There is a high demand for apartments in Victoria, but the low supply has some renters doing whatever they can to stand out.
There are roughly 26,000 rental units within Greater Victoria and a vacancy rate of just 0.6 per cent.
“We recognize there’s a crisis. So we’re looking at what are the tools in the city’s tool box that we can put into play right away to try and address it,” Victoria’s mayor Lisa Helps said.
Property managers say apartments are being plucked off the market within a week.
“It’s very busy. As soon as we post anything online, we are getting anywhere between 100 and 300 enquiries on one unit,” president of Cornerstone Properties Jason Middleton said.
Alexa Lofthouse spent two months searching for an apartment.
She says it wasn’t easy and landlords weren’t calling her back because of a high number of applications on suites.
“I was willing to offer a cash advance or a cash promotion essentially to a landlord that would choose me over someone else if that would have made a difference,” Lofthouse said.
According to Lofthouse, sticking out is the key to success.
“Being really prepared, having your references, letters of recommendation, even a letter of intent that explains who you are to the landlord,” Lofthouse told CTV News. “Anything that you can hand them at the showing that will make you stick out in their mind when they’re going back over who the applicable candidates were.”
Councillors in Victoria have been working on a strategy to encourage development to address the housing crisis.
One of the incentives includes fast-tracking any applications to build rental developments.
“For the past many years we’ve been moving affordable housing developments to the front of the line, fast-tracking them. What we’re going to be doing now is fast-tracking all rental housing applications,” Helps said.
The move is highlighted in a new municipal housing strategy that shows a need for more than 16,000 rental suites by 2041.
Interest to build within the city is evident. A Colliers International report lists more than 1,500 new rental units are proposed, approved or on the way.
With a report from CTV’s Yvonne Raymond.
