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First United eviction survey

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First United eviction survey

A survey of people evicted recently in BC

Russil Wvong
Jul 17, 2023
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First United eviction survey

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When renting from an individual landlord, having the landlord reclaim the property for personal use or selling the property is a significant risk (about 60% of responses)

BC Eviction Mapping. Story in the Vancouver Sun by Lori Culbert and Dan Fumano: B.C.'s first eviction mapping project reveals impacts of housing crisis, May 2023.

This is basically a survey of people who have been evicted recently in BC, with 440 responses.

  • In 60% of cases, respondents reported that they were being evicted for landlord use, either by the existing landlord or their family (40%) or by a new buyer (20%). About 10% were for non-payment of rent, 10% for disturbance or risk to property.

  • In 25% of cases, respondents were able to stay in the neighbourhood; in the remaining cases people were displaced. (I didn't see a figure for people who were displaced to a different city.)

  • For people who were able to find a new place, about 40% had a rent increase (compared to their previous rent) of $500/month or more. About 13% had a rent increase of $1000/month or more.

  • In about 75% of cases, respondents were able to find a new home. In 25% of cases, they became homeless.

People who became homeless after eviction experienced different types of homelessness, including living:

  • Unsheltered on the street or in parks;

  • in encampments;

  • in low-cost hotels or temporary rentals until the money ran out;

  • in unfinished basements;

  • in homeless shelters;

  • in a U-Haul truck;

  • in cars, vans, and SUVs;

  • by couch surfing with friends or family;

  • in an RV; and,

  • returning to the street or shelters due to eviction, after having successfully left the shelter system.

One person's story, from r/canadahousing.

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