NEWS Carr wants developers to play fair with Rental 100 City staff report expected to go to council in spring

Akey housing program by proposed starting rents should be at the previous Vision Vancouver or below $1,496 for a studio, $1,730 for administration may a one-bedroom, $2,505 for two bedrooms, face a major overhaul. and $3,365 for three bedrooms. Coun. Adriane Carr is expected For West Side developments, the to play a major role in the review maximum starting rents are $1,646 of Rental 100, which subsidizes developers for a studio, $1,903 for a one-bedroom, of what are supposed to be $2,756 for two bedrooms, and affordable market rentals. $3,702 for three bedrooms.

In the previous council, Carr These rents apply starting on the successfully introduced a motion day of the public hearing by council. to audit projects completed under Developers can increase rents the program and its predecessor, every year, based on the maximum the Short Term Incentives for rate allowed by provincial legislation, Rental, or STIR. until the project is

A staff report on completed. This means Carr’s motion is that the first tenants expected in the will be moving in spring, and the with rents higher Green councillor than those presented anticipates that C to city

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t s w i t h o u t D subsequent tenancies. in a phone interview. “People have actually

The changes are expected to come to me to say, ‘Look, you, as a focus on making sure that rents council, passed these projects. The are affordable in such projects that rents that were listed in the report are supported by various incentives to council were never the rents that from the city. These incentives include got charged. These projects got delayed waivers on paying development or whatever and it just took cost levies, or DCLS. time and then the rents even from

“I’ve seen a lot of interest in making the very beginning were not those sure that the rental housing that rents,’ ” Carr said. we build—and especially the rental “And the other thing they say is housing that’s subsidized by DCL that ‘Yeah, people come in and then waivers—is coming in at rents that they somehow get people to move people can afford,” Carr said. out and they jack the price way up,’”

The rental-incentive guidelines Carr continued. “So both of those for 2018 provide a picture of what the concern me, of course, especially city considers “for-profit affordable because in those Rental 100 projects rental housing” under Rental 100. and the previous STIR program, you

In order for projects on the East know, we forgave, like, just millions Side to be eligible for DCL waivers, of dollars of tax money.”