To: Dr. Erika Paterson
From: Dennis Tianxiang Deng
Date: June 22, 2022
Subject: Proposal for Determining Cause and Impact of Expensive Student Housing in Metro-Vancouver
Audience
My formal report will be addressed to all levels of government of BC.
Introduction
Student Housing affordability is one of the most challenging issues students face nowadays, both financially and emotionally. Rising demand for ownership and reduced rates of rental construction have caused standard title unit construction to become the dominant form of housing in this region, to put it simply, there are more houses built for families than renters.
Statement of Problem
Demand for rental housing is increasing, in part because of population and household growth and in part because many households have been priced out of the ownership market. New rental unit construction has not been sufficient to meet the need for more units, so vacancy remains extremely low and rents have been increasing faster than household income. Meanwhile, local government did not put enough effort to reduce demolitions of existing rental stock.
Proposed Solution
All levels of BC governments can have considerable power to take action. The Local Government Act contains zoning provisions that could be used to support rental housing. The Provincial government can invest more money and introduce new forms of zoning, property taxation changes, and rent regulations. Another important strategy can be to reduce the construction cost of new rental supply
Scope
To address the complex issues of renting affordability and how it affects student housing, I will pursue five areas of inquiry:
- Perspectives of students on living/renting in Vancouver
- A Review of the rapid changes in the recent years
- What are Local and Regional Agencies Doing?
- Using Zoning to support residential renting
- Other tools to curb rental prices
Methods
The data sources for this report will be primarily collected from previous research and statistical reports conducted by the municipal governments. Meanwhile, personal surveys and reviews can be used as my secondary resource, they can yield insights into trends and can be interpreted to form a conclusion.
My Qualifications
I always put close attention to the city’s rental market and how housing investments are made by the government, therefore I am confident to give an opinion on what can work best for students. I have also taken one sociology course on housing.
Conclusion
Continued population growth and the continued lack of affordable ownership options will add to the demand pressure on the rental market. Because of the high cost of land in this region, creative approaches are needed to make better use of existing lands
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