Squamish residents desperately seeking a rental home in the district will likely not be shocked at the findings of a recent survey that details the extent of the current Squamish housing crunch.
Results of the housing survey, which was undertaken Oct. 15 to Jan. 3 by Quest University professor Kaija Belfry Munroe and research assistant Anna Marie Obermeier, were presented to the district’s housing task force last week.
Predictably, the results suggest the rental-housing situation in Squamish is hardest on those with lower incomes.
Twenty-four per cent of those who provided their income on the survey made less than $30,000 per year before taxes. About 18.7 per cent of respondents who either recently found a home, or were searching, were budgeting more than 30 per cent of their income for housing.
“It is probably much harder on people than [our statistics] suggest,” said Belfry Munroe.
“In Squamish, costs of food for a family of four – $800 to $1,000 a month – you add your phones and everything else, you are exceptionally tight.”
The results were based on 523 anonymous responses by local renters, owners and builders along with data from online rental websites, according to Obermeier.
A significant demand for affordable, smaller units was revealed by the survey.
Of renters who responded, 78 per cent lived in a home with three people or fewer. Thirty-eight per cent lived with children.
Obermeier pointed out, however, the results may be skewed because people with small children may be too busy to fill out a survey.
One- and two-bedroom units were the most sought-after rentals: 40 per cent were seeking or had found a one-bedroom unit and 32 per cent were seeking or had found a two-bedroom home. Twenty-four per cent were seeking three-bedroom units, while only four per cent were looking for homes with more than three bedrooms.
More than 30 per cent of respondents were not happy with the type of housing in which they were currently living.
“There were often more people inhabiting the rental… than there were bedrooms,” said Obermeier.
“This can put renters in a position where they have to live in tighter quarters than they would possibly have desired to in order to live within their means.”
Fifteen per cent of those seeking a rental home were “homeless,” meaning they did not have a permanent address.
The survey also asked about renters’ various desired locations for housing. Brackendale topped the list, with 40 per cent choosing that area as part of their lists. Downtown was the second most popular choice for renters at 36 per cent. Garibaldi Estates, Valleycliffe and the Highlands were preferred locations for about one-third of respondents. Dentville and Northyards were of interest to 23 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
Where renters wanted to live differed from where they actually found housing.
Only eight per cent of respondents found a rental in Brackendale.
Valleycliffe and downtown provided 19 and 18 per cent of recently acquired rentals. The Estates and Highlands each provided 15 per cent of the recent rentals, while Dentville provided seven per cent and the Northyards four per cent of homes.
By looking at advertising of available housing, the researchers found single-bedroom rental properties were about $1,000 per month and two-bedroom units around $1,580 per month. Three-bedroom rentals garnered $1,975 and four-bedroom or more units advertised for an average of $2,960 per month.
Garibaldi Highlands had the highest rental prices, while the Squamish and Paradise valleys had the lowest.
The survey results from owners showed, among other things, that many passed on increases in utility fees directly to renters.
“That was a reason for raising rents,” Belfry Munroe told the task force. “So if we are really concerned about rental prices in Squamish, then that is something you could be focusing on, is how do you decrease the utility costs to landlords, because that increase in the last few years has directly related to rental prices in Squamish.”
Councillor Jason Blackman-Wulff, chair of the housing task force, said the survey results provided a good snapshot of the rental situation in Squamish and would provide fodder for the task force to consider.
