Saskatchewan realtors pitch housing solution

The Association of Saskatchewan Realtors is encouraging the province's next government to implement tax incentives aimed at increasing investment in rental property.

Yorkton realtor and Association of Saskatchewan Realtors director Len Wassill has been speaking on the organization's behalf.

"We feel very strongly that tax incentives and an increase in the supply of residential property will allow the market to right itself with respect to rental values, among other things," he told Yorkton This Week.

The group is cautioning against rent control as a solution to the rental shortage.

"Rent controls were tried in this province back in the early 90s. Unfortunately, rent controls controlled the value of rent but they didn't do anything to increase the supply of rental accommodations."

Wassill notes that most of the province's newer multi-family residential buildings were constructed during the 1970s and 1980s, when tax incentives were available to investors. Construction slowed down afterwards.

"Right here in Yorkton, which of course is one of the better and more progressive cities, you'll notice that the most recent apartment blocks were the ones built north of the Parkland Mall, and they're getting close to 20 or 25 years old. Obviously construction hasn't kept up with demand."

By encouraging new investment and competition in the market, said Wassill, even a short-term tax incentive can offer a long-term solution to the problem.

For more immediate help, the association supports the continuation of Social Services rental housing supplements for those in need.

"Fine-tuning" the regulations surrounding private secondary (basement) suites would also help address the problem, Wassill said.

"We want of course all the safety factors to be followed, but sometimes some of the municipal regulations, especially with respect to zoning, are quite restrictive to people putting up suites for rent."

Yorkton is not as badly off in terms of housing availability as many parts of the province. According to the latest data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the city's apartment vacancy rate in the spring of 2011 was 4.9 percent, compared to an average of 2.5 percent among the province's urban centres.

"It's tight, but it's not impossible," said Wassill.