What is considered “affordable” when it comes to rentals?
That question is being raised, after a taxpayer-subsidized rental project in Vancouver’s Kitsilano — initially touted as affordable — was found to be listing 400 square-foot studio apartments for $2,750 a month.
In 2021, David Eby, who was the housing minister at the time, said the project — part of the now defunct HousingHub program — would help tackle the ongoing affordability crisis for middle-income households.
At the time, BC Housing considered middle-income households to be those making under $99,000 thousand a year.
As of 2024, that number now refers to those making between $130,000 and $190,000 a year.
However, Mariah Javadi with the Vancouver Tenants Union says the issue is that the province and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation use the incomes of the general population to come up with these figures.
“Our version of affordable is lower than the figures that they are citing, right? Because they’re not looking at just renters. They’re looking at homeowners as well … including landlords who have multiple properties. Of course their incomes are higher,” she told 1130 NewsRadio.
The Kitsilano apartment building does have a number of below-market rentals. However, the vast majority of units are being advertised as “boutique.”
Two-bedroom apartments in the building are going for $4,300 per month.
“It’s certainly not affordable for the average renter in Vancouver,” said Javadi. “It’s part of this whole supply, supply, supply narrative seemingly every level of government is happily pushing. But, ultimately, we’re wondering why people aren’t asking about what kinds of supply we’re promoting. We have a dearth of affordable housing in Vancouver. We don’t necessary need more upper-middle-income housing, right? You know, $2,400 for a one-bedroom is not something that anybody is looking for, at least not anybody I know.”
She says most tenants in Vancouver are paying rents that are far beyond what is considered affordable, noting it’s not common to find a place to live that is “30 per cent of your income.”
“Most people I know would be ecstatic to find something that low,” Javadi said.
The province did put a major focus on housing in the last couple of years, with new projects and investments announced regularly.
But Javadi says B.C.’s current housing strategy focuses far too much on supply. BC Greens Leader Sonia Furstenau agrees.
“They have left off the table the absolute necessity of addressing the core housing need, which is people who are earning less than $60,000 a year,” Furstenau explained, adding the middle-income limit simply doesn’t conflate to reality.
She says this is the case for even her own staff, who are paid by the government.
“So people who are working in decent-paid, government positions wouldn’t qualify for this, and I think this is a real problem that we have with the way that the provincial government is defining middle-income, is defining affordability,” the Green Party leader said.
However, Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon is defending the project, pointing out the government loan to the developers stipulated that 14 of the units in the building — about 20 per cent — be rented out at below-market rates. That comes out to about $1,500 a month for a one-bedroom unit, and about $2,000 for a two-bed.
He says it’s these units that the “affordable” tag line refers to.
“It’s important to also note that if we hadn’t done this, this project would have been either built and gone to strata and gone to the market or it could have been just market-rate rents,” Kahlon explained.
The minister agrees the situation is not an easy one for anyone battling the rental market, but says the answer does lie in adding supply.
“We know that, right now, new units at the market rate are high and people can’t afford it. But to suggest that somehow, if you build less it’ll solve itself is false, and anyone suggesting that is not serious about housing,” Kahlon said.
“It’s not fair for young people right now, it’s not fair that we’re not building enough housing, that there wasn’t enough investments in affordable housing, because for almost 20 years, we had conservative governments who said, ‘The market will fix itself.’ It won’t.”
The NDP has been in government for the last seven years.