1451 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Absolutely - means you've got to maintain a healthy and accessible rental market for everyone else.

Yes, that’s right. Starting with ensuring sufficient supply is built. VV got started by providing a voice for people who wanted more development in their communities during the reign of Pam Madoff and her associates on council, who rejected vast sums of housing units over their years on council and had a very complicit media on their side.

[Victoria Watcher]

I mean, many people can't

A very, very few people actually can’t. Show me virtually any household budget and I’ll show you how to carve out just 10-15% of your rent to put aside.

Now I certainly know that many people can’t budget or spend every penny each month. That’s a different problem.

[TallGuy]

I would guess that every single month in Victoria dozens if not hundreds of tenancies are disrupted when a house with a basement suite sells, or a condo sells and the new owner takes possession or of course, couples and families split etc.

 

They all seem to do fine.  But one 15-unit apartment needs to go to make 48 new ones and everyone is concerned.

No, they don't all do fine. You have clearly have no experience with long term poverty with little ability to escape and the effects of rent increases or renovictions. These people rely on their grandfathered low rent and can't just move somewhere else (that costs money), find a higher paying job for which they have no training or experience, or pull their boot straps higher. Once they lose their housing they will need to get on a waitlist for affordable housing and/or rely on pathetically funded subsidies, or become homeless.

[Victoria Watcher]

No, they don't all do fine. You have clearly have no experience with long term poverty with little ability to escape and the effects of rent increases or renovictions. These people rely on their grandfathered low rent and can't just move somewhere else (that costs money), find a higher paying job for which they have no training or experience, or pull their boot straps higher. Once they lose their housing they will need to get on a waitlist for affordable housing and/or rely on pathetically funded subsidies, or become homeless.

 

People adapt.  You'd be surprised.

[Moderation]

There is an obvious gap between these two views.

Some people will be able to adapt and be capable of doing so.

Some people will need and want some help with managing their financial affaires to manage.( Where can they find that help?)

Some people will not be able to adapt for reasons beyond their control. (How can they be identified and helped?)

[Victoria Watcher]

The vast majority will be fine. Those that need help will receive it from friends and family and employers in terms of money or places to stay.

[TheLoneDanger]

The vast majority will be fine.

You've said this, or some variation of it, seven times in this thread since this particular topic arose four days ago. If you're going to assert that, I think it's worth elaborating on why you believe that's the case.

For what it's worth, point-in-time counts of Victoria's homeless population showed a 12% increase from 2016 to 2020, and 92% of homeless people surveyed said they were in search of permanent housing. Their top three reasons for lack of housing were high rent, low income, and lack of supply (https://www.crd.bc.c...-2020-07-31.pdf)

Current best estimates put Victoria's rental vacancy rate at below 1% (https://victoria.cit...ly-lags-demand/), which speaks to the lack of supply. Meanwhile, the average rent for private apartments in Victoria increased by 30% between 2017 and 2019 (per the CRD report cited above). I'd love to be able to cite exact rates of wage increase for you to speak to the low income issue, but StatsCan's website is mostly down right now due to a web vulnerability. I can tell you they didn't go up anywhere near 30% in two years.

The statistics show that people, in fact, are not fine. Dealing with that obviously requires, in part, more housing supply, but it's disingenuous to pretend that there won't be real consequences in the short term as a result of eliminating some low-cost housing stock. The reasonable response would be to ask "what can we do about that?" rather than just asserting that a documented problem doesn't exist.

[corvus]

The vast majority will be fine. Those that need help will receive it from friends and family and employers in terms of money or places to stay.

 

Again: you are making an enormous assumption here in conflict with all available evidence about rising homelessness, increasing housing costs, inflation of cost of living, and stagnant wages. You keep saying people will be fine - can you substantiate that at all? 

 

I notice that there was no response to my previous post pointing out that people being removed from their homes is renoviction regardless of how legal the demolition is. You've conceded that argument. What we're arguing now is if renoviction negatively affects tenants. Unbelievably, you seem to think it does not. The burden here rests on you to produce ANYTHING to support that.

 

You should know, as a person who regularly reads this website, that housing costs are going up for both renters and prospective buyers. It is embarrassing for you that you do not see a link between that and the negative effects experienced by renters when they are removed from their existing housing and rent rates. 

Edited by corvus, 17 December 2021 - 10:26 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

I've been on this planet long enough to know that nobody becomes or stays homeless unless they have very serious mental health and/or addiction problems, PERIOD.

 

NOBODY.

 

In terms of "renovations" where the landlord was less than honest, there is a formula in place to penalize landlords that do that.  It's 12 months rent.

 

 

Landlords and tenants should also be aware that the landlord must (except in extenuating circumstances) pay the tenant an additional amount equal to 12 times the monthly rent payable under the tenancy agreement if the landlord does not renovate or repair the rental unit in the manner specified on the Four Month Notice, or they don't begin working on the renovations or repairs within a reasonable amount of time after the effective date of that notice.

 

 

https://www2.gov.bc....cy/renovictions

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 17 December 2021 - 10:33 AM.

[Citified.ca]

Colwood, Victoria and Langford topped rental housing delivery in 2021 while 3,000-units remain underway across the Capital

https://victoria.cit...ss-the-capital/

[Moderation]

https://www2.gov.bc....ng/homelessness

 

Lots of info here re BC work on this issue. It indicates that there are a number of causes of homelessness other than mental and addiction issues. There is strong evidence that falling into the homelessness sphere is also a cause mental  and addition issues.

 

It also indicates that a significant portion of homeless people have mental and addition issues. Like most hard to solve issues there are complex interacting factors involved.

[Victoria Watcher]

Lots of info here re BC work on this issue. It indicates that there are a number of causes of homelessness other than mental and addiction issues.

 

No there isn't.  Oh, there is a very tiny portion of society that chooses to be homeless. 

 

Can you point me to these specific conclusions?  Nothing in your link's first page tells me about this.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 December 2021 - 07:00 PM.

[Moderation]

One segment of the homeless are women using short term or transition shelter services while they last or are available.

 

file:///C:/Users/Dave/AppData/Local/Temp/WTHSP-Transition-Housing-2019.pdf

 

Other reasons people my become homeless

https://www.bchousin...vention-program

 

Another general article covering the topic and that all homeless people are not mentally ill or addicts.

 

https://www.richmond..._Sheet49917.pdf

[Victoria Watcher]

Other reasons people my become homeless

https://www.bchousin...vention-program

 

Yes, except that this program PREVENTS homelessness.    

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 December 2021 - 06:03 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Another general article covering the topic and that all homeless people are not mentally ill or addicts.

 

https://www.richmond..._Sheet49917.pdf

 

 

"the main cause of homelessness is poverty".   No sh*t, Sherlock.  A drug-addicted, mentally disturbed person might not be homeless if he also has an income of $5,000/mo.  

 

But also, the "main cause of poverty" is addictions and mental health issues.  See how it's circular?

 

 

40% are employed part-time!  Hurray!  What are the other 60% doing, and why are the 40% only working part-time?  Single, able-bodied people should be employed full-time, there are plenty of jobs.

 

Of course they "cannot find an appropriate and affordable place to live" on a part-time income, nobody can in major centres unless a partner or family or the government is heavily subsidizing them.  

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 December 2021 - 06:14 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

One segment of the homeless are women using short term or transition shelter services while they last or are available.

 

file:///C:/Users/Dave/AppData/Local/Temp/WTHSP-Transition-Housing-2019.pdf

 

This link does not work.  

 

First off, when a single man/woman cohabitating break up catastrophically (ie. acutely separated by police etc.), the majority of the time, the woman stays and the man moves out.   When kids are involved there is a huge swath of programs to hep the female and kids.  They are not going to spend any night "homeless" in the traditional sense.

 

And, in almost all cases, the affected seek help and receive it from friends and family or even church, just the way you would be assisted by your friends or family or faith if you needed it.

 

Sure, there are a few exceptions to this, but almost all of those would be people with mental health or addictions issues also, that due to that condition, find themselves short of friends, faith or family.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 December 2021 - 06:20 AM.

[Moderation]

My final article on homelessness.

https://housingresea...PLAN530-BCH.pdf

 

 

On a lighter note.

The Netflix series, ,,,The Maid...... follows a women into homelessness and shows some of the many challenges faced in getting out,

 

It may be of special interest because it was filmed totally on location mostly in and around the greater Victoria area and it can be used to support elements of both our point of views.

[Victoria Watcher]

The Netflix series, ,,,The Maid...... follows a women into homelessness and shows some of the many challenges faced in getting out,

 

It may be of special interest because it was filmed totally on location mostly in and around the greater Victoria area and it can be used to support elements of both our point of views.

 

I've met the book's author.  She's a socialist that's interested in a massive expansion of the social security system.  She's a freeloader.  She takes very little responsibility for her own actions and life circumstances.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 December 2021 - 07:41 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

My final article on homelessness.

https://housingresea...PLAN530-BCH.pdf

 

The report is rubbish.  Hard to even get past this part:

 

 

What is missing from that list, I wonder?   Hint:  more than one thing, but the main one is by far the largest demographic of homeless.  Yet somehow the authors missed it.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 December 2021 - 07:47 AM.

[Mike K.]

Are men never homeless?