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- Houston — I mean B.C. — we have an eviction problem
Houston — I mean B.C. — we have an eviction problem
B.C. is the eviction capital of Canada
Geoff Sharpe
May 15, 2023
Good morning,
How’d everyone do with the weather this weekend? The fact it’s only May and the city is already experiencing a heat wave is, to put it lightly, concerning. What sort of things did you do to keep cool?
Bad news — or good news depending on if you have AC and love this weather — is that the heat isn’t letting up anytime soon. Expect a high of 31 today, with it not letting up until Sunday.
Today we’ve got:
Why B.C. is the eviction capital of Canada 🏠
A breakdown of our province’s non-profit housing model 💰
And a look at the impacts of the heat 🌞
Let’s get to it!
— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout newsletter writer
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WEATHER
Monday: 31 🌡️ 17 | ☀️
Tuesday: 26 🌡️ 15 | ☀️
Wednesday: 27 🌡️ 16 | ☀️
VANCOUVER BY THE NUMBERS
$2.2 million: The amount the province is giving Chinatown to support renewal efforts. This includes a new neon sign. [CBC]
2: The number of fires this weekend. One was in a dumpster at West Georgia and Cambie, and the other at Main and 30 Ave. One restaurant was heavily damaged. [CityNews]
37%: The reduction in employees returning to downtown Vancouver since the pandemic began. [CTV]
8%: The month-over-month increase in home sales. Experts could not identify why there was increased demand, though pent-up demand may be the reason. [Business in Vancouver]
HOUSING
Houston — I mean B.C. — we have an eviction problem
There’s a common belief that evictions are due to bad tenants. Not so in B.C. says a new study which illustrates how the financialization of housing has made the province the worst place for tenants being evicted.
Breaking it down: The study looked at the reasons why people were evicted across the country. In B.C., 85 percent of evictions were “no fault” which means they weren’t due to actions by the tenant, while the rest of the country was 65 percent, according to the Vancouver Sun.
The reasons for these evictions include landlords using the property, selling, demolishing or renovicting.
The study blames the financialization of the housing supply. Landlords evict people to make more money, either through selling or raising rental rates. The study authors noted they could not determine through the data if homeowners had broken any laws when evicting tenants.
Rates of evictions are also much less common in co-op and non-market housing.
Zoom out: Vancouver’s rents are on average $500 higher than the rest of Canada, and property values are on average $300,000 more. Rental increases are also set by the province, which means places that have been rented for a long time have lower rates than the market average, though landlords can ask the Residential Tenancy Branch can ask for higher rates.
Here in Vancouver in March, city council voted against a plan to slow the pace of renter displacement due to the Broadway Plan, according to the Tyee. Councillors who voted against the plan said renters have numerous protections to prevent them from being displaced. The city also ended the Renter Office which helped tenants with relocation policies when renters were forced to move because of redevelopment.
First United Church Community Ministry Society has created a map of evictions across B.C. The biggest reason for an eviction was landlord use, according to Urbanized. Those evicted end up paying between $500 to $1,000 more in rent. You can see the map here.
Around the world: Most major Western countries are facing rising property costs and rental rates. Spain and Portugal are tackling the problem through a massive expansion of public homes, according to the Financial Times.
Recent policy changes by the government appear to be having an impact, with fewer renovictions, but also an increase in “landlord use” renovictions.
Thought-bubble: When we think of Vancouver’s housing crisis, the emphasis is on affordable homes. But as this report shows, unaffordable housing has spillover effects that are less visible. Studies like this are critical to understanding the scope of Vancouver and B.C.’s housing challenges.
HOMELESSNESS
B.C. Housing and the role of nonprofits
The fallout from the BC Housing controversy over conflicts of interest continues. But what has been less discussed is how B.C.’s model of funding nonprofits works.
How it works: With over $2 billion dollars, BC Housing’s mandate is to “plan, acquire, build, operate or lease” public housing throughout the province, and initially had no plans to involve the non-profit sector, according to CBC. The organization works with 800 housing providers, providing over 20,000 housing units for homelessness, 42,000 for social housing and much more, according to their website.
BC Housing has increasingly operated fewer buildings themselves, outsourcing their operations to the nonprofit sector rather than managing units themselves.
The main players in the system are Atira, PHS Community Services Society, RainCity, Lookout and CoolAid.
The problems: Each group competes against the others for funding from BC Housing and other providers. Funding model is also quite complicated. Stakeholder Doug King, executive director of Victoria’s Together Against Povery Society told CBC:
"We've seen more and more of this downloading of responsibility to the non-profit sector. BC Housing themselves is operating less and less buildings and we're moving away from those individual subsidies. It's become less, I guess nimble, it's become less focused and more and more, we're pushing low-income people into these kind of larger style apartment buildings, which doesn't work best for everybody."
The numbers: Four of the biggest groups took in $204 million in government aid in 2022, according to Western Investor. From 2017 to 2022, they received $942 million and managed over 6,500 units.
B.C.’s Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon says the model for non-profit housing organizations is working, with no other instances of problems at other non-profit housing providers, according to CBC.
Zoom out: The non-profit sector is continuing to play a critical role in delivering housing. The B.C. government announced $500 million for a Rental Protection Fund, for non-profit providers to buy old rental buildings, instead of larger companies buying them. The goal is to maintain lower rental rates, according to CBC.
Atira update: The organization said on Friday afternoon that they are giving back $2 million in surplus funds and have “formed a task force to oversee a review of its policies and practices,” according to CTV. The plan is to appoint an independent review team. The BC government paused all funding for the organization until its books and buildings were looked at by the province.
DREAM JOB
Discover your new dream job in Vancouver:
Senior communications advisor, projects at Vancouver Fraser Port Authority
North American practice lead, paid search at Accenture
Director, brand strategy at Stantec
THE AGENDA
🚗 Bad news for drivers — traffic levels across Metro Vancouver are back to pre-pandemic levels of 2020. There’s been a 30 percent rise in traffic on the Port Mann Bridge, 24 percent on the Alex Fraser Bridge and 18 percent on the Massey Tunnel… [CTV]
🚈 But good news for our transit system — ridership is back up to 84 percent of 2019 levels, that’s up two percent since December. Bus service has recovered the most, while transit service in areas that are primarily office space hasn’t recovered as quickly. [Urbanized]
🏙 The downtown office vacancy rate continues to climb, and has surpassed 10 percent. This is the first time it’s gotten that high but is still lower than other major cities. The main reason for the rise? People are increasingly working from home. [Vancouver Sun]
📈 A new study highlights the most expensive streets in Vancouver. And to no one’s surprise, Point Grey and Shaughnessy areas dominate the rankings. The top three streets are Port Grey Road, Belmont Avenue and North West Marine Drive. [Urbanized]
💉 City council has made some comments that could indicate that the Yaletown overdose prevention site at 1101 Seymour St. could be moved, due to a large number of complaints about the facility. The lease on the space is set to expire in spring 2024. [Urbanized]
🏘 Point Grey Village has seen a decline in population and empty storefronts as property prices make it unaffordable. Coun. Meiszner noted a new development at the former Safeway site could improve the area, along with 246 market rental units and 41 strata units. [CTV]
🏢 Council voted in favour of two towers at 1040-1080 Barclay St., which would bring 1,100 more homes to the West End. The towers will both be taller than 55 storeys. [CTV]
☕️ Meet Frédérique Martineau. She led the successful unionization of Vancouver’s only unionized Starbucks. [The Tyee]
🔉 Screeeeeeech. That’s my closest impression of the SkyTrain tracks, which are set to be replaced, at a cost of $35 million. The old tracks will be replaced and will not only be less loud but will ensure the continued safety of the system. [Global]
EVENTS THIS WEEK
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial | Rio Theatre | Friday, 1:30 pm | Do we really need to describe this classic? Come see it in theatre! | Tickets $11.42
Family Storytime | Strathcona Library Branch | Wednesday, 10 am-10:30 am | A program for parents and caregivers with young children, with rhymes and story time | Free
Elvis and the Rise of Rock & Roll Presented by Michael van den Bos | VIFF | Tuesday 6:30 pm | Film scholar explores the history of Elvis through film and TV. If you like Elvis, it’s worth attending | Tickets $18.
Studio Ghibli Part 2 - The Cat Returns | VIFF | Today, 8:30 pm | VIFF is playing the famous Hayao Miyazaki movies and this week it’s The Cat Returns, a story about a school girl who saves a cat | Tickets $15
The Importance of Being Earnest | Kay Meek Arts Centre | Friday, 1 pm | St. Thomas Aquinas high school drama group presents the timeliness Oscar Wilde comedy | Tickets $11.98
Build Your Own Bird Home | 5151 Oak St | Thursday, 4 pm-5 pm | Your and your six years and up child can come by to build a birdhouse | Tickets $20.
SPORTS
⚽ Portland defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps and snapped their eight-game undefeated streak. The score was 1-3. [CBC]
🏒 The Vancouver Giants selected defenceman Ryan Lin with the sixth overall pick in the WHL Draft. The team also selected Centre Brett Olson with the eighth overall pick. [Postmedia]
⚾️ The Vancouver Canadians won 10-2 against Everett on Friday, lost 5-7 on Saturday and Sunday 6-16.
HISTORY
Recognize these two? Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana visited Vancouver for The Expo in May 1986. Here they are riding the SkyTrain, proving that no matter who you are, the SkyTrain is for everyone.
WEATHER
Hot weather, no swimming
What happened: This weekend was a scorcher with temperatures 10-15 degrees higher than normal. And there’s no rest because today is supposed to be the hottest yet.
Yet despite the heat, Vancouver did not have any of its outdoor pools open. There is no set date for when they will open, but the city says they will announce the date later this week, according to CTV. Meanwhile, Surrey said they plan to open outdoor pools on Monday.
Not only that, but lifeguards were also not on duty, as they have yet to complete their orientation. Crescent Beach lifeguards will begin on June 24.
Spray parks are open at parks across the city, so you can cool off there.
Health concerns: BC Emergency Health Services has more workers available during the heatwave to deal with an expected uptick in heat-related illnesses, according to CTV. There’s also been a surge in 911 calls.
Doctors warn a major health concern is that our bodies haven’t acclimated to the higher temperatures, since it’s so early in the season for heat waves.
Energy usage up: BC Hydro says they expect record-breaking demand for electricity in May during the heatwave, with 1,300 more megawatt hours than normal, according to Global. But BC Hydro said this was two-thirds of the normal usage during a cold winter day.
While there was potential for smoke to arrive from the Alberta fires, as of writing this newsletter the air quality was still rated good. Both Whistler and Valemont were dealing with moderate levels of air quality.
GOOD NEWS MONDAY
Start your day off with some good news:
If you need some inspiration to get outside and live life to its fullest, read the story about Dr. Dalvinder Singh Toor. He’s walked 10 km around Winona Park every day for the last 30 years, meeting people. He told CBC, "I love this place… I love the people around.”
COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
The founders of Vancouver’s roller skating gym are pitching Dragons Den to expand their business. [CTV]
The city wants your input on improving the Neighbourhood Plaza on Main and 14th. Share your thoughts today.
Organizers expect roughly 300,000 people to attend Italian Week this year on Commercial Drive on June 11. [Daily Hive]
Want to feature your announcement in the newsletter? Contact our team!
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Apparently, someone built this at Crescent Beach and it looks like something out of an alien movie.
GAME TIME
Today’s quiz is about a little problem downtown — what is the current downtown office vacancy rate in Vancouver?
Reply with the answer and include your name to have it mentioned in the next newsletter.
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