sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

Leave running hotels to the professionals

Re: “New rules for short-term rentals in sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ put investment and retirement plans into disarray,” Oct. 17.

I applaud the changes the government has made to the Local Government Act, including removing the grandfathering clause. This article highlights precisely why the government has made these changes related to short-term rentals.

This woman has removed four units out of long-term housing in Victoria. Purchasing multiple units to act as a hotel should not be permitted.

If it’s not lucrative enough to rent them out to long-term tenants, then sell the units so that someone local can live there full time and contribute to the local economy and community.

Also, if these units are too small to live in full-time, then perhaps council shouldn’t be approving tiny units to be built here and all over town. Or should we be calling these units “starter housing?”

Am I really supposed to feel sorry for a mortgage company? I’m not really concerned about a mortgage company “holding the bag.”

Am I supposed to feel sorry for someone who was able to purchase four properties? None of which are for her own personal use? The units can be sold. And likely a profit will have been made.

This city is now ridiculously expensive to live in, even if one has a good paying job.

Units need to be added back in to the rental market or as condos for purchase so that people can live in them full-time.

Leave running hotels to the professionals. Please.

Kathy Large

Renter in Fairfield

Victoria

If you have space, rent it to those who need it

Re: “New rules for short-term rentals in sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ put investment and retirement plans into disarray,” Oct. 17.

The article about the angst of the poor multiple Airbnb owners has me good and mad.

“Bravo, Mr. Eby,” I say. Zero sympathy for the owners of multiple Airbnb properties.

Nearly one-third of our housing stock is in the hands of multiple property owners and the thirst for profit is crushing renters.

Seniors, youngsters and families cry out for affordable homes and our poorest fall off the rent ladder at the bottom. We see live-in vans on the sides of our streets; we see tents mushrooming in our parks.

Every housing unit removed from the potential rental stock fuels more rent increases for what’s left.

But these baby hoteliers are on the front page, whining about how they can’t retire because they can’t rent their multiple units to Airbnb trippers?

Get lost. If you have rentable space, rent it to your fellow citizens who need places to live. That’s what housing was built for.

Peach Akerhielm

Campbell River

Feel sorry for those with two or three jobs

Re: “New rules for short-term rentals in sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ put investment and retirement plans into disarray,” Oct. 17.

I am not sorry that people who can afford to buy four micro units in Victoria are being impacted by the new short-term rental rules.

I am overjoyed that government has finally come up with a policy that forces people like this to “rent their units” long-term to people who need housing or sell them. Imagine the hardship of selling the units and having at least a million dollars in the bank for retirement. Many wish they had retirement money.

I actually can’t believe this person is asking for exemption during a housing crisis. This policy will return those units back to the market and house at least 90 people in her building alone.

I feel sorry for the people working two or three jobs and can’t find an apartment in most cities in this province. When will we realize our housing needs trump retirement plans?

Laurel Villa

Duncan

A horror story about renting a suite

My husband and I own a home with a legal suite that we put in 18 years ago, to help offset our mortgage.

It has been a 60/40 split where we actually got a good tenant and regular rent payments. The other tenants were such a nightmare that I locked it up for a winter after facing $12,000-$18,000 in damages.

For example: The tenant turned the suite into a storage unit for building supplies, and used only the bedroom for living.

We both worked fulltime and the tenant put trackers on our vehicles. He brought in stolen products when we were at work or away.

Then it became a flophouse with people coming and going. Men were picking up girls in front of our house.

All our tools, pressure washer, heat lamp, saws, fishing equipment, etc. were stolen from the garage one afternoon.

The tenant cut up the work bench my father had built, and cut wood in the garage after I requested him not to.

Police would not investigate all the stolen property, saying there was no evidence it was stolen.

I started with Airbnb after I had to replace the baseboards, door casements, closet door and bathroom sink and cabinet because the tenant had removed them or exchanged them with seconds or worse. Obviously, the suite needed painting, cleaning and carpet repair.

The rental system is the problem. A half month’s rent covers nothing as far as damages. The Residential Tenancy Branch program is time consuming and more or less useless.

Change the rules for renting and make it a criminal charge to damage property and perhaps units will be more available.

Make people accountable. When I first rented a unit in the 1980s, if you had not paid rent in five days you were evicted.

There was no homeless problem then because people were accountable. We worked, paid bills and enjoyed life.

Ramona Roden

Nanaimo

Investments for some, misery for others

For every investor who bought property planning to use it for short-term b&b rental and now faces more oversight by government and extra costs, there are 50 stories of families with not enough room, young people living at home for longer than they’d want because they cannot afford rent, workers unable to find stable housing near where they work — every kind of lack-of-housing misery.

Short-term rentals are a cash cow that attracts investment. But a basic necessity like housing should not be something to invest in for a neighbourhood-damaging, market-pumping, home-removing way to make money such as short-term b&bs.

Heather Washburn

Victoria

Investors, please leave housing alone

Investors who use residential real estate as a means to build their private wealth should be encouraged to invest in other parts of the Canadian economy and leave housing for those people looking to buy a home.

The fact that up to 30 per cent of housing transactions are made by investors who have no intention of occupying their purchases clearly increases prices for those seeking housing.

When interests rates rise as they have, the investors must then increase rents to cover their costs, or put the property into the short-term rental market at prices that exclude local residents.

This is not a good use of private capital when the Canadian economy clearly needs more investment to deal with our dismal productivity issues.

The federal and provincial governments should work together to create incentives to invest in the economy, and disincentives for speculation in real estate.

This would result in less pressure on housing markets and increased productivity in the economy.

Jamie Alley

Saanich

Short-term, long-term, still expensive

sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ is striving to open up thousands of short-term rental units to the long-term market. It won’t make a bit of difference to low-income seniors.

They still won’t be able to afford the outrageous rents.

So many seniors are struggling, trying to make it from one month to the other without going without food or meds just so they can keep a roof over their heads.

When is this government going to give any help to the section of society that is struggling the most in this obscene rental market?

Diane Ball

James Bay

Avoid fake spider webs, help save the birds

I write to remind readers to avoid fake spiderwebs for your outdoor Halloween decorations. These are dangerous to birds.

For years there have been reports of birds tangled in Halloween fake spider webs, The material of this decoration is sticky and can entrap a bird or other small animal.

Please keep your fake spider webs for your indoor decorating only.

Patty Beatty

Victoria

Ferries staff should get full-time positions

Re: “End the fake independence of sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Ferries,” editorial, Oct. 13.

The ferry system is our highway. Long overdue finally to be treated as such.

Also it may be a contributing factor to not enough staff as they are only part-time. Full-time jobs are a must.

End the charade. Stop comparing sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Hydro and ICBC when deciding compensation for management at sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Ferries.

Dianne Marks

Sidney

What did we get from all that spending?

The foremost job of any government is being the guardian of the public purse. Our federal government will exceed this year’s budget plan deficit of $40 billion by $6 billion.

The real worry is the increase in interest charges of $5 billion year over year. Absolutely, totally, lost tax dollars.

Has the government spent anything on needed affordable housing? What has been achieved by all this extra government spending? Apologies, but I remind people that Stephen Harper had balanced the budget before his departure.

Patrick Skillings

Victoria

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