Sicamous pensioners struggle to find affordable housing
A couple of seniors in Sicamous went through weeks of stress trying to find affordable housing, fearing homelessness.
The house Ed Doerfling and his wife Christine have been renting for 11 years is getting old and deteriorating, and is going to be demolished in May.
“The landlord can’t afford the upkeep of the house, so will sell the lot,” Ed said. "It makes sense."
Ed’s son and grandkids were also living in the house, but the family split up and found living arrangements with other family members. With less than a month left before eviction, time was ticking for Ed and Christine.
“Affordable housing is out of reach for people on a pension,” he said. “We found a few places but there were 50 people in the lineup in front of us.”
A security guard working past retirement age, Ed is currently on stress leave helping his wife get through cancer treatments. His wife’s legs are weak from chemotherapy and she’s fallen three times.
Ed was paying $1,200 per month for the soon-to-be demolished house rental. The pair were looking for a one- or two-bedroom rental preferably close to Salmon Arm for cancer-related medical appointments and struggled to find one.
“The one-bedroom rentals I’ve seen are between $1,400 and $1,900 and most two-bedrooms are $1,900 plus.”
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Ed applied for the rental assistance program through B.C. Housing but got a letter back saying they couldn’t process it without a copy of his citizenship papers he got in 1969.
He was born in Germany and moved to Canada at the age of five and got his citizenship at age 23. The problem is, those papers are lost.
“With all the moving around in life, I lost them,” Ed said. “Immigration and Citizenship Canada told me it’ll cost $500 and take a year to get a new copy sent. I have the number of the certificate but that’s no good.”
Just days ago the pair were cleaning and packing, considering what to do with their belongings if they couldn’t find a place. They got tips and support from a social media post they made asking for help.
He said lots of people commented and helped to look, sending phone numbers to him, but a lot of the rental suggestions were located too far away from Salmon Arm where Ed’s work and Christine's doctor is.
“I work 12-twelve hour shifts doing mobile patrol and I can’t be too far out leaving my wife alone right now."
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Their combined pensions don't add up to much so they searched for a $1,200 per month rental with the ability to pay up to $1,500 after Ed gets back to work. They were offered a fifth-wheel for $1,500 but only as a temporary rental.
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Just when they were losing all hope an offer came through and they found a place roughly 10 kilometres east of Salmon Arm that should finally suit their needs, if not also higher than their budget.
"Usually I’m a positive person, but I was really stressed out.”
They’re not the only ones going through huge stress trying to find affordable housing in a country-wide housing crisis.
According to the January 26 Market Rental report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, rental affordability continues to be a challenge across the country. There is a lack of affordable rental housing, especially for the lowest 20% of income earners.
The report cites higher migration, increased homeownership and students returning to on-campus learning drove increased demand for rental housing in 2022. Demand for rental housing outpaced the increase in supply, leading to a lower national vacancy rate compared to the year before.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation doesn’t show rental vacancy rates for Salmon Arm, but in nearby Kelowna shows vacancy rates at 0.1% last year and 0.7% this year.
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