Many Charlottetown renters struggling with affordability

More people in the Charlottetown area are struggling to pay rent than in many other parts of Canada, suggests a new study by Canadian housing organizations.

According to the Canadian Rental Housing Index, Queens County ranks 222 out of 291 regions across Canada in rental-housing affordability.

Nearly 20 per cent of renters are using more than half their income for housing.

We don't need more high-end condos. We don't need more shiny, expensive, pretty places.-Lise Brown

It dispels a myth that a low cost of living makes life easier for Charlottetown's many low-income earners, says Ann Wheatley, spokeswoman for the Cooper Institute, a P.E.I. development education group.

"So we have some of the lowest wages in the country and the costs here are quite similar to other parts of the country, you know, except for maybe house purchasing," said Wheatley.

Western and eastern P.E.I. faremuch better in the study. Islanders in those areas earn less on average, but also pay less for rent.

There is more demand for rental units and more money to be made on higher-end apartments in Charlottetown, said Jason Pitre, adeveloper and the owner of P.E.I. Apartments.

Landlords want maximum return

"The median income is higher in Charlottetown.It will drive the price up for commodities such as rental apartmentsand so landlords can, over time, demand higher rents for their new projects on the market," he said.

Lise Brown considers herself one of the lucky ones.

Her apartment is subsidized through co-op housing, so she only pays 25 per cent of her income on rent.

"If it wasn't for the support of King's Square Housing, I would be struggling to afford anything," she said.

"There are so many people out there that need affordable housing, the seniors. We don't need more high-end condos. We don't need more shiny, expensive, pretty places."

Pitre suspects the only way developers will build more affordable housing units is if governments provide more subsidies.

Wheatley thinks that money may be better spent on a guaranteed income supplement for Islanders, so more can comfortably afford the apartments that are already out there.