David Podmore, Concert Chairman and CEO, was a panelist on the Tyee’s sold-out Home for Good event on February 22, 2017, which explored bold solutions for secure, affordable rental housing.
The event began with a video interview with Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Housing and one-on-one interview with Kishone Tony Roy, CEO of the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, followed by two panels that focused on innovative ways to increase the affordable rental housing stock from both the “demand” and “supply” perspectives.
The panels touched on issues ranging from planning strategies to tenant rights, and Podmore, representing the development industry, offered valuable insight into the factors needed to more quickly and affordably meet increasing rental demand.
“The private sector can and does play a role in providing rental housing. Our company was founded in 1989 on the principle of building rental housing,” said Podmore. “The biggest problem we have today is that land costs in most of Canada are simply too high to support the development of rental housing – we have to look at other ways of freeing land that can be used for rental.”
To view the full video of the discussion, click below:
