Staff and faculty tenants on campus continue to wait to hear from UBC on whether the university will take further action to address ongoing housing affordability issues.
The issue of affordability has been ongoing but was recently put in the spotlight when UNA directors sent a letter to UBC’s Board of Governors and UBC Properties Trust in May, calling on the university to meet its commitment of offering faculty and staff housing at 25 per cent below the average rents in surrounding communities.
As of June 24, the UNA had yet to receive a response from the university, said UNA Board of Directors Chair Eagle Glassheim, who signed the letter on behalf of all directors.
The Campus Resident sent questions to UBC on May 13 with subsequent followups, requesting details on how the university would address the concerns cited in the UNA letter. No response had been received as this issue went to print.
The UNA letter cited campus rents failing to adjust to developments in the housing market in Vancouver.
As reported in the media, an increase in vacancy rates in the city have created a “softening rental market”, resulting in more affordable housing for renters. But the UNA says campus rents have failed to adjust to those market dynamics, and action needs to be taken to reflect more favourable market conditions for renters and bring housing costs in line with UBC’s 25 per cent rental rate target.
“Most 2-bedroom UBC apartments are now priced over the West Side average ($2,503-$2,907), not at 25 per cent below market rents,” the letter reads. Last month, B.C. Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Christine Boyle released a statement that acknowledged the drop in rents throughout the Lower Mainland.
“Rents are falling in B.C., but the dream of affording rent or owning a home in a community you love still remains out of reach for many British Columbians,” she said.
“B.C. had six cities among the 15 largest asking rent decreases over the prior year in the country: Burnaby (-10.5 per cent), Abbotsford (-10 per cent), Richmond (-9.7 per cent), New Westminster (-9.7 per cent), Coquitlam (-9.0 per cent) and North Vancouver (-8.8 per cent).”
“We’ve said it before, and each month shows that what we’re doing is working and we need to keep going so renters can get the full benefits of more reasonable housing costs and more housing choices,” Boyle added.