You sound like you believe ending rental restrictions in strata buildings is a good thing. I would agree if you also accept that your "live in your real estate or rent it out" applies to home owners with empty bedrooms.
I made the sacrifice of giving up freehold land to live in a strata. Now I am being punished by having to put up with transient occupants while the landlord tenant legal system is broken.
First, renting 'bedrooms' in one's principal residence is a different animal completely. Most people whether tenant or owner, much prefer privacy. Sharing facilities is awkward, uncomfortable and to a degree, risky.
However, carving off a bedroom - bathroom and re-designing as a dedicated suite with private entry is a sensible solution for homeowners in many cases. We did this with a space of less than 20 m2 in our current SFH on the island about 6 years ago - and have absolutely no regrets. We've met many fine people including students, visitors and young arrivals entering the work force. (I should mention though that we know the ropes: we've been landlords continuously since the late 1980s with 6 different properties starting in Vancouver, and I was personally involved in housing design in my career so we know how to create attractive yet small self-contained units). Creating a private, separate entry is an important feature - and best not situated near the owner's entry.
Next, I respectfully suggest it's unfair to characterize renters as merely a "transient population" which I'll interpret as a pejorative. Research shows that a large portion of our pop, especially younger cohorts, have no choice but to rent for years and sometimes for their entire lives. We've gotten to know some long term tenants and their families very well, have given them keys to our personal suites and trusted them completely when decisions have to be made when we're away).
The problem now in my view centers on government policy. While I do agree with appropriate legislation and policy to increase the housing stock - both 'for sale' and 'for rent,' I'm increasingly concerned that policy makers cater more to tenants than owners / landlord reps... with the former arguing that governments need to 'provide' both more housing and more below-market housing. The sad truth is that the over-indebted public sector simply cannot afford to 'provide' and maintain housing at will, let alone 'below market' housing which is a slap in the face to the private sector who still provide most of the rental housing stock. All rents should be more or less 'at market.' If incomes are too low to pay for it, as harsh as this sounds, the market will eventually adjust. Inflation is indeed a problem but guess who is responsible for that; it's not the private sector. I digress.
A point in your favour perhaps - I do maintain that owner-occupancy (vacancy) should generally not be a factor in setting property tax. I believe in privacy - it is none of the governments' business as to how often an owner is at home. Up to a point. nuff sed.
My point is that I purchased a property under a known set of terms and conditions which have now been changed without warning and without my consent.
It is great that you have had positive experiences with renters. We have not. Our strata has had ongoing problems with renters damaging the building, breaking security resulting in theft, and creating noise. Without skin in the game, renters behave differently than owners.
A condo is not a rental building. They are two separate forms of structure and require different levels of management. The current legal process is definitely skewed in favour of the tenant, leaving other owners and strata councils with no practical recourse.
You sound like you believe ending rental restrictions in strata buildings is a good thing. I would agree if you also accept that your "live in your real estate or rent it out" applies to home owners with empty bedrooms.
I made the sacrifice of giving up freehold land to live in a strata. Now I am being punished by having to put up with transient occupants while the landlord tenant legal system is broken.
A couple points in response.
First, renting 'bedrooms' in one's principal residence is a different animal completely. Most people whether tenant or owner, much prefer privacy. Sharing facilities is awkward, uncomfortable and to a degree, risky.
However, carving off a bedroom - bathroom and re-designing as a dedicated suite with private entry is a sensible solution for homeowners in many cases. We did this with a space of less than 20 m2 in our current SFH on the island about 6 years ago - and have absolutely no regrets. We've met many fine people including students, visitors and young arrivals entering the work force. (I should mention though that we know the ropes: we've been landlords continuously since the late 1980s with 6 different properties starting in Vancouver, and I was personally involved in housing design in my career so we know how to create attractive yet small self-contained units). Creating a private, separate entry is an important feature - and best not situated near the owner's entry.
Next, I respectfully suggest it's unfair to characterize renters as merely a "transient population" which I'll interpret as a pejorative. Research shows that a large portion of our pop, especially younger cohorts, have no choice but to rent for years and sometimes for their entire lives. We've gotten to know some long term tenants and their families very well, have given them keys to our personal suites and trusted them completely when decisions have to be made when we're away).
The problem now in my view centers on government policy. While I do agree with appropriate legislation and policy to increase the housing stock - both 'for sale' and 'for rent,' I'm increasingly concerned that policy makers cater more to tenants than owners / landlord reps... with the former arguing that governments need to 'provide' both more housing and more below-market housing. The sad truth is that the over-indebted public sector simply cannot afford to 'provide' and maintain housing at will, let alone 'below market' housing which is a slap in the face to the private sector who still provide most of the rental housing stock. All rents should be more or less 'at market.' If incomes are too low to pay for it, as harsh as this sounds, the market will eventually adjust. Inflation is indeed a problem but guess who is responsible for that; it's not the private sector. I digress.
A point in your favour perhaps - I do maintain that owner-occupancy (vacancy) should generally not be a factor in setting property tax. I believe in privacy - it is none of the governments' business as to how often an owner is at home. Up to a point. nuff sed.
My point is that I purchased a property under a known set of terms and conditions which have now been changed without warning and without my consent.
It is great that you have had positive experiences with renters. We have not. Our strata has had ongoing problems with renters damaging the building, breaking security resulting in theft, and creating noise. Without skin in the game, renters behave differently than owners.
A condo is not a rental building. They are two separate forms of structure and require different levels of management. The current legal process is definitely skewed in favour of the tenant, leaving other owners and strata councils with no practical recourse.
Waleed,
I agree with everything you said. Best of luck with the challenges.