Tenants leasing water lots from Port Metro Vancouver could be looking at a compromise as port officials say they are open to discussing possible reductions in lease rates after some tenants complained the increases were unreasonable.
In a recent interview with The Record, Heather Courville, director of real estate for the port, said that Port Metro Vancouver will take the concerns of tenants into consideration when preparing new lease agreements.
"We will discuss with them their concerns, relevant factors that influence the market rent based on the unique features of their site and, if there is good reason and a merit in doing a reassessment of the review we've landed, we will review as necessary," she said.
But this doesn't mean that in all cases the tenants will receive a reduction or new lease agreement.
"We try to maintain market objectivity when we are establishing rent," she said.
Courville explained that in some cases in New Westminster, they've gone back to the tenant to review the increases and discovered they were above average.
"We've taken a look at what the actual water lot calculation came out at and assessed whether or not it was higher than what the median is, and because it was we've decided to adjust down," she said.
Dorothy Leighton - manager of High Water Marina - was one of the tenants the port negotiated with. According to Courville, the port reexamined Leighton's rent and found that it was above average, therefore worthy of a lease review.
In a March 27 article, The Record reported that the average water lot lease was about $40,000 based on a $1 million zonal value, but this isn't the case, Courville said. Instead it comes to about $30,000, or one third of the zonal value, after usage of the space has been factored in, she said. Float homes are worth 100 per cent of the value, while small boats and access routes are worth less, sometimes even as low as 10 per cent of the value.
The port decided Leighton's lease was higher than the median and she was offered a new lease agreement, which she has yet to accept.
Leighton said she didn't feel it was as amicable as described and only after much pestering was she able to sit down with port officials and discuss the implications of her rent increase.
"What's so unfair about it is that they're going to do a deal with me ... but 50, 60, 80, 100 other people have not made a fuss and they've been charged," she said.
Courville said that the port prefers to deal with tenants one on one as lease agreements are private matters.
"Each contract is unique to the particular tenant's circumstances and those are private and confidential conversations," she said.
Courville said that when Port Metro Vancouver took over from Fraser Port Authority in 2008, they found that many of the leases were set to 1995 zonal value assessments, which is why many of these new rent rates were so high.
"We've been working to renew the agreements so that rental increases or reviews are carried out in a timely fashion so that tenants don't see as large of increases," she said.
In the New Westminster and Richmond areas there are about 42 tenants leasing water lots from the port and about 80 per cent of them have signed and are paying the new rent, Courville said.
Leighton believes this is because they aren't making as big a fuss as she has.
