Banff's rental housing crunch is continuing to push Banff's high rents up even further, in some cases leading to bidding wars amongst people struggling to secure a place to live.
Banff's rental housing crunch is continuing to push Banff's high rents up even further, in some cases leading to bidding wars amongst people struggling to secure a place to live.
Municipal officials say Banff's vacancy rate remains at zero for the fifth year in a row, leading to overcrowding, run-down places, and a continued trend of ever increasing rents.
Sharon Oakley, the Town of Banff's housing sustainability manager, said it's hoped the 195 new rental units coming onto the market this year, including the municipality's 131-unit Ti'nu apartment project, will start to turn things around.
"These exorbitant rents are making for a pretty volatile situation in our community - overcrowding, under-maintained housing, huge affordability issues, and rent bidding is going on," she said.
"We're still seeing fairly high rental rates in the community, which I think is coinciding with the zero per cent vacancy rate. The reality is still supply and demand and zero vacancy equates to landlords still being in the driver's seat."
In 2016, the horror stories of trying to find a place to live in the Bow Valley's tight rental market went to a whole new level when a 40-plus year-old man offered free accommodation in Banff to a woman in exchange for sex.
The young Australian woman posted an ad on a Facebook Buy and Sell page looking for a place to live in Banff for a week with her boyfriend while they waited for their longer-term accommodation to be ready.
The woman, who did not want to be interviewed at the time, was appalled at his response and shared her story online to warn other women.
"How badly do you need the place? Could I make you a deal?" the man responded to her ad. When she asked what the deal was, he said: "No charge for the week but you stay a night with me. Sorry im (sic) probably being an ass or asking to (sic) much."
Last summer, a service industry worker posted on Facebook that he was looking for a driveway to rent in order to park his van, where he could live after struggling to find affordable housing.
Yet another recent post on Bow Valley Home Finder advertised a four-bedroom basement suite for $4,000 with a five-month lease.
The woman said she was posting on behalf of her landlord, noting she does not set the price or terms.
"These ads are more common than not, unfortunately," said Oakley, referring to the $4,000 basement suite.
Oakley said it was interesting to see the qualifier by the person who posted the ad, saying she was "just the messenger".
"I think that's interesting because either that's indicating that she signed a fixed lease agreement and she's on the line for the $4,000 and she has to charge that, or he's forcing her hand and getting her to deal with it, " she said.
"She might be the one putting it out there and gathering information and told, 'if you get all these people, I'll give you that room for free.' That is some of the information we're getting."
According to the Bow Valley Job Resource Centre, tenants in Banff have seen a 3.5 per cent rent increase on average over the past year, with an average rental rate for a one-bedroom in Banff $1,505.
The organization's spring labour market review looked at about 790 housing listings in both Banff and Canmore in local print and online media between August 2017 and January 2018.
Average rental rates for a two-bedroom and three-bedroom were $1,852 and $2,375 respectively. Average rental rates for a roommate were $830 in Banff. Rent for shared housing, which accounted for 75 per cent of all listings, was up three per cent.
Michel Dufresne, director of the Job Resource Centre, said the increase in rents are concerning.
"It's not good because if it's harder to find reasonable, affordable accommodation, then it's less and less attractive to come and work here and start up in an entry-level position, or move your family," he said in a recent interview.
"On the other side, you're going to have people doing the opposite, which is to leave the valley. It may be tight and people may make do, but at some point something like this may force people to leave."
Banff's housing rental vacancy rate still sits at zero per cent. By comparison, Calgary's vacancy rate is 6.3 per cent; Edmonton's is seven per cent and overall vacancy rate for Alberta's urban centres is 7.5 per cent.
Banff's rental vacancy rate was 1.2 per cent in 2011 and 2012 - compared to provincial average of eight per cent in 2011 and 4.5 per cent in 2012 - but has been zero per cent since 2013.
A healthy vacancy rate is between three and five per cent.
"In 2017, across the province we're seeing an overall four per cent increase in vacancy and we're not seeing any movement at all yet here," said Oakley.
"Here we're all assuming there's actually a below zero vacancy rate, but what it is I'm not quite sure."
With the municipality's $23.8 million, 131-unit housing development, known as Ti'nu, nearing completion and Caribou Property's 38-unit staff housing project on Beaver Street, it's hoped there will start to be a shift.
Since 2013, the planning and development department has issued 71 occupancy permits, but the housing projects currently under construction will account for another 195.
"Once these units hit the market we should start to see movement in that vacancy rate. We're very hopeful that this is going to move the needle," said Oakley.
"If nothing shifts around when we put on 195 more units that will be an indicator to us as well."
Ti'nu is Banff Housing Corporation's first purpose-built rental apartment complex, and also the first time in the corporation's history that financial criteria is being used in order to qualify for a unit.
Oakley said interest in the housing project also points to the need for more affordable, quality housing.
"We've had 954 unique downloads of the tenant application alone (on website) and considering there's 130 units, that's quite significant," said Oakley.
"That's just not just somebody having a look at it, it's actually downloading that application."
Councillor Grant Canning, who was council's representative on the Banff housing strategy steering committee, said it's hoped people moving into Ti'nu will open up housing elsewhere in town.
"Hopefully some of the people going into this building will go out of other units, and therefore, it creates some openings in the market," he said. "Hopefully, there are spin-off benefits with vacancies elsewhere."
The 2012 housing needs study predicted that Banff would have a shortfall of between 455 and 730 units by 2022, if the current trend in residential population growth continues.
