The results of a survey of 249 property owners and managers, conducted online between May 9 and June 3, show that just under half of respondents are interested in providing affordable housing in the city. Citing damages, loss of rent and rising costs, most respondents ranked people on income support No. 2 on their list of people they are wary of renting. People with pets were No. 1 and students were No. 3. “Certainly, I think, there’s a lot of stigma around lower income people, unfortunately, that exists within the community,” said Ward 2 Councilwoman Ophelia Ravencroft. “It’s not always an easy thing to break down,” he said. “The moment people hear that income support is in the mix, they tend to throw their hands up and say, ‘Okay, well, you know, how can I be sure you can pay for it?’ But Ravencroft said there is some hope in the survey: 47 percent of respondents were interested in providing affordable rents, compared to 53 who said they were not. Sector 2 Coun. Ophelia Ravencroft says she is working to remove any stigma surrounding low-income renters. (Vote Ophelia for Section 2/Facebook) The rental cost in St. John’s is growing and the rental market is fiercely competitive. Meanwhile, the city is struggling to get more affordable housing — defined as rent that costs less than 30 percent of a household’s pretax income — at the same time renters and landlords face a rising cost of living. “That’s about $650. It’s really hard to find a place for $650 anywhere in St. John’s, let alone across the country,” said Doug Pawson, executive director of End Homelessness St. John’s. John’s. “The economics are really difficult … for landlords to want to provide affordable housing,” he said. The survey is not representative of the entire city — most of the respondents were small-scale landlords, operating one to five units, mostly basement apartments or single-family homes, and most of them in Central, East and West St. John’s. Few of them owned properties downtown, in Shea Heights or Mount Pearl. It indicates that the landlords felt – among other things – that there is not enough security to recover the cost of lost rent or damages. They also said there were no housing benefit deals to ensure long-term or consistent tenancies and a lack of support for complex tenants. Doug Pawson, executive director of End Homelessness St. John’s, says it’s hard to find truly affordable housing in the city — or even the country. (Submitted by Doug Pawson) When asked what would make it more attractive to invest in affordable housing, the No. 1 answer was a fund to help them recoup the cost of lost rent or damage. Tax breaks and rental renewals ranked second and third, followed by more money to make units more affordable and energy efficient and more subsidies tied to rental units as opposed to renters. Pawson said End Homelessness St. John’s has a program that can help with some of these costs. The program, called HomeConnect, provides landlords with guarantees and money to pay for lost rent or damages, Pawson said. “We rarely ever need it, and that’s really there to offset the perceived risk of renting to someone who is low-income, someone in our case who can move out, leave homelessness and get housed,” he said. “These little things, these little reassurances can make a big difference even if they just go beyond perception,” Pawson said. Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
