Landlord advocates call for 'honest conversation' about B.C. rental housing market

A B.C. landlord advocacy group and the CEO of a Vancouver-based real estate company say that tenants aren’t the only ones feeling the pinch from rising costs. Now they’re calling on all levels of government to work with them to find solutions.

David Hutniak, CEO of Landlord BC, and Beau Jarvis, president and CEO of Wesgroup, sat down with Daily Hive Urbanized for a discussion about the province’s rental market, which contains some of the highest asking prices in the country.

However, Jarvis said that many of the challenges landlords and renters face are due to years of government policy that ignores the current operating environment.

“I think the first thing that [the government] can do is acknowledge the situation,” said Jarvis. “I don’t really believe that they’ve necessarily fully acknowledged the operating environment. In the same conversation, when discussing tenants and income, let’s talk about the expenses and start to find some common ground.

“In 2024, I think our rent, on average, went up about eight per cent. Our operating expenses went up 70 per cent or 77 per cent, and that’s an unsustainable framework in which to operate. So more and more people are going to choose not to operate in that environment.”

Hutniak is calling for more investment in secured purpose-built rental housing, claiming that the ultimate solution is for renters to have more choice.

“Renters are our customers,” the Landlord BC CEO said. “We care very much about ensuring that they have safe, healthy, secure, long-term rental housing. That’s why we work hard to really advocate and add that supply.

“We didn’t build purpose-built rentals for 40 years. Tax policy from the federal government made it a better investment to build and buy condos, and that’s what killed purpose-built rental for four decades. Simply solving that problem overnight, in particular when our population is three times what it used to be, is not an easily accomplished task.”

The Government of B.C. describes secured purpose-built rental buildings as non-stratified and staying as rentals, on a monthly basis or longer, for a minimum of 10 years. The residential portion of the building must be used entirely for rentals and contain at least four apartments.

Hutniak claims that new construction and secured purpose-built rentals have stagnated due to risks associated with funding projects, and that municipalities have a responsibility to address this.

“The municipal level, ultimately, still influences housing more than any other level of government. There is a notion of paying for growth, where infrastructure like plumbing or sewage for the new building needs to be created.

“Well, the expectation at the municipal level is that the new building should pay for all that. That’s why we have an affordability crisis, because it’s not fiscally possible for that building to pay for all that without starting rents that are through the roof.”

Recent stats from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) showed that new housing starts in Metro Vancouver fell by 48 per cent year-over-year in February 2025.

February 2025’s housing starts in Metro Vancouver totalled 1,404 units, dropping below the 2,007 units recorded in January 2025. According to CMHC, the February 2025 decrease in Metro Vancouver was due to “decreases in multi-unit and single-detached starts.”

The CEO of Landlord BC added that the costs of additional sewer and water connections for the new buildings should be spread across the community to all taxpayers and homeowners.

“The reality is, the community gains from that new rental housing. The municipal level has created so many cost drivers and barriers to building affordable rental housing, to building housing period, and it’s particularly frustrating for people like me who are housing advocates.”

Jarvis agreed with Hutniak’s statements, stating that the private sector is delivering, operating, and taking the risk on purpose-built rentals using private capital. He said that if the government wants to “change the paradigm,” it can be done, though it will take a significant amount of time and policy changes.

“If we want to talk about public sector involvement in housing in our country, that doesn’t change the operating dynamics of rent versus expense. None of the insurance, electricity,  natural gas, landscaping maintenance, or anything else changes just because it’s public sector-owned or non-profit.

“During COVID, we had zero per cent allowable rent increase for two years, and since then, we’ve had well below the rate of inflation allowable rent increase. This means we’re subsidizing, and while we are a very values-driven organization, the paradigm is that it’s a for-profit business, and it’s not a huge profit.”

The Wesgroup CEO pointed to several ways governments can support landlords and building owners, including proper property tax assessment, help with insurance, credits with BC Hydro, and tax credits for increased capital cost of depreciation.

Jarvis also refuted the “pervasive perception” that landlords and building owners are greedy.

“The perception that we engage in tactics that are nefarious or even malicious is totally untrue,” he added. “I am absolutely at the table to have an honest conversation and find common ground.

“We are always open with our data and our information, and so I would welcome an honest conversation so that we can understand the impacts of the policy framework we’re operating in within the context of delivering new purpose-built rentals.”