People are moving into the city faster than new homes can be built to accommodate them. The rental vacancy rate is at its lowest point ever, and the lowest of any major Canadian city. These issues have existed for a long time, but the arrival of Airbnb-type services has made it even more difficult for people to find housing.
No, this isn鈥檛 a story about Toronto. Or Vancouver. Or Montreal.
It鈥檚 about Charlottetown, where even the city鈥檚 mayor says housing availability has reached a crisis point.
鈥淚t鈥檚 simple economics. If you have a high demand and low supply, you鈥檙e talking about a crisis,鈥� Philip Brown said Tuesday on CTV鈥檚 Your Morning.
According to the from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Charlottetown has the lowest vacancy rate of the 37 regions analyzed, at 0.2 per cent. Other major cities facing rental housing supply issues, including Toronto and Vancouver, have vacancy rates of 1 per cent or more, while the national rate stands at 2.4 per cent.
Brown said rental housing shortages have been a significant issue in the P.E.I. capital for at least a decade. They鈥檝e been exacerbated in recent years by a host of factors, including increasing post-secondary enrolments in the city and general population growth. Census data shows that Charlottetown鈥檚 population grew by 5.8 per cent between 2011 and 2016 鈥� faster than any other community in Atlantic Canada.
Also exacerbating the situation is the proliferation of short-term rental services such as Airbnb. Some homeowners who had previously rented out rooms or apartments to long-term tenants are instead turning to these newer options, putting a further strain on the city鈥檚 rental supply.
For people who are able to find rental housing, the low supply means they鈥檒l be paying more for it than they might in other communities, despite the average income in Charlottetown being below the national average.
Brown said the city has already made some attempts to alleviate the issue, including implementing a bylaw making it illegal to rent out secondary apartments or garden suites to short-term tenants. A 60-unit affordable housing complex is in the works.
The mayor is also hoping the provincial and federal governments will help find a way to ease conditions in Canada鈥檚 tightest rental market, although he鈥檚 not expecting any quick help.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to take some time,鈥� he said.
