Metro moves slowly toward rental-protected zones
A powerful new residential rental zoning introduced to address B.C.’s housing crisis is mostly gathering dust more than a year after being introduced by the provincial government.
New Westminster was the first to implement Residential Rental Tenure Zoning (RRTZ) to protect existing rental units and was immediately stung with a lawsuit by the owners of six buildings inside the new zone. The decision in that trial has not been delivered.
Uptake by cities has been slow because where the new zoning has been used, it was used improperly and led to litigation, said Anne McMullin, CEO of the Urban Development Institute.
By designating strata-titled buildings as rental only, that New Westminster neighbourhood was effectively “downzoned,” which reduces the value of those properties and will interfere with the owners’ ability to finance redevelopment and renovations, she said.
Richmond delayed a similar proposal to rezone up to 60 existing buildings to prevent rental conversions and ordered a period of consultation with a report due in 2020.
A proposal to protect up to 500 existing rental buildings in Victoria was quickly sent for further consultation with building owners, who protested the move as “unnecessary devaluing of personal property.”
LandlordBC claimed that the incentive for owners to invest in older buildings beyond basic maintenance would “evaporate” if the new zoning was applied.
For now, the capital city is applying RRTZ to rezonings for new, purpose-built rental buildings.
RRTZ allows municipalities to require a certain number or proportion of units in a new development be rental, or it can be applied to existing buildings to ensure they are not removed from the rental pool.
While cities and developers watch and wait, competition for existing rental units is pushing tenants into crisis in a region where a two-bedroom apartment currently rents for $2,000 to $3,000 a month.
The City of Vancouver is just now exploring ways to use RRTZ to encourage the development of purpose-built rental housing up to six storeys in the Broadway Corridor, Grandview-Woodland, Cambie Corridor, Marpole and Joyce-Collingwood.
The City of Burnaby held a workshop Tuesday to “refine” its approach to the new zoning tools, said Coun. Pietro Calendino.
“We’ve looked at lessons learned from other cities and see this as the most secure way to protect rental properties in perpetuity,” he said in a statement.
Burnaby is pursuing bylaw changes that would allow it to create rental-only zones and require 20 per cent rental housing in all new developments. They will also require one-to-one replacement of any rental units affected by the redevelopment of its four town centres.
“Local governments were looking for new tools to both encourage rental construction and protect the units they already had,” said Coquitlam Coun. Craig Hodge, speaking for the Union of B.C. Municipalities, which sought the new zoning from the province. “Some municipalities are watching to see how it works ... and it won’t be for every community.”