Vancouver landlords face cost pressures too, industry says, amid record-high rents

Record-high rents in Vancouver are putting even more pressure on household budgets, but landlords say they are facing costs that have “gone through the roof,” too.

According to the latest report from Rentals.ca, the average cost for a one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver is $3,013 — the highest in Canada. The website says the average price for a two-bedroom is $3,918.

David Hutniak, CEO of Landlords BC, says inflation has led to cost pressures for property owners renting out spaces.

“In order for us to provide the housing that we’re providing, at the end of the day, we need to do it on a basis that covers our costs and frankly provides some element of profit. We are providing market-rental housing, we are running businesses, that’s a fact,” he told CityNews.

“No business can be sustainable if you’re losing money year after year after year, that’s just not possible. So that’s, I think, what the public and renters, in particular, need to understand and appreciate.”

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Hutniak says the costs associated with maintaining a rental unit have risen by an average of 38 per cent.

“Insurance went up an average of 150 per cent, property taxes an average of eight per cent, repair and maintenance 50 per cent, utilities — gas went up 70 per cent. These are real costs that we have only one way to recover and that is through the rent that we collect,” he explained.

On top of all of this, Hutniak says there’s a tight supply and high demand for market housing, which is pushing rental rates even higher.

“We know it’s difficult to be a renter in this market because of that supply and demand imbalance,” he said.

Additionally, Hutniak says the province capping rent increases at 2.5 per cent over the past five years have put added pressure on landlords who have not been able to recoup additional costs.

Last month, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives reported an hourly wage of $32 per hour would be needed if someone wants to live in a one-bedroom in Vancouver while spending a maximum of 30 per cent of their income. That’s nearly double the minimum wage in B.C., and eight dollars an hour more than the city’s living wage of $24 per hour.

On Monday, Canada’s new minister for housing and infrastructure, Sean Fraser, said having a job should be enough to be able to afford a home. However, he acknowledged restoring the housing market to that level of affordability is a huge challenge that “might take a bit of time.”

-With files from Angela Bower, Sonia Aslam, Hana Mae Nassar, and The Canadian Press