Richmond considering creation of database logging empty homes
Posted May 13, 2015 7:33 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
RICHMOND (NEWS1130) – A Richmond councillor wants her city to look to Vancouver for help on making homes more affordable.
Carol Day explains Richmond is considering creating it’s own database on empty homes.
She says she doesn’t want to see any more of what she refers to as ghost houses, that being empty homes and apartments, because she believes they’re damaging to neighbourhoods.
“If you’re living in an area where you’ve got three or four or five houses that are sitting empty, it’s very unnerving it’s almost like being in an Alfred Hitchcock movie, it feels uncomfortable.”
She’s says counting homes with nobody in them is a start to finding solutions to the affordable housing crunch. “It’s all about supply and demand and so when you have houses being built at the speed of light and they’re not occupied, we can’t keep up with demand, and so subsequently houses cost more and also houses cost more to rent.”
Day adds council has also discussed the possibility of increasing the fee for house demolitions.
