Affordable housing projects for seniors bring down age to fill units

garretschoenbergOctober 7, 2022

The Lynn Woods development in Lynn Valley has 106 one-bedroom units that can be rented for between $375 and $1,580 per month.

Kiwanis Lynn Woods affordable multifamily homes (left) are operated by the Kiwanis North Shore Housing Association in North Vancouver. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

As the housing crisis continues, new affordable housing projects for seniors in North Vancouver have struggled to rent one-bedroom units. So we’re lowering the age limit for the renter from he 65 to her 55 and expect it to be full.

why? This is complicated mainly because he involves three levels of government.

The Lynn Woods development in Lynn Valley has 106 one-bedroom units that can be rented for between $375 and $1,580 per month. Built by the Kiwanis North Shore Housing Society with $10.6 million from BC Housing’s Community Housing Fund. The total cost of the project, including land value, is estimated at $40 million.

We have 3 sets for rent. If his annual income is less than $21,946, the minimum is $375. The second tier is for those who earn from $21,946 he earns $57,500 and pays his 30% of the income. The top tier is the market rate determined by her CMHC of the federal government.

There are 21 units that pay $375, 53 units that pay 30% of the income, and 32 units that pay the market rate ($1,570 to $1,580).

The problem is that many people over the age of 65 have a fixed income and cannot afford to pay $1,570 a month. As such, Bill had a hard time renting those units when they opened on August 1st.

“We set the price at $1,570 because, based on our agreement with our partners, we need to rent at the CMHC average rent in the district,” explains Kiwanis North Shore Executive Director Stephen Bown. “The number that CMHC announced as the average rate was $1,569 for him, so going below that number is legally not allowed.”

BC Housing considers seniors to be 55 years and older. But the District of North Vancouver wanted the building to be for his 65+ seniors, so that was the default stipulation.

The Kiwanis North Shore Housing Society, unable to rent many of its “market” units, returned to the district and requested that the age requirement be lowered to 55. The district agreed, allowing her to move in at age 55 as of Monday, provided her annual income doesn’t exceed $77,430.

“If you apply the affordability standard, which means paying less than a third of your income on rent and utilities, you’d need an income of about $3,500 a month (to pay $1,570). says Baune. “People over 65 often don’t have that income. So by lowering the age, we can apply the same restrictions that BC Housing uses, attracting people who are still working. can do.”

Market rents are key to a project’s financial viability as they help subsidize non-market rents.

Another problem is that $1,570 is probably more than the rent many seniors living in North Van’s three-story walkup are paying. But with the ongoing construction boom on the North Shore, their rental homes may not last long.

“The threat here is the potential for redevelopment,” says Baune. “For example, along Chesterfield off Lonsdale, many of his three-story sidewalks have disappeared and been replaced by six-story buildings.

“This building is new construction. “

Tom Armstrong, of the BC Cooperative Housing Federation, said he hadn’t heard of other senior projects having this problem.

“We do senior housing through community land trusts, but in our experience, the problem isn’t really an age limit,” Armstrong said. Elderly people willing to help can be found with no problem The crisis comes with more restrictions (existing) regarding age, income and family composition Multiplying that (with housing projects) can potentially The pool of valid members or tenants will shrink.”

Armstrong said government requirements sometimes “do not really reflect what is happening in the market.”

“What we have always told BC Housing is, ‘Set these guidelines as your aspirations and always act with good faith to meet them,'” he said. “[But]give us the flexibility to really respond to what’s going on in the market. We guarantee a perfect building.”

BC Housing’s Erin Harron said rental issues at the Lynn Woods development have not occurred elsewhere and are unlikely to occur.

“This is a really unique situation,” said Harron, director of BC Housing’s Lower Mainland nonprofit. “And people are making some adjustments to really unique situations.”

The adjustment was to lower the minimum age.

“After all, the building is almost full at this point,” says Harron. “I know they have successfully filled most of the units. North Van has 106 more desperately needed rental homes.”

Baune said the response to the lower age limit has been positive, with only seven market-leasing units still being rented. The Kiwanis North Shore Housing Society is offering rent-free rent for the first month to anyone who moves into a rental home on the market.

jmackie@postmedia.com