Spearheaded by the Richmond Poverty Response Committee (PRC), Richmond Rental Connect wrapped up the first phase of their project on June 20 at the Richmond Cultural Centre and introduced the second phase.
A celebratory crowd of secondary suite landlords, hopeful tenants and engaged citizenry joined together to hear a special guest speaker, acknowledge their achievements and enjoy a live launch of the new website, which can be viewed at www. richmondrentalconnect.ca.
Guest speaker Marg Gordon from the National Rental Housing Coalition spoke about the dire need for rental housing all across Canada.
In her talk, she stated that Metro Vancouver needs 6,500 new rental homes every year, yet in the past five years only 1,000 purpose-built rental units have been built.
This means people are finding it more difficult to find affordable places to live that are close to work and transit.
Gordon closed by saying the coalition is calling on the federal and provincial governments to reform tax policies and regulations to make rental housing easier to build.
This is especially important in light of recent changes the federal government made to the rules around mortgage lending.
Now you will need 20 per cent down and you can only get a 25-year mortgage, instead of 15 per cent down and a 30-year mortgage.
Although the changes are meant to cool down the entire Canadian housing market, people in Metro Vancouver will be especially hard hit.
It will undoubtedly result in even more individuals and families seeking affordable rental housing because they cannot qualify for a mortgage.
Therefore, Richmond Rental Connect is poised to be in the right place at the right time.
A "made-in-Richmond solution" to the rental housing crunch, Richmond Rental Connect is designed to meet the needs and concerns of many stakeholders in rental housing.
But for the project to be successful they need the community of Richmond to come together.
The project needs landlords to give consideration to affordability when setting their rent, homeowners to consider the advantage of creating a secondary suite, and well-informed tenants seeking safe and affordable housing.
The Richmond Rental Connect website is the second phase of the pilot project.
It is structured so that a homeowner, landlord or tenant can click on their interest and find factual information and links to other websites.
The website has a host of handy online resources, such as suite inspection forms and fact sheets and it will be regularly updated with new information.
It is meant to eventually be a one-stop shop for everything concerning rental housing in Richmond.
The website also has an online rental housing registry where a landlord can post their suite and a tenant can choose from the options what suite would work best for them.
Landlords are asked to get involved in the project by considering affordable rent and tenants by considering what they can contribute to keep the rent affordable.
Once participants have completed a fall workshop they will be registered with the website and granted access to the online housing registry.
The third phase of the project is to provide workshops for landlords, tenants and community agencies on rental issues and solutions.
The first workshop, slated for September, will invite participants from phase one and any interested Richmondites to hear about rental rights and responsibilities under the Residential Tenancy Act.
A knowledgeable mediator and an information officer will give an overview of what to look out for and answer questions about common issues that can cause problems in a landlord-tenant relationship.
Follow up workshops will be offered on such subjects as problem solving, mentorship, communication skills and dispute resolution.
For more information on Richmond Rental Connect, please go to www.richmondrentalconnect.ca or leave a message at 604-205-4700.
De Whalen is a longtime poverty and affordable housing activist in Richmond.
