Some business owners in Charlottetown have made suggestions for increasing the city’s housing supply, but not everyone is happy with their recommendations when it comes to rental properties.
The Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce’s housing report resulted from roundtables and consultations between business owners, landlords and residential developers back in September.
The chamber’s members said in the report that Charlottetown’s short supply of housing is hurting their business and keeping them from finding enough workers because potential employees can’t find a place to live.
“It’s hard to bring people in and expand your business if they can’t find a home [and] if they can’t mirror the quality of life from the jurisdiction they’re coming from,” said Bianca McGregor, the chamber’s CEO.
“Housing, lack of primary care… are a real pinch point when it comes to expanding a business and ensuring a good talent pipeline for small business.”
P.E.I.’s housing situation has been described as a crisis since 2019, and the pressures are most prevalent in the province’s capital city.
The vacancy rate for rental housing in Charlottetown fell from 0.8 per cent in 2022 to 0.5 per cent last year.
To meet the demands of its growing population, experts say the province would require more than 2,000 new housing units per year, a level P.E.I. hasn’t seen since the late-1970s.
The chamber of commerce report recommends eight improvements that include reducing permit and regulatory delays for to building new housing, expanded funding programs for developers, and reducing minimum lot requirements.
