Rental surge switches condo towers mid-stream

December 13, 2022


Bosa’s former Arris condo tower now a rental building. | Bosa Developments

Bosa Developments has switched a new 337-suite Calgary tower in mid-construction from condos to rentals—a move that other developers may emulate as the number of Canadians renting hits record levels.
In B.C., unique new legislation has turned thousands of condos into potential rental units.
Seven interest rate hikes in 2022, including a 50-basis-point increase from the Bank of Canada on December 7, have accelerated an existing trend toward renting, analysts say.
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) economists say the number of Canadians renting has increased at three times the rate of homeowners in the past decade and is now at a record-high level.
Assistant chief economist Robert Hoque said two-thirds of Canadian households owned their home in 2021, but the number of Canadian renters is growing even faster.
Census data RBC analyzed shows almost five million households rented the home they lived in in 2021—up from 4.1 million in 2011.
B.C.-based Bosa, one of the builders active in Calgary’s East Village, is completing the 42-storey Arris residential tower expected to open in 2023. A joint project with RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, the entire luxury tower has been converted from condos to rentals.
The move appears to be paying off. Bosa claims that within days 25 per cent of the tower was rented out.
“With a few banners on the building and a few social media posts, our phone started ringing and we leased 45 homes before official marketing even started,” said Robert Marchand, vice -president of marketing at Bosa Development.
The success of the launch persuaded Bosa to launch a second East Village rental tower, which is now under construction.
In B.C. it is a government edict that is turning existing condos into rental units. As part of its new Affordable Housing Plan, B.C. has outlawed bans on rentals in what is known as Strata Corporations. The change in provincial legislation went into effect on November 24, 2022, and automatically and immediately overrides any condo building bylaw that restricts rentals in a given building. An estimated 300,000 apartment and townhouse owners are affected across the province.