Strategy to Address Rising Rents in West Broadway

More recently, there have been many new emergent pressures on West Broadway’s housing stock which is 92% rental. Larger developers are buying up apartment buildings and raising the rents. Over an eight year period until 2008, 54 % of all of rental units in West Broadway were affected by at least one rent increase through Provincial Rent Controls; resulting in a loss of affordable housing for low income households. Early signs of gentrification are showing too. There has been increase in number of housing stock conversions: apartments to condo, rooming houses to multi-residential high end housing and to single family homes. Because these pressures on the housing sector, new infill housing development that meets core housing needs becomes vital to a healthy community.

In 2010, the WBDC Board of Directors endorsed a strategy for our organization to combat Rising Rents in West Broadway. This includes:

1. Advocating governments for,

• increased capital and programming funding to provide more Rent Geared to Income (RGI) Units
• more funds towards portable rent supplement programs to address core housing need
• more funding for successful rehabilitation programs such as the Residential Rehabilitation Improvement Program (RRAP).

2. Working with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and other local neighbourhood renewal corporations on a research study on the effects of rising rents on resident displacement and what can be done to bring more RGI Units on to the market.

3. We are also a member of the Right to Housing Coalition and work with this organization to advance more RGI units across Manitoba.

If you are interested in working with us to address this issue, please contact info@westbroadway.mb.ca or call 774-7201×2.