An unhappy tenant led to a realtor getting disciplined by the Real Estate Council of B.C.

In the past few weeks, landlords have besieged Mark Goodman, a multi-family specialist with Vancouver’s Goodman Commercial Inc., wanting to list their properties for sale, including rare portfolios in Vancouver’s hottest rental neighbourhoods.

Waterfront Vancouver apartment complex Rediviva announced Tuesday that it is lowering rental rates to fill its building before winter.

A North Vancouver woman who illegally operated the Oasis Hostel at 230 West 13th St. has been ordered to pay back more than $52,000 to her strata following a years-long legal dispute and multiple court appearances | File photo: Mike Wakefield/North Shore News

TORONTO — Housing advocates and property owners squared off Monday at a housing tribunal in Toronto that will determine the rules regarding short-term rentals like Airbnb.

Rentals.ca has released its National Rent Rankings report for August 2019, and Vancouver was ranked the most unaffordable city again.

Officers say suspect posed as homeowner, collected cash from would-be tenants in Colwood

The average asking price for a two-bedroom suite in Vancouver in June was $2,833, the most expensive in the country

A new study on Airbnb in Canada is showing people exactly what the normal long-term rental supply would be if short-term rental companies were not part of the market.

“The current crisis of rental availability and affordability in Vancouver is posing a serious challenge to the ability of renters to stay and thrive in Vancouver.”

Housing affordability for renters has been a clear issue in recent municipal and provincial elections, with several politicians offering different solutions (Vancouver Sun, 2019). It should be no surprise that various politicians across several locations are trying to help renters and rentals really do make up a large percentage of voters.

However, politicians may push policies that will actually harm tenants by discouraging developers from building critically needed rental homes or from repairing existing aging rental buildings.

According to the Vancouver Sun, new municipal policies force landlords to pay tenants if they are forced to move out during renovations, they even have the right to return to renovated suites at the previous cost of rent.

“Other policies that impose high costs on new rental developments, as well as the uncertainty if they will be approved by councils, have developers, banks and other financiers such as large pension funds backing away from purpose-built rental projects in Metro Vancouver” (Vancouver Sun, 2019). A poll found that 14,000 of 18,000 rental units in the Lower Mainland under development had been shelved.

If you are thinking of buying or selling your property, or would like to get expert real estate advice, please contact Matt Gul, a top selling luxury real estate agent in West Vancouver. Contact Matt Gul at 778.888.8888 or at  [email protected]

Summarized by Selin Gul

Original Source: https://vancouversun.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-progressive-rental-policies-risk-hurting-renters