A local single mother is facing her worst nightmare as rent prices in Medicine Hat, as well as zero to low vacancy rates, are blocking her from finding a new place to live. She's not the only one dealing with this crisis.--FILE PHOTO
@CollinGallant
A Medicine Hat single mother says she’s being squeezed out of a the local rental market and may have to move into a trailer this summer in hopes that something suitable and affordable comes available this fall.
That’s as officials at Medicine Hat Community Housing say a waitlist for the affordable units it operates is growing, as are applications for rental subsidies to keep people in privately-owned apartments.
If nothing comes available in her price range soon, Aquilia Oberkirsch plans to rent a camper trailer, put most of her possessions in storage and hope she can find a two-bedroom unit she can afford in the fall for herself, six-year-old daughter and cats.
“It’s the hardest move I could ever make,” she told the News. “We know it’s temporary until we find something. It’s feels really crummy, being in this situation.
“I won’t sugar coat it.”
She was already receiving a provincial rental subsidy for the unit where she and her six-year-old are living at a cost of $1,225 per month. That was set to rise to $1,275 when the lease was to be renewed, and on the market now, it is listed for $1,390.
Meanwhile, Oberkirsch said the units she’s looked at in the $1,200 range are substandard or come off the market quickly and do not have utilities included.
Others as high as $1,700 per month would be well above her accommodation budget, even with a rent subsidy for which she qualifies.
“I know that everybody is struggling right now, but this is coming down hardest on the people who really can’t afford it,” she told the Tenants in the city have complained for years about rising rents and a lack of options when looking for new accommodation.
Local availability for two-room units has been below 2 per cent for more than three years, while the total number of units in all categories remained stagnant.
Meanwhile, average rent for all units is up by one third, according to the latest figures published last fall.
Medicine Hat Community Housing CAO Robin Miiller told the News that figures suggest affordability concerns are likely behind increased inquiries to the agency.
“I know the situation has gotten more dire for people, there’s no doubt about that, just based on inflation and economic factors,” said Miiller.
“We’re still able to offer new subsidies to people … Right now that number stands at 722 households that we’re helping, and that is a significant increase over the last couple years.”
In the spring of 2023 when the province increased funding for rental subsidy program, the number stood at 564.
Applicants can receive an amount calculated against their income and rental costs to keep accommodation as a more manageable portion of their total budget.
Miiller said requests for affordable units have remained steady for the last year at 60 per month, but the waitlist had grown from 450 families in March 2024 to 534 this spring.
According to the most recent Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation rental market report for Medicine Hat, rents in October 2024 had risen by almost one-third over three years. That includes a 9.5 per cent jump in 2024 following a 10.3 per cent increase in 2023.
It pushed the monthly price for a two-bedroom apartment in the city from $927 in late 2021 to $1,200 to end 2024, and that does not include the effect of removing utilities from leases, which renters have said is increasingly common in Medicine Hat.
According to figures from the city’s planning department, about 200 new apartment units, representing a 12 per cent increase, could come on the market over the 18 months as construction proceeds on three substantial apartment blocks.
