It may not be on the red list as far as endangered species go - but the City of New Westminster is treating rental accommodations as something in need of protection.
City staff are recommending a series of actions aimed at protecting and renewing existing housing stock and enhancing the supply through the construction of new units.
With a median housing income of $34,000 for renter households, a City of New Westminster staff report says home ownership is "out of reach" for many residents.
Coun. Jonathan Cote said market rental housing plays an important role in the affordable housing spectrum. Because the city's stock of rental properties continues to age, he said the city needs to look to the future and try to address some of those challenges.
The City of New Westminster's affordable housing strategy, completed in 2010, identified rental housing as an issue.
Cote, who wrote a report on the changing economics of rental housing as part of his urban studies graduate program at Simon Fraser University, believes the city needs to monitor the initiatives to ensure the city is getting its desired results on the rental housing front.
Coun. Jaimie McEvoy supports moving forward with the rental housing policy so the city can get input from community members, developers and property owners.
"I was impressed by the work that came forward," he said about the staff report. "I think it's a really good start."
Coun. Betty McIntosh said the city needs to acknowledge that old buildings are going to age out, and could require significant upgrades to plumbing and electrical systems. Coun. Bill Harper expressed concern that regulations sometimes prevent owners of strata units from renting out their apartments, as that would also help contribute to the supply of rental stock.
In May 2012, Coriolis Consulting Corp. prepared a report for Metro Vancouver that included an inventory and risk analysis of rental housing in the region. The report stated there are about 115,000 rental housing units in the region on about 6,300 properties, with Vancouver having about 58 per cent of the region's entire rental housing stock.
The report pointed out that rental housing could be at risk because of redevelopment pressures, and outlined actions that could be taken to preserve rental housing.
"We need an affordable housing strategy," said Mayor Wayne Wright, chair of Metro Vancouver's housing committee.
"We are the only developed country that hasn't done this. We are trying to do that through Metro Vancouver."
Wright believes the city's efforts will help keep New Westminster "ahead of the problems" that could come with an aging stock of purpose-built rental housing.
"This stock is aging. The median age for the wood-frame is 50 years," said Bev Grieve, the city's manager of planning. "It is getting on in age and will require some investment to maintain its quality."
Noting that 51 rental units in New Westminster were demolished in 2012, staff stated there is evidence of pressure to redevelop existing rental buildings.
"At the same time, there has been virtually no construction of secured market rental housing in the last 10 years," stated the staff report. "It is clear that, without some targeted interventions in the rental housing market, it is likely that the city will experience an increasing shortage of secured rental housing and ongoing affordability pressures."
Grieve said staff has looked at some of the best practices available and drafted a "uniquely made-in-New Westminster" approach for dealing with secured market rental housing. She said New Westminster is estimated to have 9,400 units of rental housing, with most of those units being built between 1950 and 1970.
One of the city's objectives is to "reduce the gap" between the costs of building rental housing and strata units, as the economics of building rental housing has hindered developers' interest in building rental accommodations.
"There is a lot of people who rent," Grieve said. "We don't see much of a reduction in that."
According to the staff report, 61 per cent of the rental housing in New Westminster is wood-frame construction that will require investment over the next decade and could be at risk of demolition and redevelopment.
The City of New Westminster is contemplating a number of actions to maintain, renew and enhance its supply of rental housing stock, including: continuing the moratorium on converting rental buildings to strata title; opposing rezoning of properties containing rental housing for higher density development; requiring developers to present a plan addressing tenant relocation and replacement housing options when demolition of rental housing occurs; exploring the use of the density transfer to preserve the existing rental housing stock; eliminating the parking requirement for up to two secured spaces for rental units; considering relaxing the engineering servicing requirements when adding new units; reducing building permit fees; and processing rezoning and building permit applications at the same time to expedite the process.
"A secure and robust stock of rental housing contributes to the social diversity and economic health of the city, and to the development of community sustainability," stated the report. "Rental housing provides an option for those who cannot afford ownership housing as well as for those who need flexible shorter-term housing options."
