How Rental Bylaws may be contibuting to a lack of houseing
November 5th, 2008Always an interesting topic of discussion, when there is a shortage of rental housing and there is a number of condo units sitting empty that cannot be rented out, could there be a solution here. There is an interesting post regarding this issue on David Eby’d Blog.
Although rental bylaws can be difficult for investors, I am not sure making it law to cause stratas to allow units to be rented out is the solution. If you are an investor and you have bought a condo to be rented out, you best make sure that the building you are buying in allows rentals, and even if it does, make sure there are enough rentals and investors in the building that it would be difficult to pass a rental bylaw later.
The other thing to note is if you have bought in a new building, there is likely no rental bylaw to start with so you can rent out the unit if you are so inclined, as as the original owner you will be allowed to do so always. So all the units that are feared to be sitting empty soon in new developments and that will be difficult to sell in the current market will be rent-able.
I think it is a bit ridiculous to think that we should be able to tell people what they can and cannot do with their building, if the majority in the building do not want rentals then they should be able to pass a bylaw as such. A condo building is like a large house, if the owners in the house do not want to rent it out, then so be it. I know this may seem like the opposite of what I am trying to say, as in this case we are telling people what they can do, but it is the owners that make the decision, not the government. You have to understand that if you buy a condo, you have to participate and make decisions as a group, just as you have to pay for common expenses as a group. this is one of the benefits of condo ownership as well as a drawback sometimes, but you cannot have it both ways.
All to often it seems like the answer to fixing problems is to put more restrictions and laws in place. How about making it easier for those that want to provide rental accommodation to do so. For example, suites in houses.
Not to mention, if we are looking at a shortage of low income housing, I don’t think this is the right place to be looking anyway.
Bottom line as a condo buyer, make sure you know what you are getting into and make sure you can use the unit you are buying for the purpose you are buying it for.
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