It Takes A.....

I came across an interesting local study. Released last July 2005 by The Social Planning Council for the North Okanagan, one of the most interesting findings was the need of private landlords for adequate supports. In the study area (Vernon, BC), a good portion of affordable housing for harder to house individuals (those with FASD, brain injury, mental health issues, etc) is supplied by private landlords as opposed to social service agencies or government. The greatest barrier to both maintaining the current housing stock and expanding capacity, is profitability.

Profitability may seem like challenges our sensibilities when considering affordable housing for vulnerable populations. But consider what it takes to purchase, hold and maintain a property. There must but at least some sense of profit if even to maintain a replacement reserve. There is no doubt that there are nefarious landlords to be found. However, how often does a suite need to be rebuilt before it becomes a losing enterprise?

Here's what the study found:

"There is little information available that discusses strategies for working with the low-end private rental sector - the single largest source of rental housing for low income people in Canada - to offer safe, secure housing for individuals whose cognitive and/or behavioral impairments make it difficult for them to secure and maintain housing." (p. 20)

Further,

"The fact remains, however, that the private sector will continue to be the main provider of low cost rental housing in most communities across Canada, particularly in smaller urban and rural areas. The literature review confirms the need for intensive exploration of ways in which service providers can work with cognitively impaired tenants and with private sector landlords to provide the supports each needs to maintain stable housing situations." (p. 21)

I think that what we can take from this is the realization that it takes more than simply more housing stock. Don't get me wrong. More housing stock is an absolute nessecity. We are all aware of the low vacancy rate and very difficult time we have in finding housing for our clients. But that's just it. Landlords that want to see a return on their investment - or at least a break-even - are increasingly reluctant to accept individuals that are typically hard-to-house. We really need to make the case that the most important component to stable housing is support.