1. Defining Need: What Constitutes Affordable and Cost-Effective Housing?
Matt Thomson
M. Thomson Consulting & Sunshine Coast Affordable Housing Society

2. Overview What do we mean when we say affordable?
What’s already available on the Coast?
What is the need, and how do we determine where to focus our efforts?

3. What is affordability?
According to CMHC: “A household is said to be in core housing need if its housing falls below at least one of the adequacy, affordability or suitability, standards and it would have to spend 30% or more of its total before-tax income to pay the median rent of alternative local housing that is acceptable (meets all three housing standards).
Adequate housing are reported by their residents as not requiring any major repairs.
Affordable dwellings costs less than 30% of total before-tax household income.
Suitable housing has enough bedrooms for the size and make-up of resident households, according to National Occupancy Standard (NOS) requirements.”

4. What is Affordable Housing
Affordable Housing Spectrum
Emergency shelters
Transitional Housing
Special Needs/Supportive Housing
Affordable Rental Housing
Affordable Home Ownership
Market Rental
Home Ownership
Emergency and Supportive Housing
Non-Market Housing
Market Housing
Emergency and supportive housing are housing programs that include short-term and long-term housing, that are largely or wholly subsidized through government housing programs (e.g. BC Housing, Community Living BC, health authorities, etc.), and often include some form of supportive programming (e.g. meals, activities, associated services, etc.)
Non-market housing includes both rental and ownership programs intended to serve individuals and families who experience challenges entering the rental or ownership markets; this type of housing can be supported through government funding (e.g. BC Housing’s rental subsidy programs) or may be entirely driven by local municipal or non-profit housing organizations
Market housing represents the owned and rented housing available through the conventional housing market

5. Housing on the Sunshine Coast
Emergency and Supportive Housing
Population Served
Lead and Partner Agencies
Name of Housing
Community
Number of Units
Homeless
St. Hilda’s Anglican Church
Sunshine Coast Community Services Society
Community service and faith groups
Extreme Weather Emergency Shelter (October-March)
Sechelt
8 beds
Women and children fleeing abuse
Yew Transition House
Thyme Second Stage Housing
7 beds
4 units
Individuals with developmental disabilities
Sunshine Coast Association for Community Living
Group homes
10 staffed residential beds, 3 respite beds, in 3 staffed residential facilities

6. Housing on the Sunshine Coast
Emergency and Supportive Housing
Population Served
Lead and Partner Agencies
Name of Housing
Community
Number of Units
Individuals with mental illness
Vancouver Coastal Health
Sunshine Coast Community Services Society
Housing with Mental Health Supports
Independent living with some associated programs
Coast-wide
Sechelt
9 beds
23 Supported Independent Living subsidies
8 units
Frail seniors
Good Samaritan
Society
Lions Housing Society
Kiwanis
Christenson Village
Greenecourt Seniors Housing
 Kiwanis Village
Gibsons
120 units/beds
22 units
42 units

7. Housing on the Sunshine Coast
Non-Market Housing
Population Served
Lead and Partner Agencies
Name of Housing
Community
Number of Units
Independent seniors
Lions Housing Society
BC Housing
Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER)
Greenecourt
Seniors Housing
Scattered site
Sechelt
Coast-wide
117 units
91 subsidies
Families and individuals with disabilities
Rental Assistance Subsidy
Coast Housing Society
Mountainview Court
92 subsidies
21 family units
2 units for individuals with disabilities
Aboriginal families and individuals
M’akola Housing Society
20 units
Individuals with developmental disabilities
Sunshine Coast Assocation for Community Living
Independent living
4 units

8. Who can’t afford their current housing?
Source: Statistics Canada National Household Survey, 2011

9. Housing Cost
Source: BC Housing; Thomson, 2014; limited rental market survey

10. Income determines affordability
Household Type
Median Income*
Affordable Housing Payment
Less than median income
Couples with children
$90,868
$2,272
$72,695
$1,817
Single-parents
$56,130
$1,403
$44,904
$1,123
Non-family households
$28,794
$720
$23,035
$576
*Sechelt had a high global non-response rate, which can impact income statistics.
Source: Statistics Canada National Household Survey, 2011

11. What’s the affordability gap?
Household Type
Affordable Housing Payment (Median Income)
Affordability Gap
Affordable Housing Payment (Less than Median)
Couples with children (three-bedroom)
$2,272
$356
$1,817
($99)
Single-parents (two-bedroom)
$1,403
($357)
$1,123
($637)
Non-family households (One-bedroom)
$720
($180)
$576
($324)

12. Where are we going? Core Housing Need Projections for Renters
Source: BC Non-Profit Housing Association, 2012

13. Conclusions
In Sechelt, single-parents and individual renters tend to be at highest risk of housing affordability issues-even when earning median income for their household type
Rents appear to be increasing dramatically (in Sechelt and Coast-wide), while vacancy rates drop
There are also a high number of owners who are experiencing affordable housing issues
Core housing need is projected to climb to over 1,000 renter households on the Sunshine Coast by 2021