Council adopts amended employee rental housing policy

Publication Date: April 12, 2022

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At the April 5, 2022 meeting, Council adopted amendments to Council Policy K-01: Employee Rental Housing.  The policy establishes eligibility criteria for applicants and rental rates for the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s Rental Employee Housing Program.

Previous to the amendment, income and asset maximums were used to determine a rental rate via the Rental Category Framework, which included six income and asset levels for each bedroom category. 

While the framework intended to allow for adaptability based on a household’s ability to pay, the structure was challenging to administer and created uncertainty for program applicants.

“Since the implementation of the Employee Housing Rental Policy, we have focused on continual learning and ongoing improvements to the program,” said Mayor Jack Crompton.  “This important amendment gives WHA tenants ongoing certainty and security in their housing and rental rates.”

Amendments adopted on April 5, 2022 include:

  • The Rental Category Framework will be replaced with a ‘rent geared to income’ calculation tied to 30% of gross household income, subject to minimum and maximum rental rates; and
  • A market housing ownership restriction in place of net asset limits.

The WHA will adopt the new RGI model and market housing asset testing for all new rental tenancies. Transitioning to the RGI framework for existing WHA tenancies will be optional and require a new tenancy agreement. The WHA will prioritize and facilitate tenants who will see an improvement in housing affordability resulting from these new amendments

About Council Policy K-01: Employee Rental Housing

Council Policy K-01: Employee Rental Housing (Policy K-01) was adopted by Council on July 23, 2019. Policy K-01 is an outcome of the 2017 recommendations of the Mayor’s Task Force on Resident Housing (MTFR), which was established to comprehensively address Whistler’s critical needs for affordable employee housing.

Policy K-01 applies to employee rental housing properties owned by the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW). Policy K-01 provides Council direction for the management and administration of these properties, which is the responsibility of the Whistler Housing Authority Ltd. (WHA). This responsibility includes ensuring compliance with renter eligibility requirements and the rental of housing units at rental rates as established by Policy K-01. There are currently 327 rental housing units that are owned by the RMOW, to which Policy K-01 applies.

To view the updated Council Policy K-01: Employee Rental Housing, visit https://www.whistler.ca/services/housing/about-whistler-housing-authority