On November 23, 2023 I asked questions about whether government would purchase two six-unit apartment buildings on Churchill Ave in North Rustico that are up for sale. I also noted that the current rents would require sale of the properties at below-market prices to them remain financially feasible as rentals. I followed up with a question asking for rent controls to be changed to allow rents to be reset to market values when units are vacated.
Hansard-23 November 2023 (PDF) Starts on page 19 of 64 (page 2264 of Hansard)
Speaker: The hon. Member from Rustico-Emerald.
B. Trivers: Thank you, Madam Speaker. As predicted, landlords are getting out of the rental business all across the Island. There are rental units coming up for sale in many places, including North Rustico.
I want to thank my constituent, Karen George, for pointing out that we have two six-unit buildings – so, 12 units – for sale right across from the church, right next to the seniors club, a short walk from the new wellness centre, really in a prime, prime location, right in downtown North Rustico.
Frankly, people are worried that it’s going to be purchased, torn down, and replaced with housing that’s not as affordable, turning those seniors out on the street. Of course, the real answer is to fix the policy, but in the short term, I think it’s a good candidate for sale to the province.
I’ve talked to the minister about that. I really want to thank the minister for considering that.
Purchase of apartments for low-income housing
Question for the Minister of Housing, Land and Communities: Will the Province indeed purchase these apartments for use as seniors low-income housing?
Speaker: The hon. Minister of Housing, Land and Communities.
Hon. R. Lantz: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Yeah, it’s certainly something we consider. We consider it on an ongoing basis.
In fact, there’s been discussion in this House about the government establishing a first right of refusal. My answer to that is that I believe that I have a de facto first right of refusal because it seems that somebody tries to sell me an apartment building once a week.
We are assessing those opportunities on a case-by-case basis because we know where the needs are throughout the province. We have a housing registry. We know where the demand is. We’ll look at these on a case-by-case basis, and if it suits our needs, then we will consider it.
Speaker: The hon. Member from Rustico-Emerald, your first supplementary.
B. Trivers: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I can guarantee you that the demand is there in North Rustico.
Being a landlord for older apartment buildings really is high risk for very little return. That’s why landlords are getting out of the business.
I’ve approached a few nonprofit organizations to see if they might be interested, but right now they’re even saying that the risk is too high for the amount of work it is to purchase and maintain older apartments.
We just had a great Capital Budget that was brought forward and is under debate with a lot of money for housing.
Question to the Minister of Housing, Land and Communities: What sorts of supports will the Province offer non-profits perhaps to purchase and rent these apartments?
Speaker: The hon. Minister of Housing, Land and Communities.
Hon. R. Lantz: Thank you, Madam Speaker. That’s a great question. We certainly are looking at ways that we can leverage our budget to increase the capacity of affordable housing right across the housing continuum.
I’ll just point out that in the past four years, this government has purchased about 140 units from the private market to bring into our supply of public housing, and we continue to evaluate those opportunities as they come. But in a demand-driven environment right now that we’re in, increasing the supply of new housing that is unoccupied currently is really our priority.
We need to keep up with demand, so build, build, build is my general mantra, but we do take the opportunity to jump on good opportunities that meet our needs.
Speaker: The hon. Member from Rustico-Emerald, your second supplementary.
B. Trivers: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I’m worried about these apartments because, really, it’s a hard business case to make, and the reason is because of our rent controls that we have on Prince Edward Island. They are the most stringent in the country. They make it really tough for landlords to do business and offer the valuable services that they can.
Perhaps one of the most limiting rent controls, in particular for older rental units, is the inability to reset a low rent that was possibly set decades previously to more closely reflect the current market.
Rent control policy
Question for the Minister of Housing, Land and Communities: Would you consider changes to policy in the Residential Tenancy Act to allow the rent amount for vacant rentals – these are rentals that are vacant – to be reset to more closely represent market values?
Speaker: The hon. Minister of Housing, Land and Communities.
Hon. R. Lantz: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Generally understood that we have some of the most rigorous rental regulations in the country. Certainly, we have for a long time. That’s always been to protect tenants against unreasonable increases in rent.
We’ll continue with that philosophy, but we also have to make sure that it’s a balanced approach that keeps a healthy rental market here while we can continue to invest and increase our supply of housing.
As with any legislation or regulations, we’ll continue to monitor how those roll out, how it affects the market, and make decisions going forward.
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