The North Okanagan community of Vernon becomes the first community outside of the Lower Mainland and Greater Victoria to receive support through a fund protecting existing rental housing.
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon Tuesday (May 21) announced $3.1 million from the Rental Protection Fund toward the purchase of 26 existing rental units in an apartment building.
含羞草研究社淲hile we build more affordable housing, it含羞草研究社檚 important to recognize that we can含羞草研究社檛 continue to lose affordable housing,含羞草研究社� Kahlon said. 含羞草研究社淣othing is scarier, when you are living in affordable housing, to see a for-sale sign on the front-lawn and wonder what含羞草研究社檚 going to happen when this building gets sold. 含羞草研究社楢re we going to be evicted? Where are we going to go to?含羞草研究社櫤卟菅芯可鐫
The Canadian Mental Health Association Vernon and District Branch had applied for the funding. It will own and operate the building. Each of the units will also receive $47,000 from the fund for upgrades.
The $500-million fund launched last year, providing one-time capital grants to non-profit housing organizations for the purchase of affordable residential rental buildings and co-operatives, when they come up for sale.
The fund announced its first acquisition in early February 2024 with $71 million going toward the purchase of 290 units in Port Coquitlam with another $125 million leveraged by the future owner-operator. Subsequent purchases have taken place in Greater Victoria and Langley.
Katie Maslechko, CEO of the Rental Protection Fund, said Tuesday含羞草研究社檚 announcement is the first of many announcements involving the fund beyond B.C.含羞草研究社檚 major population centres in Greater Vancouver and Greater Victoria.
含羞草研究社淭he reality is that the erosion of affordable housing isn含羞草研究社檛 just an urban issue and the Rental Protection Fund isn含羞草研究社檛 just for big cities, either,含羞草研究社� Maslechko said. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 for every community, big and small.含羞草研究社�
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Maslechko, however, acknowledged that it is more difficult to find lenders outside the major urban areas.
含羞草研究社淐HMA had to work extra hard to build those relationships and get the attention of those lenders,含羞草研究社� she said.
Available figures from Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation peg the City of Vernon含羞草研究社檚 vacancy rate at 1.2 per cent as of Oct. 2023 (up from 0.7 per cent in October 2022) with the average rent for two-bedroom-apartments at $1,435.
