The city needs to start thinking outside the box to address the housing crisis Whitehorse is in, says Coun. Steve Roddick.

Roddick said last week he’s been talking recently with a lot of people who are affected in different ways about the housing shortage.

“Some posters have been put up around town,” he told his colleagues on council at their July 19 meeting.

“One of them said, ‘I had to put my dog down because I could not find a place that accepts pets.’”

That is just one of the many stories you hear, Roddick said.

He said the posters are being put up to make the point the housing situation is really bad, and it affects a lot of people in different ways.

The situation is reaching a critical point, Roddick said.

He said it’s almost like the city is in some sort housing hunger games.

“This is just not in the municipality’s court,” the councillor said.

“Every government has tools in the tool box that it can and should use, and should be using better.”

The rungs of the housing ladder are becoming out of reach for many people, he said.

“There is a strong feeling that if you are locked out now, you are never going to be able to get in.”

Roddick said many people will not be able to build generational wealth by investing in their homes, just as their parents and grandparents did.

Bidding wars have become standard, and every time somebody bids $30,000 or $40,000 above the next-lowest price, it drags the floor up on the whole housing market, he said.

Roddick said Air B & Bs have cut into the rental market, with home owners choosing greater profits from short-term rentals to visitors instead of renting to full-time tenants.

The number of Air B & Bs peaked at 235 before the pandemic but shrunk to a low of 146, though is creeping back up, he said, noting the number was at 163 in the last three months.

Roddick said economists have determined with every one per cent increase in the number of Air B & Bs, there is a 0.026 per cent increase in the cost of housing and rents.

“It does not seem like a big amount but when you are talking about an average price of $560,000, that pulls everything upwards,” he said. “I think that is something we need to look at more seriously, and time is of the essence.”

Roddick suggested developing regulations to guide short-term rental properties may help the situation.

As well, there is the possibility of bringing more lots to the market through a community land trust committed to affordable housing, he said.

Roddick said, for example, the city could donate lots with conditions attached to groups that are willing to manage housing developments.

If, for instance, an individual were to pay $300,000 to purchase a unit in a multi-unit development, and if that individual wanted to sell, they would have to keep the price at $300,000, plus the cost of living increases and the cost of any improvements, he said.

He said it’s all about maintaining affordability.