By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: May 23, 2018
Squamish and Whistler are among the least affordable communities in the province, with Whistler among the second highest average rent in the province.
With an average rent of $1650, Whistler was the second municipality with the highest average rent in the province.
In Squamish, the average rent was $1,304, with 36 per cent renters spending more than 30 per cent of their income on rent.
The numbers on rentals situation in the country came from the 2018 Canadian Rental Housing Index, a resource developed by BC Non-Profit Housing Association. The data backing the research was provided by the Statistics Canada, which portrays a troubling picture of housing with rental costs outpacing incomes and pushing renters into a precarious place of spending.
The research found that nearly half of Canadian renters spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing while nearly one in five are spending more than 50 per cent of their income on housing.
“Traditionally, spending 30 per cent or less of household income on rent has been viewed as the benchmark of what is considered affordable,” said Jill Atkey, Acting CEO of the BC Non-Profit Housing Association.
“However, the data shows that spending more than 30 per cent of income on housing has become the new normal for individuals and families in almost all areas of Canada.”
StatsCan data suggests as many as 43 per cent of renters spend 30 per cent of their income on housing costs in British Columbia.
The Index tracks everything from average rental costs, to how rental housing spending compares with income, to overcrowding for over 800 cities and regions through an easy to access web portal.
The tool is designed for governments, local planners, housing organizations, and the general public to view an accurate picture of the rental housing market in communities across the country.
The data paints a worrying picture for rental housing affordability across the country. Over 1.7 million renter households spend over the recommended affordability benchmark of 30 per cent of gross income on rent and utilities. Of those, 795,000 renter households spend over half of their income on housing costs.
Mark Caulton says
Why on earth would you work twoor three jobs in order to pay someone else’s mortgage? That’s crazy! I moved to Cape Breton 3 years ago, mortgage free and love it. Not perfect, but better than struggling, with the end post moving further away all the time….