A family of five in Penticton, B.C., is speaking out about the rental crunch in the Okanagan as they desperately search for a new home amid the city’s dismal rental vacancy rate of less than one per cent.
Vikki Holmberg, her husband Don and their two children, 10-year-old Ava and 7-year-old Marshall, are temporarily residing at an RV in Twin Lakes, thanks to the kindness of strangers.
Their adult daughter does not live with them.
The family was displaced from their long-time rental home after the landlord sold the property to cash in on the red-hot real estate market.
The Holmbergs scrambled to find another home but were thrust into a tight rental market with low vacancy rates and rising prices.
“It’s very stressful, especially going into summertime knowing everything is full of tourists,” she said.
“Honestly, I feel sick all the time. We have a place but it’s not forever, so what’s next?”
Two Good Samaritans donated the RV and two months of rent after Holmberg reached out for help on social media. The family is unsure where they will live come July.
“I would describe it as horrific, honestly, and terrifying,” she said of the rental crisis in the South Okanagan.
Her husband, Don Holmberg, described the situation as “frustrating.”
“It’s very easy to give up. You look at the listings, you contact somebody, and either (they) don’t get back to you right away, or when they do it’s to tell you it’s already been taken,” he said.
Penticton recorded a less than one per cent vacancy rate in October, according to the latest data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
The average apartment rent increased by $97 over the past two years. In October 2018, the average cost of rent was $950. It’s now $1,047.
Analyst Eric Bond said there is stronger rental demand in smaller towns and cities in B.C. due to lower rents than larger urban centres and work-from-home changes amid the pandemic.
Declining vacancy rates were seen in other Okanagan cities as well.
In Kelowna, the overall vacancy rate decreased from 2.6 per cent in 2019 to 2.1 per cent in 2020.
In Vernon, the overall vacancy rate decreased from 1.7 per cent in 2019 to 1.0 per cent in 2020.
Rents are also on the upward trend year-over-year.
“With a steady rental universe and growing demand, rents are likely to continue to see upward pressure in future years, barring any important changes in either supply or demand,” Bond said.
Holmberg is calling on the City of Penticton to advocate for and support the creation of additional affordable rental units in Penticton.
“The city definitely needs to work on affordable housing, and not just subsidized housing, but just affordable housing,” she said.
Penticton, meanwhile, is not offering developers incentives to build affordable purpose-built rental units.
Blake Laven, the city’s director of development services, said that’s because construction is at a much faster pace than the Official Community Plan (OCP) estimated to meet the city’s housing demands.
Over the past two years, Laven said the city has approved 180 units of rental stock at Highstreet’s Skaha Shores property on Skaha Lake Road, and 75 units at the Mission Group’s purpose-built rental building at 285 Westminister Avenue.
However, last week the city voted down a large rental apartment complex proposed for Green Avenue West.
Judy Sentes, the acting mayor of Penticton, said the city’s hands are tied when it comes to encouraging the construction of “affordable” rentals.
“Where developers are concerned, there’s only so much influence we as a city can have on them and their plans. If you make it too restrictive, they will simply walk away,” she said.
“The current market is no help at all. It makes me wonder, too, how long this can continue at this very rapid high market because it catches people who don’t have opportunity.”
Holmberg said the status quo is leaving those in precarious living situations in the lurch.
“We have to change because there is an actual crisis going on right now,” she said.
She thanked supporters who have stepped up to help.
“There has been a huge outpouring of people who have been super supportive and I’d like to thank everybody who has been there in our corner.”