Tag Archives: Lower Mainland Housing

Housing

Burnaby: Higher fines may be coming for short-term rentals

Editor’s note: An increasing number of communities are enacting regulations around short term rentals. Cortes Island has a 3% tax on short term rentals. Some residents need the revenue that STRs provide in order to survive, but 63% of the respondents to the Cortes Island Housing Survey said people should only operate short term rentals on land that includes their primary residence (I.E. – no off island owners). 21% voted against this.

Lubna El Elaimy, Burnaby Beacon, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

During the special committee of council’s meeting on Dec. 6, committee members voted to send a letter to the attorney general and minister of municipal affairs to increase the maximum daily penalties under the Local Government Bylaw Notice Enforcement Act (LGBNEA) for owners of short-term rental (STR) accommodations. 

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Housing

Homelessness Action Week at Burnaby City Council

Editor’s note: This article combines the story of one city’s fight against homelessness with an overview of the province’s actions.

By Lubna El Elaimy, Burnaby Beacon, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Last week, the Society to End Homelessness delegation spoke at the city council meeting. Executive director Carol-Ann Flanagan gave a presentation on the current status of homelessness and the unsheltered in Burnaby. The presentation comes after BC Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon released an official statement on Oct. 10 marking Homelessness Action Week, in which he recognized volunteers and organizations working to end homelessness.

“Through our work, in collaboration with local governments, nonprofits, and Indigenous partners, 4,800 people have moved into supportive homes since we formed government. In 2022, we invested $633 million to take action against homelessness, and this year, we’re investing up to $1.5 billion through Budget 2023 in new initiatives aimed at helping prevent and reduce homelessness in the province,” Kahlon said in the statement. 

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Housing

Number of Tri-Cities properties cashing in on short-term rentals spikes 45% in year

Editor’s note: To what extent are we looking at a province wide trend? Is this spike happening in our area, or is it a more urban phenomenon?

By Patrick Penner, Tri-Cities Dispatch, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The number of landowners in the Tri-Cities using their properties for short-term rentals spiked 45 percent in one year. 

In August, sites like Airbnb and Vrbo posted 807 active listings for Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, according to data provided by AirDNA, a market research provider.

That’s up from 446 total listings in August 2022. Despite the number of active listings being halved during the COVID-19 pandemic, overall rental growth still jumped 35 percent since 2018.

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Housing

Affordable units cut from 6-storey Port Moody development that would relocate heritage building

Editor’s note: A disturbing story highlighting a problem that needs to be watched.

By Patrick Penner, Tri-Cities Dispatch, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Affordable housing has been cut from a development proposal seeking to build a pair of six-storey mixed-use buildings in Port Moody’s historic downtown area.

Fourteen units out of 184 total were initially proposed as below-market rentals for the 10-lot development on the 2400-block of Clarke Street.

During early input in January, Port Moody city staff recommended five more affordable units be included, as the application had less than half the 15 percent requirement for density bonusing.

But the developer, Placemaker Communities, now says inflationary impacts on construction costs and rising interest rates related to project financing have made any below-market units financially unfeasible.

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Housing

Unions Criticize Vancouver’s Continuing Tent Sweeps

By  Zak Vescera, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Vancouver’s continuing efforts to remove tents from the Downtown Eastside has drawn criticism from some unions and many of the  municipality’s own workers.   

Unions representing  hospital staff, shelter workers and even employees who began clearing  the tents on East Hastings Street on April 5 have condemned the approach  of city and police, saying it left displaced residents in an even more  desperate situation. 

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