Dear editor,
Municipalities can resolve the housing crisis simply by zoning smaller one-fifth-sized building lots starting at $60,000 (or one-quarter sized for $75,000, and so on).
Unfortunately, renting is not a secure housing option as rents continually rise, and good standing, long-term tenants can ultimately be evicted.
We need to construct homes that truly fit a person鈥檚 earned income instead of building $1,500 one-bedroom rentals and declaring them as 鈥榓ffordable.鈥�
If a basic building cost of $275 per square foot is assumed, a full-time minimum wage earner (at 30-per cent debt ratio) can own their own 150-square-foot small home with a fenced yard and single vehicle driveway for 60 per cent less than the cost of an average basement rental suite. A $25-per-hour earner can own a 320 square foot home, and so on (based on mid-Vancouver Island $300,000 lot prices).
Jason Jonker-Harms
Nanaimo
