Community Articles
General News · 11th December 2023
sadhu
The results of the Cortes Housing Survey are in!
With over 260 responses, (about 20% of our full-time residents), this is the largest housing survey completed on Cortes. As you can see in the survey, there is considerable alignment among us to take action and tackle our housing challenges.
We are still compiling the results of the Cortes Housing Forum that was held on Dec 2nd, online and at Mansons Hall. With over 100 participants, we got a lot of great feedback and ideas that we are preparing in a full report that we aim to share in the next couple weeks. In addition to insights and ideas for housing, there was a strong interest expressed to ensure that we support water systems, climate and wildlife as we continue to work on housing.
The survey results are included in the attached PDF with a few key data points pasted below.
Don't forget to join the Strathcona Regional District for their zoning bylaw review drop-in on Monday, December 11th from 1-4 PM at Mansons Hall.
Key data points:
66.4 % own their homes and 33.6% rent.
80.5% live in regular homes and 19.5% live in a tiny home.
40% have lived on Cortes for over 20 years, 25% for 10-20 years and 17% for 5-10 years.
30% don’t have an indoor toilet, 20% don’t have laundry, and 12% don’t have bathing facilities.
67% support an empty homes tax, 14% are unsure and 18% do not.
63% support Cortes opting into the BC Government legislation so people can only operate short term rentals on land that includes their primary residence, 16% are unsure and 21% do not support it.
72% support greater density.
82 renters responded:
48% rent a house, 30% a tiny house, 22% a cabin.
48% pay less then 33% of their income on rent, 42% pay 33%-50% of their income on rent.
87% of renters would like to buy land on Cortes is they could afford it.
175 Property Owners Responded:
56% don’t have a mortgage.
40% have space that could be rented to accommodate a tiny home, 20% have a cabin or house that could be rented if the conditions were right.
60% might rent those spaces out if there were an intermediary to handled risks of renting.
With over 260 responses, (about 20% of our full-time residents), this is the largest housing survey completed on Cortes. As you can see in the survey, there is considerable alignment among us to take action and tackle our housing challenges.
We are still compiling the results of the Cortes Housing Forum that was held on Dec 2nd, online and at Mansons Hall. With over 100 participants, we got a lot of great feedback and ideas that we are preparing in a full report that we aim to share in the next couple weeks. In addition to insights and ideas for housing, there was a strong interest expressed to ensure that we support water systems, climate and wildlife as we continue to work on housing.
The survey results are included in the attached PDF with a few key data points pasted below.
Don't forget to join the Strathcona Regional District for their zoning bylaw review drop-in on Monday, December 11th from 1-4 PM at Mansons Hall.
Key data points:
66.4 % own their homes and 33.6% rent.
80.5% live in regular homes and 19.5% live in a tiny home.
40% have lived on Cortes for over 20 years, 25% for 10-20 years and 17% for 5-10 years.
30% don’t have an indoor toilet, 20% don’t have laundry, and 12% don’t have bathing facilities.
67% support an empty homes tax, 14% are unsure and 18% do not.
63% support Cortes opting into the BC Government legislation so people can only operate short term rentals on land that includes their primary residence, 16% are unsure and 21% do not support it.
72% support greater density.
82 renters responded:
48% rent a house, 30% a tiny house, 22% a cabin.
48% pay less then 33% of their income on rent, 42% pay 33%-50% of their income on rent.
87% of renters would like to buy land on Cortes is they could afford it.
175 Property Owners Responded:
56% don’t have a mortgage.
40% have space that could be rented to accommodate a tiny home, 20% have a cabin or house that could be rented if the conditions were right.
60% might rent those spaces out if there were an intermediary to handled risks of renting.
(Cortes_Housing_Forum_SurveyResults_Dec_10_2023.pdf)