Affordable housing hard to find in Richmond, B.C., as residents watch condo construction boom

Everything seems to be getting more expensive. Food, gasoline and housing prices are on the rise while paycheques are slow to keep pace.

The CBC News series Priced Out explains why you're paying more at the cash register and how Canadians are coping with the high cost of everything.

Richmond, B.C., is suffering from a shortage of affordable rental housing despite high levels of construction, says resident Lisa O'Sullivan. 

That's because the bulk of new construction in the city is creating privately owned condos, not purpose-built rentals. Data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says Richmond recorded 703 rental housing starts and 5,495 strata condo starts from 2018 to 2021. 

O'Sullivan, her son Cyril Gunn, cousin Sandra McMath and mother Betty McGuire currently live in a building that's shared by another family of renters, and are looking for a place that gives them their own space. 

O'Sullivan says they want to stay in Richmond, but can't find a place they can afford within the city after searching for two years.

"We've been looking online, we've been applying to B.C. Housing to help us," she said. "But there's only one or two [suitable] places in Richmond, and they're beyond our rental budget."

The home is also drafty, with a whiff of mould and a springy porch that feels like it's on the verge of collapse, the family says.

"One-bedrooms now are $1,600 a month, some are $1,800, and those townhomes that aren't even that big are $3,000 a month," McMath added.

It's a sentiment shared by Richmondite David Yang, who's lived in the community for most of his life. 

"The rents have gone up so high, and to not even be able to find that supply out there, a lot of the younger generation who grew up in Richmond are becoming disenchanted," Yang said.

Yang, a recent graduate from the University of British Columbia, says there are areas in Richmond where rents are a bit cheaper, but those areas don't have easy access to transit, and any money saved on rent would be spent on a car.

O'Sullivan says she and her family reached out to the City of Richmond to inquire about the Low-End Market Rental (LEMR) Program, a municipal initiative to provide cheaper rental housing, but were told there aren't enough three- or four-bedroom units available.