Kamloops woman speaks up about the surging housing market, amid fears she might be left homeless

A Kamloops woman and her elderly mother worry the city’s hot rental market might leave them homeless after being asked to leave their rental house — a place they’ve called home for the past 18 years.

She said the surging housing market has made it “impossible” to find a rental unit that suits their needs, and is still within their budget.

This woman has asked to remain anonymous. She doesn’t want her ability to secure a new rental to be impacted by her speaking out on the issue.

“It’s just one roadblock after another,” she told Castanet Kamloops, adding the situation has left her and her mother feeling anxious and completely overwhelmed.

She said her landlord gave them notice on Dec. 1, as he wanted to complete extensive renovations on the residence, leaving them with several months to find a place.

However, even after retaining a friend to help search, they have been unable to secure a rental.

Their landlord gave them an additional month to look for housing, but the two will need to be out as of May 1.

“We got turned down because my mom was a senior, we got turned down because we’re on seniors’ pension and PD — persons with disabilities, not an income,” she said.

She said it’s been particularly challenging as pandemic restrictions have caused communication to be largely text and email-based, making it difficult to make a personal connection with potential landlords.

“That helps sell your story to get into a better place,” she said.

“The most frustrating is the price. There’s just nothing affordable. The real estate boom is leaving a lot of us in the same situation. I’m not the only one. I have two other friends in the same boat as me.”

Kamloops Coun. Kathy Sinclair said the vacancy rate in Kamloops is “unfortunately” very low, making it tough for many looking for places to call home.

“The real estate boom continues, which is great if you’re a property owner, but not so great if you are trying to get in the market and buy a place for the first time, or if you’re a renter,” she said.

In a report to city council on March 30, city staff cited census data from 2016 showing 47 per cent of Kamloops renters and 14 per cent of homeowners are living in an unaffordable housing situation.

According to the Canada Mortgage Housing Corp., spending over 30 per cent of gross monthly income on housing is considered unaffordable.

Sinclair said the city has staff looking into options that could increase the supply of affordable housing for rent and for purchase.

“Until we increase supply, we’re really not going to see very much change in the vacancy rate,” she said.

According to Sinclair, council has also asked staff to look into incentives for developers to subdivide lots, and build housing co-ops and duplexes — types of residences that are between apartments and single family homes.

She said she is hoping staff will also come back with options for including more subsidized units in townhouse complexes or apartment buildings, a process that is already in place in some cities.

“Most of them would be available at the market rate for rental or purchase, but then there would be a few of them that would be available for a lower cost,” she said.

“That really helps those people like single parents, or students, or people with low incomes, so that they're not paying, for example, $1,500 for a studio basement suite. Unfortunately, the kinds of prices that we’re seeing here now.”

In the meantime, for the Kamloops woman searching for a home, she said she is able to afford $1,700 per month, and is hoping for half a duplex and a pet-friendly space for her two small dogs and one cat.

She will be moving in with her mother and requires enough space to house her daughter, who is special needs.

“If she looses her home share, she’s back with me. I can’t put a young adult back into a two bedroom, she needs her space,” she said.

She also needs a quiet home without neighbouring kids.

“I lost a child,” she said. “Living with children above or below or beside, it’s not going to work.”

She is now hoping someone with a rental space will take a chance on them.

“That’s five months we’ve been looking, with no go,” she said.