Could adding to existing co-ops ease Vancouver’s housing crisis?
A proposal coming to Vancouver city council this week is looking at building more affordable housing by expanding to co-ops.
As Vancouver renters continue to pay the highest prices in the country, Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung says co-ops could be a potential source of new supply.
“The really bright spot about co-op homes, unlike when you’re building market rental, for example, is that the affordability improves over time,” she told CTV News.
Low- and middle-income residents buy shares in the co-op but don’t have any equity or ownership stake in the property. However, they get to vote on policies like pets and parking priority, much like a strata, and can’t be evicted by owners looking to sell.
Kirby-Yung said there are about 7,000 units in Vancouver co-ops in Vancouver, with around 3,700 owned by the city.
She said many are on their last legs.
Groups representing co-ops said they want the city to look at fixing and expanding those properties.
On average, a co-op in Vancouver has around 56 units according to the Co-op Housing Federation of B.C.
"A lot of the sites we're looking at could easily triple the number of co-op homes on the land that's there,” said CEO Thom Armstrong.
Many of Vancouver’s co-ops were built decades ago with help from federal funding that has since dried up. The federal government stopped building co-ops in the early 1990s and wait lists have only grown for what is now an aging supply.
Armstrong said many were built with “low density”, meaning there could be room to fit more units onto existing co-op land.
He also told CTV news investing in co-ops makes sense long-term since they’re non-profits.
“A housing co-op doesn’t have to deliver a return to a shareholder, it just needs to provide housing to its members at cost,” Armstrong said.
“That means over time the cost of a home in an affordable housing co-op drops dramatically relative to the market.”
It's a sentiment echoed by Kirby-Yung.
“As the cost of building and the mortgages are paid down, that affordability improves so as you’re building those units today they become the most affordable homes of the future,” she said.
With older building's leases up for renewal, and no federal funding for co-ops, Kriby-Yung's motion asks the city to find partners to help support building thi s particular type of new housing.
The motion will come to council on Wednesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Five areas Canada's foreign interference commissioner says needs more investigation
Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue released her interim report examining foreign election interference on Friday. Here are five elements of the issue that Hogue says she needs to further probe before she can make conclusions or recommendations.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Why your airfare may be getting more expensive
Skyrocketing airfare prices are linked to heightened competition and rising food and fuel, according to the CAA.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
New weight-loss drug Wegovy not a 'magic bullet,' doctor warns
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Funeral today for broadcasting legend and voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada' Bob Cole
A funeral is being held today for hockey broadcasting legend Bob Cole in his hometown of St. John's, N.L.
Foreign meddling 'did not affect' overall federal election results: inquiry report
Foreign interference by China did not affect the overall results of the 2019 and 2021 general elections won by Justin Trudeau's Liberals, a federal commission of inquiry has found.