This single father earns $75,000 a year. He can’t find affordable housing for him and his son in Vancouver
Karl Eaton has been working since he was 16 years old.
Today, he has a full-time job at Telus and earns about $74,900 a year, but the 55-year-old single dad says his take-home pay isn’t enough to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Vancouver for himself and his son. .
“I’ll probably be homeless in 30 days if I don’t find a place I can afford – reasonably – without it costing my entire salary,” he said. The early edition host Gloria Macarenko.
Eaton and his 18-year-old son Tristan have lived in basement suites for the past two years, but kept having to move when owners sold the property or their relatives moved into the suite. They are currently staying with a friend, but they must find a place to live before July 31.
“I’m pretty shocked,” he said. “If I can’t find a place, am I going to live outside my car? I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with my son.”
Eaton says his biweekly paycheck is about $1,550 after taxes. That works out to about $3,400 per month during the year.
According to latest figures from Rentals.cais the median rent for a two bedroom apartment in Vancouver over $3,600.
Eaton says he can’t find a two-bedroom apartment for less than half his salary, which he needs to pay for other expenses, such as groceries and paying for his son’s post-secondary education.
The early edition7:23Single dad in Vancouver says his options to find an affordable home are running out
An all too familiar challenge in Vancouver…to find affordable, safe housing. We hear the plea of a single father from Vancouver.
Public plea for help
He posted a plea for help finding an apartment on a neighborhood website in Kitsilano, saying he “sees no help for anyone in [his] position.”
“I make just enough to avoid single-parent status, but not enough to house my son, even though I worked and paid taxes in Vancouver for 39 years.”
Karl Eaton, 55, says he’s seeking help to get an affordable apartment, but his middle income disqualifies him from most means.
Eaton is on several cooperative and Metro Vancouver Housing waiting lists. He says he’s looking for something affordable on the Lower Mainland, as far as Coquitlam, about 20 miles east of Vancouver. He even contacted Prime Minister David Eby’s constituency office, only to be told he is not eligible for grants.
With his $75,000 annual salary, Eaton is above The maximum income limit of BC Housing of $72,000 to qualify for affordable two-bedroom housing.
“I have to be broken or homeless to get help, even though I am a functioning member of society,” he said.
Prime Minister says new homes are on the way
Eby says Eaton’s plight is a reality for far too many British Columbians.
When asked if BC Housing should adjust its income limits to inflation, Eby said the county agency already has “a significant waiting list” and the county is focusing on building more homes.
“Much of our new housing strategy focuses on middle-income people [and] using public land to build housing that is actually accessible for people to rent or buy,” the prime minister told Macarenko in an interview on CBC’s The early edition.
The early edition12:46Prime Minister David Eby on the cost of housing in British Columbia
Canada’s prime ministers are meeting in Winnipeg next week for their annual summer meeting and the BC prime minister says housing will be at the top of his agenda.
Eby says some of that is working with federal and municipal governments to get homes built faster. He says his government has implemented legislation to speed up the approval of permits for new developments and set targets for municipalities on the number of homes they must build.
But Eaton is skeptical that more housing means more affordable housing, especially as he sees multi-unit homes being demolished.
“They are being torn down and no affordable housing is being built in their place,” he said. “Luxury apartments or terraced houses are taking their place.”
The single dad says his son Tristan can’t choose a post-secondary institution until they know where they’re going to live. The 18-year-old plans to take an online math course at Vancouver Community College or Langara College to study biology and business.
Eaton says his son will have to work this summer to help pay the rent, but he would like to be able to focus on his studies in the fall.
At the coast10:19BC United Finance Critic on housing affordability
With prices reaching new heights and housing affordability at its lowest…should the provincial government do more? BC United Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar, the Official Opposition Critic for Finance, joined us with more.
