PRESS RELEASE:
AK Nielsen will be unveiling this piece on Nov 26, 2023 at 3PM
At Pacific Art Market, 1448 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC
The homing pigeon is holding a key with a tag that says “No Vacancy”. A glass window is broken and a sign says “Homeless in Vancouver”. Many windows display a “No Vacancy” sign and ONE window shows a “For Rent – One Bedroom $3750” sign. It says it all. Soon even the homing pigeon will not be able to find a home.
Homeless In Vancouver:
Art can evoke emotion, make a statement, stimulate conversation, motivate, and even make a difference. My Mixed Media 3D Art “Homeless in Vancouver” was created with all of those in mind. We as humans, all too often ignore problems, trying to turn a blind eye or saying it doesn’t affect me – until one day the problem(s) have escalated to the point of no return. Then we want an instant fix.
We bemoan the pain we are going to go through in the process of rectifying a problem we needed to address long before it got to this point.
Art is Powerful
As a capitalist society we have all too often leaned into ‘survival of the fittest’ beliefs ignoring the inequality those beliefs fostered. This decade to a great extent has been one of reckoning with some groups who have been trampled far too long, finally being heard. We have a long way to go. And, while some who were oppressed by societal norms and values, others remain unnoticed. Vancouver Rentals have become a complete crisis.
We proclaim our intentions to create change, but all too often want it to come at the expense of others while we continue on a path of indulgence, or at least self-interest. Take for instance bike lanes. We say the environment matters, but how many car owners gripe about the impact of bike lanes. Or, unionized groups that lobby for something they perceive their members or coworkers need, while continuing to ignore the incredible wage and financial inequality our society allows.
Vancouver Rentals: Does Equality Matter?
Vancouver Rentals have become so expensive even people who have jobs are becoming homeless. I am going to ask a few questions and ask you to reflect on it as you continue to read this. Does equality matter? When does equality matter? Does it matter that we no longer have a middle class? How do we measure the ‘worth’ of a person’s work? What is the difference between a want and a need? Is having a place to call home, something all people should enjoy? Who matters?
Core Issues: Homeless in Vancouver Challenge
In all probability, most of us would agree that housing, healthcare and the environment are three of our most pressing issues. Because this piece of art was motivated by housing issues, I will leave healthcare and environment on the side table during the rest of this post.
The housing issue is shockingly widespread. It is not a problem for Vancouver only. It is a problem across BC, and across Canada, and across North America, and across the world. How did it get like this? One of the key points, IMHO is that we ignored the problem when it was ONLY Vancouver and Toronto. While those who were most affected spoke out – they were ignored. They were the minority.
Unaddressed the problem expanded. It grew to include suburbia. Affordability issues expanded to neighboring cities – Burnaby, Coquitlam, New Westminster, and it went further and further. Homeless in Vancouver and beyond is a situation that should never occur in a modern, progressive country.
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Vancouver Rentals Crisis
The problem grew. Those who were thriving and riding the wave enjoyed it and many of those turned a blind eye saying, “Nobody needs to own a home. They can rent.” As long as renting was affordable renters continued to struggle to save assuming they would be able to own some day. Now, many live in fear of losing their rental space through any number of avenues to eviction.
The rental problem escalated dramatically. The December 2019 cost of renting one bedroom in Vancouver was $1382. “As of October 2023, the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Vancouver, BC is $2,736. This is a 9% increase compared to the previous year.” according to Zumper.
First we have to ask “How can rent increase 9% in one year when we have rent controls?” Sadly, it is not 9% across the board. Those who are evicted result in vacancies which landlords rent for enormous increases – sometimes a 30 to 40% increase if the tenant had been long-term.
I got hit with this myself. I was renting a recently renovated 2 bedroom basement suite and the day Covid rules slackened allowing Real Estate sales, my landlord listed. It sold and the new owners wanted the space – so I was legally evicted. I got hit with a 36% rent increase – even though I downsized from 2 bedrooms to one. Had I rented 2 bedrooms again, I would have been hit with a 50% (plus) increase. One year later it happened again. The landlord of the condo I rented decided to sell so I was again thrown into a hostile rental market. I came very close to joining the Homeless in Vancouver.
The piece of Art “Homeless in Vancouver” was inspired by this. If this continues, even Homing Pigeons won’t be able to find a home! The art is somber, depressing, and shows a Homing Pigeon holding a key in his beak that has a tag attached saying “No Vacancy” – it optimizes the frustration of people seeking rental accommodation. It seems there are more scams, than there are authentic opportunities and when does arrive to see the property, if your teeth aren’t white enough, or you’re having a bad hair day, you are rejected. Talk about an opportunity for discrimination.
Home Ownership: Rental Landlords
Landlords are crying that tenants have too many rights and that they can’t put rent up enough. They say they aren’t making money. I wonder what part of being in business they don’t understand. Many businesses have years when they don’t show a profit, but they are in it for long term gain. Real Estate is a long term investment and even 5 years is not a realistic time frame to judge profit or loss. Few have lost money when they liquidate.
According to Canadian Immigrants average Vancouver house prices are as follows:
• 2017 $905,800;
• 2018 $1,067,900;
• 2019 $1,021,000;
• 2020 $1,001,700;
• 2021 $1,059,200;
• 2022 $1,190,000;
• 2023 1,111,400
The only landlords who possibly got hurt were those who bought in 2019 and sold in 2020. Any other landlords, who got hurt, were either over financed or making poor business decisions. The real value of a property in the past 5 years increased by on average $43,000 or an average of $8,700 a year or $725 a month.
If they were subsidizing the rent by less than $725 a month either broke even or made money. Both of which pales by comparison to the renter who is now paying on average $1382 in 2019 (according to CMHC) and now pays $2736 in 2023 according to Zumper. That is almost double and amounts to $16,248 annually. This is money landlords are collecting. And, in the same time minimum wage went from $13.85 to $16.75 which is a 20% increase or about $3300 a year.
From that perspective, being a landlord beats working as an employee by more than 5 fold. I do realize there are risks – such as structural or expensive renovation or maintenance costs, but that is business. All business decisions bear risk.
Seniors are amongst the fastest growing group of people becoming homeless. The average senior in Canada gets about $1870 a month in government pensions. How far does that go towards rent at the present prices? While younger seniors may be able to earn some income, it is untenable for older seniors. People with fixed incomes are hooped.
Where do renters to get the extra money to pay their rent? People are being forced into homelessness or adult children are being forced to move back home and countless people are struggling. Perhaps it could be debated whether or not home ownership should be a right, but having safe and affordable housing is not up for debate. Something is gravely wrong with our society if the bottom 50% or more of the population is struggling to have a place to live. The Vancouver rentals crisis is a serious social issue.
Moreover, lack of rental inventory is the biggest issue. Nobody deserves to be Homeless in Vancouver. Even if one has ‘enough’ money they may not be able to find a place.
Even homeowners who bought low and are lower income earners are in desperate problems as interest rates on mortgages climb. I always believed this would happen. I was 31 in 1981 when mortgage rates hit 21%.
Values and Value
What is the value of a person? Where are our values? Hasn’t it been the whole survival of the fittest philosophy that has got us to this point? If not, it has been a big factor. Why do we have people who are earning 10x what others earn, and people who own homes that are 10x the price of the average house? What are the motivations behind legislation? What about those who fall through the cracks (for example rent increase legislation not protecting displaced people who have to rent at current market values)? Is it only the people with deep pockets that count?
Marginal Equality
At this point there are many of us that would be glad to accept marginal equality. Yes, that is sad. Marginal equality – we wouldn’t accept that in gender, racial, or other human rights, but the right to live our lives with dignity, and having a place to call home, seems to be up for debate.
Homeless and Financial Disparity: Homeless in Vancouver
Even if we suddenly could have enough rental units, the cost of rent is out of proportion to the income or financial means of the bottom 30% of the population. None of us would argue fair trade. We clearly believe that factories in third world countries ought not to be forcing child labor, and/or unfairly compensating their adult workers. We believe this is morally wrong. So, how about taking that and looking at it on a local level?
That gives me two reasons for pricing my piece of art “Homeless in Vancouver” at $1500. I think considering what I pay in rent that is a legitimate price. Second, I would argue, that artists of all types are worthy of being paid fairly – and all too often they don’t even get minimum wage for their time and talent. I think “Homeless in Vancouver” accurately depicts the Vancouver rentals crisis.
In lieu of the fact that the rest of my art is not priced accordingly – that is because if I did, I would sell too few pieces. Therefore, this piece is symbolic.
For all of the reasons stated in this article, I challenge the buyer of “Homeless in Vancouver” to put me, on a level playing ground with high income people just for one month. Seniors have worked all their lives and do not deserve to be worrying about having a roof over their head.
My reason for singling out and asking for help for, a senior is they are all too often too polite to fight for their rights, making them one of the easiest groups to neglect.
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