According to the 2024 Interim Housing Needs Report, in the next two years Cortes Island will need another 95 new housing units and Area C will need another 270.
The studies underlying assumption is that the Discovery Island’s population will continue to grow by 8% over the next few years.
One of the key findings is that “there is a need for housing that is affordable and accessible for those on a fixed income, particularly within the rental market. An aging population presents a greater need for at-home care options and smaller housing units that allow for downsizing. Seniors are also more likely to be living with a disability or activity limitation than other age groups and may have to pay for all household expenses on a fixed income.”
Another sector identified in the report was renters who are expected to face continued challenges because their housing costs are rising faster than increases in income. Around 45% of the renters who responded to the 2022 Housing Survey indicated they were paying unaffordable rents.
This is particularly alarming when you consider that a quarter of the respondents to Campbell River’s most recent Point in Time Count stated they had been homeless for less than 6 months and the #1 cause they cited was not enough income to pay rent.
There are currently 145 rental units on Cortes Island and 250 in Area C.
Three of the comments cited in the 2022 report:
“This is a crisis that needs to be dealt with. The number of folks online that are desperate for housing is shocking. Any renter is at the mercy of their landlord to become homeless.”
“As a small business owner and someone who grew up on Quadra Island, I see the struggle younger generations are going through to find housing. Rentals are increasingly hard to come by and finding property to buy for a young family trying to make a living on the island is not possible. There are younger generations that have grown up on the island and want to stay but just can’t make it without some kind of affordable housing. As a business owner, I am experiencing a lack of labour options because of this.”
“There is a huge lack of affordable housing on Cortes. People are in a constant search of a place to live; some are elderly, many are young. People live in cars, vans, tents, derelict boats. People request a place to bring a trailer or a trailerable home.”
By 2041 Cortes Island is expected to need another 270 units and Area C another 633 units.
Links of Interest:
- SRD Housing Needs Report Electoral Area B (2022)
- SRD Housing Needs Report Electoral Area C (2022)
- Executive Summary of 2022 Report & 2024 Interim Housing Needs Report
- Articles about housing on Cortes Island.
- Articles about housing on Quadra Island
Top image credit: Young family living in a trailer (CC picture not taken in our area) – Photo by Johann Walter Bantz on Unsplash
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Good article- thanks for covering important housing issues in our community. I think some of the homes that are needed could probably be addressed by utilizing existing homes that are underutilized or left empty year-round, which is about 1/3 of homes on Cortes.