Letter from a displaced person:

 

I moved to Salt Spring Island a year and a half ago with my wife and two dogs. This was done on the promise of a full time position with an island motel as well as full time residential rental. Within two weeks of us finalizing the move, the owner of that business reneged on the contract and left us homeless and jobless. My wife had left a position with a law firm of 13 years, and I had closed down a computer sales support company.

Luckily, we managed to find temporary rental wherein the owner was living in the Philippines for six months of the year. That carried us over for the first six months as I was starting up my computer sales company on the island and my wife had temporary employment with an accountant. Again, luck smiled on us when we ended up looking for another rental property at the end of the first arrangement. Although the cost was much higher, we had what we had was a fairly long term situation based on the landlord's belief that their home was put on the market for much more than what it was worth and would not sell for some time. Even so, we were forced to do short term agreements, which upon reflection seem only to have been a ploy by the landlord to avoid having to pay the last month's rent back upon ending a tenancy for sale of property.

 

Our current search for a new rental home is becoming frustrating. We are finding that:

1. Landlords are renting properties which they cannot afford to own and are attempting to find ways to rent without disclosing income to the proper authorities. Some of these are US citizens who do not want to have the withholding amount taken off the rent and given to revenue Canada.

2. Landlords are renting parts of their houses but keeping space for their own periodic visits, but then also wanting to rent that sometimes to friends, or friends of friends - attempting to get around being classed as a vacation rental, although it looks, smells, and feels like a vacation rental.

3. Many of the houses on the market would not pass the occupancy rules that a new house must for electrical, plumbing or other requirements. Because there is not an inspection required before renting a house out, the renter is left in a sometimes dangerous situation, but cannot complain without the danger of being told to move.

 

All in all, finding long term fair rental housing has been frustrating. With our businesses on the island we're in a better financial situation than many who would be working for minimum wage, but we still have difficulty justifying the rental rates being charged. Combined with the properties selling, this makes for a very tenuous existence on the island.

 

My own belief is that rental of property should be a community activity to the benefit of that community, not falling in the realm of a business venture by small companies or individuals as it is now. If rental properties for profit were outlawed altogether then property prices in general would be reduced to the point where more could afford to purchase their home. The vacation rentals are a gross use of property for personal profit, which impacts negatively on communities - temporary residence, especially as is the case with vacation rentals, does not build good communities; it only results in profit for a few.

 

I would like to express my complete disagreement with the concept of vacation rentals on Salt Spring Island, and would go further to suggest that the official plan be tightened up to only allow the purchase of property for full time residence by owners, with provisions for smaller, less expensive community housing options that would be affordable for even the least fortunate of our island workforce.