‘I literally can’t afford it’: Metro Vancouver renters pushed to their limits

Metro Vancouver’s already-strained rental market is getting even more pressure from people moving to the region from other provinces. Which is driving monthly rent prices even further out of reach.

Renters in Vancouver are paying 20 per cent more compared to six months ago, according to rentals.ca.

On top of the rent increase, renters say they worry affordable housing will put them at risk of the building being torn down in the near future, leaving them homeless.

“I see billboards everywhere for affordable housing, but can we be sure they won’t be bought by landlords and then rented for double the price?” said Vancouver renter, Fraser Hamilton.

The three-bedroom home Fraser Hamilton rents at $3,000 per month with two friends in Vancouver is the best they could do after being reno-victed. He says the idea of renting alone isn’t realistic.

“I literally can’t afford it in this city at all, unless I live in a basement suite in Richmond, which is very far from my job,” he said.

“I love Vancouver, but a lot of the time it doesn’t feel like it loves me at all. I would love to stay here for the rest of my life, and to have my own place. But, even being able to afford renting a place by myself seems like a pipe-dream,” he said.

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Ryan McLeod and his partner have been in the same Burnaby two-bedroom for five years. His $2,000 rent is a deal. He knows this because they wanted to move when a construction site set up next door.

“It was too late. We couldn’t afford anything else in our neighbourhood. Rent went from $2,100 to $2,200 a month to now … over $3,000 a month,” McLeod said.

Still, he doesn’t feel secure.

“They know what they can get. The minute we leave, our unit’s going to go up $800 to $1,000 a month, it’s super disheartening” he said, adding they deal with landlord inspections every three months. “That doesn’t make you feel like they want you there long-term.”

McLeod says with rent relentlessly increasing, they are considering moving back to his relatively cheaper hometown, Edmonton.

B.C. is facing the lowest vacancy rate and highest migration numbers in decades.

Housing Minister David Eby says approvals for new builds remains a challenge, adding although many provincial processes have been eased, they are working on doing the same in municipalities. He is also urging cities to make short-term rentals less appealing to landlords.