging converting garages or basements into rentable suites, adding storeys to buildings and replacing single-family with multi-family homes. Increasing entry-level housing for young families and housing for seniors (the two demographics projected to grow the most in coming years.) And enabling more discussions around new affordable housing developments.
Councillors generally said that the report confirmed what they already knew.
See the entire report here.
