The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) and Whistler Housing Authority (WHA) are moving ahead with changes to WHA eligibility criteria for rentals after council supported the policy change at its July 23 meeting.
The changes—which arose from the Mayor's Task Force on Resident Housing and were first discussed publicly in April (see Pique, April 18)—will refine the WHA's eligibility criteria and enforcement framework for rentals.
Changes to policy concerning purchases of WHA housing stock will be considered at a future date.
"We want to ensure that employee housing is available to those employees in town who need it. We also want to continue to optimize the limited employee housing inventory as best as possible," said WHA general manager Marla Zucht, in a media briefing on July 22.
"And in addition, we want to provide more education and enforcement against any potential misuse of our limited employee housing inventory."
The policy updates cover three main areas: eligibility, rental qualifications and compliance and enforcement.
ELIGIBILITY
Under eligibility, the definition of an eligible employee has been updated to one who works 30 hours per week (up from 20 hours per week), while the definition of what constitutes a "qualified Whistler business" has also been updated.
"It's not a significant change, but just more defining what a qualified Whistler business is," said economic development manager Toni Metcalf.
"So the business needs to be physically located in Whistler, and primarily serving Whistler local residents, Whistler businesses, or Whistler tourists through the majority of their business operations."
The new definition excludes businesses that "are not linked to the resort economy," or those that don't service the community, Metcalf added.
The definition for eligible seniors has also been updated, requiring applicants to be at least 55 years old and retired from active full-time employment, while having met the WHA definition of employee for at least 10 of the last 12 years prior to retirement (a change from the previous requirement of five of the past six years).
The new policy will also bring the management of seniors housing in line with the rest of the WHA stock. Where it was previously administered jointly by the WHA and Mature Action Community on a priority based points system, the WHA will now oversee management of seniors units on its own.
"It's really about aligning policy and process such that all employee housing meets the same criteria," Metcalf said.
"And obviously seniors' housing will still have seniors' priority, but they will just need to fall in line and ensure that we have the same processes and policies around that."
RENTAL QUALIFICATIONS
The changes to rental qualifications cover two key areas: occupancy standards (where the size of a home offered to an applicant will be based on their household size) and consideration of an applicant's ability to pay.
"The proposal here is to implement financial thresholds, which will require applicants to substantiate their financial situation prior to being offered a tenancy agreement, as well as on an ongoing annual basis, to ensure they continue to qualify," Metcalf said.
The onus will be on the applicant to provide the necessary supporting documentation, and the RMOW and WHA will enlist the help of a third-party service provider to verify the documentation and substantiate income and assets.
"The rent that would be payable is based on a household's ability to pay, so we're looking at a more consistent and fair approach so that every applicant pays an equitable portion of their household income on housing," Metcalf said.
Under the new policy, the current real estate holdings limitation is removed, as it is "superseded" by the new asset limits put in place.
"It no longer differentiates those who may hold assets in real estate vis-a-vis those who may hold their investments in other classes of assets such as stock or other investments," Metcalf said.
"It's equalizing that field, so if you invest in the stock market or you invest in real estate, we'll consider them the same."
The new financial thresholds are based on two factors (gross household income and net assets) and are split across six categories.
"The categories have been created such that households pay around 30 per cent of household gross income on rent, and depending upon the household income and the size of their home need, it will determine the category," Metcalf said.
A family with one child earning a combined income of $85,000, for example, would be in Category 4.
But, depending on their assets, they could be bumped higher (and if their assets exceeded $300,000, they would not have access to the WHA rental program).
"The category defines the property and the rent associated with that property," Metcalf said.
"So if it's a Category 4 family needing a two-bedroom unit, depending upon the property that comes up, they'll probably pay around the $2,300 mark."
ENFORCEMENT
But making the new policy work in practice will require enforcement.
"It's really about increasing knowledge in the community around this—so establishing an education campaign to build greater transparency of the rules—and I think it's important that across the community there's a solid understanding of what's there," Metcalf said.
The new policy calls for the implementation of "appropriate audit processes" to proactively sample current rental and ownership of homes to ensure they're being used properly, as well as a more proactive and structured follow-up review process.
"On the rental side, [that will include] annual tenancy reviews to ensure tenants remain eligible and that the rental rates are reflective of a household's ability to pay," Metcalf said.
"And on the purchase side, annual statutory declaration processes that are already in place, a more proactive follow-up of those to ensure the units are in compliance."
The policy also highlights "continued investigation and pursuit of enforcement for any reported non-compliance," which will mean hiring a new employee-housing compliance officer to do the work.
"It will be a new position, and we're still working out with the RMOW on what the entire scope of that role will be and where they will be situated," Zucht said.
"We're realizing that more dedicated resources do need to be associated with this area of focus."
IMPLEMENTATION
The policy changes will be applicable to all rental applicants as of July 24.
"Anybody that's currently on the rental waitlist, they will be required to meet these eligibility updates and the requirements, but they'll have until Dec. 31, 2020—so a full year and a half almost for existing rental applicants to become compliant," Zucht said.
Those currently occupying a WHA rental will not be affected.
Following a presentation to council, Councillor Ralph Forsyth moved to defer the motion, but without a seconder from the council table his motion died on the floor.
Forsyth reasoned that the new policy (with its mentions of government subsidies and occupancy standards) was veering too close to "social housing" territory.
"I think we're breaching what I thought was just the best employee-housing system in the world, and now we're going into creating social housing," he said. "That's not something I ever signed up for, and I won't support it."
The new policy is going to be a learning process, said Coun. Duane Jackson, who oversees Whistler's housing portfolio.
"I think these are all good moves. It might not be the final outcome and we might need to make some adjustments, but these things have been talked about for years," Jackson said.
"They're not going to please everyone, and I understand your frustration ... but this isn't just about the resort, this is about the community, and our community needs aren't being met, and the housing is obviously No. 1."
In the end, Forsyth was the only dissenting vote (Couns. Cathy Jewett and John Grills recused themselves, as Jewett is on the WHA's waitlist, as is Grills' daughter).
With the policy in place, the WHA and RMOW will host information sessions in August tailored to specific groups like rental applicants and seniors.
A frequently asked questions page will be posted to the WHA's website at www.whistlerhousing.ca this week.
