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REAL ESTATE

from The Georgia Straight - Fright Night - October 29, 2020

from The Georgia Straight - Fright Night - October 29, 2020, page 2

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REAL ESTATE Reports about falling rents not always accurate by Carlito Pablo R obert Patterson says he keeps seeing media reports about rents falling in Vancouver. Rents and other housing director with LandlordBC. He said that it’s “not overly common” to hear about tenants renegotiating rents with their landlords. Vacancy rates, especially in Vancouver, issues are important subjects for Patterson. are low, and this means that renters have to He works as a legal advocate and lawyer compete for what is available on the market. with the Tenant Resource and Advisory That said, “landlords, in any case, Centre. He also rents in the city. should always be willing to at least keep an

A common narrative goes that the pan- open mind” about negotiations, Boucher demic has taken a bite out of rents. Renters told the Straight in a phone interview. are bailing out because they have lost jobs. He likened renegotiations to a typical Landlords are chasing tenants so they can “business deal”, where two parties have to keep their mortgage. There are more units come to an agreement. on the market as the crash of tourism freed “You take what they’re saying, undera lot of short-term accommodations. Every time he comes across reports about rents going down amid COVID-19, The operations director with LandlordBC, Hunter Boucher, says it’s not that common to hear about tenants renegotiating rents, even though one report suggests that they’ve fallen in Burnaby. stand it, and see you know where that works within your plan,” Boucher explained. “Is it sustainable for you? And be open to that, the first thing he does is open up the online falling, Patterson advises that they should figure constitutes a 7.8 percent decline and then really investigate whether or not advertising site Craigslist. check what’s really going on in the market. compared to September 2019. this really makes sense for you.”

“I check the rental listings in my area in “I’m not sure if I would say a blanket For two bedrooms, the median rent in According to Boucher, setting rents is Vancouver and other neighbourhoods,” Pat- suggestion to all tenants to go and re- Toronto in September increased month “considerably difficult” for landlords beterson told the Straight in a phone interview. negotiate their rent,” Patterson said. over month by 0.8 percent, to $2,650. On a cause they have to make sure that their

According to Patterson, what he sees On October 15, PadMapper released a year over year basis, the number represents costs are met. advertised on the market is not clear-cut. report about median rents in Canada. an 11.7 percent drop. He also stressed that tenancy agree-

“I have to say, in the lower end of the According to the apartment-finder site, In Vancouver, the median rent for a ments do not preclude the possibility of market I have seen almost zero movement Toronto and Vancouver, the two priciest two-bedroom unit came to $2,750, which renegotiating the rent and other terms. on rental units,” Patterson said. markets in the country, “still had double- was the same as in August. However, the There can be real benefits to negotiating

This means that for people who need digit year-over-year declines” in the figure amounts to a 14.9 percent decrease terms, such as rents, like keeping a tenant and would really benefit from lower rents, month of September. compared to September 2019. for the long term, he said. there’s not much relief available. However, there was a “monthly taper- “The rest of the top markets experi- As for TRAC’s Patterson, the tenant ad-

“While there is some downward pres- ing”, which “may signal that the down- enced a mixed bag of changes…,” Pad- vocate noted that renters know their landsure, I think it’s mostly on luxury proper- swings are decelerating and a rent price Mapper reported. lords best. ties,” Patterson said. floor may be hit soon”. Burnaby, which the site described as the “It’s always a bit of a give and take,” Pat-

Patterson said he pays about $1,700 for In September, the median rent of a third most expensive city, “saw rents down terson said. “What can you provide that his one-bedroom unit in Vancouver, which one-bedroom unit in Toronto dropped to on all fronts”. the landlord may want?” he considers the lower end of the market. $2,050 a month. This represents a one per- Meanwhile, Victoria, the fourth-prici- This may involve taking over some addi-

According to him, many tenants in cent decline from the previous month and est market, “saw rents grow into the double tional obligations, like landscaping, in exVancouver pay about the same amount for a 10.9 percent reduction year over year. digits since this time last year”. change for a rent reduction. a comparable rental unit, and rents have In Vancouver, the median rent of Also, a “majority of Canadian cities had According to Patterson, it’s important to not moved much. So when tenants hear reports about rents $2,000 in September for a one bedroom stayed flat from August. However, the growing rents on a yearly basis”. Hunter Boucher works as operations remember that nobody is obligated to agree to the other’s request. g