Comox Valley rental rates are “severely unaffordable”

Rents in the Comox valley are officially “severely unaffordable,” according to the Canadian Rental Housing Index. The designation is based on 66 percent of household income spent on rent and utilities. The Campbell River area is rated a 58 percent.

The Canadian target is for not more than 30 percent of household income spent on rent.

But vacancy rates have remained nearly unchanged over last year. The Courtenay-Comox Valley region has a 0.7 percent vacancy rate, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Campbell River has a 0.4 percent vacancy rate.

CMHC says British Columbia’s overall vacancy rate of 1.4 percent (up from 1.3 percent last year) is the lowest in the nation.