CANMORE – A rental policy at a local apartment building has prompted the Canmore Community Housing board to ask the province of Alberta to look at the Residential Tenancies Act due to its potential impact on non-Canadians.
Policy from the Calgary-based rental company Boardwalk will see the company charge eligible tenants on work visas three months of rent upfront, including for the 40 suites set aside for CCH renters in Peak Estates.
The CCH board wrote to Lisa Sadownik, the deputy minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, to advocate for a limit to be set on what a landlord can ask from a resident to gain a rental unit.
“The practice of requiring a tenant to provide more than first month rent and security deposit to secure a tenancy, required primarily by those workers in Alberta who are here on a work visa, makes doing so unaffordable and presents an undue financial hardship to those who have come to Alberta to assist our economy by way of joining and contributing to the workforce,” stated a letter from the CCH board.
At a recent meeting, the CCH board voted to provide a $7,000 letter of credit to people on work visas attempting to rent “to assist our clients on a work visa.” The credit letter would help residents on work visas who may not have the money to better secure rent.
In a Nov. 8 letter to Boardwalk, the CCH board of directors expressed its disappointment with people on work visas who are eligible tenants under CCH’s vital homes program having to pay three months rent.
The CCH board asked Boardwalk to reconsider its policy and “limit the amount an eligible vital homes work visa rental applicant must provide to secure a tenancy to first month rent and security deposit, moving forward.”
“Along with CCH, this housing is deemed an integral part of Canmore’s housing solution by a previous, and current, council,” wrote CCH board chair Rob Murray on behalf of the board. “Having a different and more expensive hurdle to overcome for those on work visas to attain housing in our community is a policy the board finds troubling.”
While it may seem to put an additional roadblock for potential non-Canadian renters, Boardwalk said it is company policy to limit its risk, but that each potential applicant possibly facing the three months is looked at on a case-by-case basis.
Andrew Christopher, a regional director for Boardwalk, said renting to potential tenants involves looking at past employment, landlord history, reference checks and credit history. However, for out-of-country people, all of that may not always be available.
Christopher said the extra month of rent upfront is to offset risk since the company is unable to get a full picture of a tenant as it would long-term residents or Canadians.
“With that, we take a risk. To offset that risk, we ask for three months [rent]. … We’re not able to grasp a full picture to base that decision, so that’s where the out-of-country application comes from. It really comes down to risk,” he said.
“We really make sure we get a full picture so this is the right person for our building. … For people out-of-country, there’s a lot of those factors not available.”
He noted the three months is specifically for rent and not a deposit, meaning the company still bears risk after the three months.
According to its website, Boardwalk has more than 30,000 units in four provinces.
At a Canmore committee of the whole meeting last May, representatives from Boardwalk said the company formally purchased the building on March 30 when the sale closed.
The development of 1451 Palliser Trail began in the mid-2010s when the Town looked for developers partnering in designing and building an apartment complex on municipal-owned land.
In 2017, council approved the development permit in the partnership between the Town and Northview REIT. The company purchased the land for $2.73 million following a bidding process. Northview REIT also agreed to pay $100,000 in mitigations to assist with wildlife issues.
Northview REIT was purchased in 2020 by Starlight Group Property Holdings and Kingsett Capital for $4.5 billion.
According to land title records, the transfer of land to Boardwalk was Aug. 7 of last year for $63.5 million.
Peak Estates has 40 of the 148 units as part of CCH’s vital homes program. Of those, 32 are two-bedroom and eight are one-bedroom at 10 per cent below market rate. The deal was a 20-year agreement.
Fable Downing, chair of Calgary city-centre chapter for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), said it’s an example of Alberta needing greater protection for renters in the Residential Tenancies Act.
“Alberta does not have good rent protection or any form of rental control that supports renters, newcomers, low to moderate income people,” he said.
Downing said many newcomers are often unfamiliar with the Residential Tenancies Act or the system of finding housing in each province, which could lead to them being taken advantage of.
“Newcomers are already facing significant financial hardship – not even touching on the pandemic, which can exacerbate that quite a lot – and the inflation piece is also important,” he said. “It’s not just rent that’s going up, but food, utilities and gas.
“Costs are going up in everyone’s area of life, so to ask for another month’s worth of rent right up front is prohibited to most people. If I were a newcomer looking to start a life in Calgary and someone asked me to pay that much, I would definitely find somewhere else. I wouldn’t want to live there.”
Christopher said they looked at potential options with CCH such as renting a suite back to CCH and having them sublease it – which they do with some units with Calgary Housing Company and Pathways to Housing in Calgary – but the two sides eventually agreed to the letter of credit.
Since doing so in November, there hasn’t been any letter of credit used, Christopher said.
Boardwalk purchased the building in late March, with 31 of the 40 units being occupied for CCH. Since then, it’s been as low as 27 and now stands at 39.
Christopher also added Boardwalk has worked with CCH to further reduce rental rates beyond the agreed 10 per cent below market rate for the 40 dedicated CCH units.
A two-bedroom unit goes for $2,735 and a one-bedroom is $1,831, but CCH units are $2,013 and $1,506, respectively, for between 26 and 32 per cent below market rate.
“Affordability is such an important thing in Canmore. … We understand the need for it and it’s important,” he said. “We want to make sure that the process of finding the right place to live is smooth. We try not to create barriers just to create barriers, but there is policy we have to protect us as a company.
“We always try to be reasonable. That’s just our approach. There’s times where you have to draw a firm line, but we really do try to be reasonable and provide other options. We believe in affordability and we understand looking at the market there are challenges and we want to make sure we’re providing affordable options.”
