ong.
ing in the book aisles will

I “withdrawal of
privileges for variou
It could only happen (we hope) in the big
TO. Maybe there's a research project here
for scholars exploring the roots of western
alfenation..

sunday

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communi-

‘the

issue ofthe -place of
. ities.

I think our
should be

clearly spelled ‘out. These

| “Byeryorie. ‘talks - about it but no one does ©
anything about it.” Mark Twain was referring to

the weather but his comment might have applied
equally to the current rental housing crisis. Now,

the answer.
Abolish rent control.

Dr. Block, a senior boffin
with the Vancouver-based
Fraser Institute, has . just
published a new book Rent
Control: Myths and
Realities. In it he argues
persuasively — and with
generous documentation —
that rent control merely
reduces incentives to supply
new housing, the key to the
whole problem.

The result, he contends, is
today’s record low vacancy
rate which-“especially hurts
poor who suffer most
from lack of available
space.”

The most convincing
evidence presented by Dr.
Block comes from European
countries like Britain,
France, Austria and Sweden
which have been heavily into
rent control ever since
World War One. Now, for
more than ai decado,
governments thore have
been moving gradually
towards decontrol,

He also cites the
disastrous results of rent
control experiments in such
cities as San Francisco, New
York and Toronto on the
supply of new rental
housing. Nor, apparently,
are zero vacancy rates alone
the only evil spawned by rent
control.

OUT ON THE STREET?
Equally nasty side-effects,

-however, economist Walter Block claims he has

to Dr. Block, are
reduced building main-
tenance, erosion of the tax
base (which shifts the tax
burden to homeowners) and
the cutting of labor mobility
(workers unwilling to
relocate because of the
difficulty of finding ac-
commodation elsewhere).
He sums it all up with a
quotation from Swedish
planner and Nobel
r Gunnar Myrdal:
“In many cases (rent)
control appears to be the
most efficient technique

presently Known to destroy a
city — except for bombing.”
The evidence is im-

pressive. Does it mean Dr.
Block is ed to see
tenants with limited incomes
turned out on to the street by
rapacious landlords?

Not at all, you'll be
relieved to hear. The Block
solution is « government
housing allowance paid
directly to needy tenants.

Let rents rise to where
they will, thereby on-
couraging developers to
err Wine and more rental
units. With a rising vacancy
rate rents would eventually
level off or even possibly
aro somewhat, Buildings
wou properly main
tained. The m ‘ tax
base would be enhanced.

orkers would no Jonger
fear moving,

7 so far turned a deaf car.to™

. the . réquests of the ~
. sausicipaiis for a tevision

Unfortunately, ait

provinces, jncluding” our

own B.C. government, gue all.

Scotia and an
The - second is
jal governments have

all the lucrative forms

of taxation for themselves,
compelling municipal

governments as “creatures of —

the province” (Section 92(8) ©

of the BNA Act) to rely for

their revenues on two main

of which are inadequate.
‘This is es:
British Columbia which, .

provincia’ i transfer payments
to municipalities of: all the
provinces in Canada. "The

by
‘Noel Wright

*

Meanwhile, present
tenants would be protected
while all this was going on.
Everyone would be happy.

The only snag, of course,
is that a government housing
allowance for low income
tenants would cost taxpayors
in general quite a bit more
money than rent control

$20 EXTRA TAXES

Under current B.C. law)

rents up to $700 per month
aro, with certain exemp-
tions, restricted to an annual
increase of 10%. The
average monthly rent of a
one-bedroom apartment in
“westside” Vancouver is
around $350, and around
$550 for « modest two-
bedroom house. Add up to
one-third for an équivalent
pad on the North Shore ~—-

that ~

‘Cost Reform, has the lowest

when: you can find it: ate

talsman’s executive assist
_ Tony Dibley, !
- presently about. 720,000
rental units in B.C. ut
to rent control.

decontrolled, in line.’
Dr. Block's formula,'
that average annual
increases for #8. period
promptly rose to 25%
providing the incentive
flood of new building.

' taxes

reasonable,

other: ‘ munic
Only. 16%: ‘comes fro
Rane government

Fon by no meeas A

aaaiei troo for. Soy

According to the

Let's suppose they we

If Victoria recompense
tenants for the extra 15% is
their rent hike —— and taking
into account lower.. rent
outside the Greater: Vé
covuer area sigh the
ear's out amo
rf epi h-oe4 $17 million.
around $20 extra in ann
for every,
household.

pounded upward
succeeding year:
scheme, Not oxactly. post
but still a long way from
disaster for most:
taxpayers. a

If the end result,
suggested by Dr. Block,
an adequate’ supply of:
maintained rental
level

prices in step with overs
Taflation, it might be a
ptice to pay over, & TY
three-year period.

Increasing numbers
worthy citizens living:
the threat, of no
their head at all don
for a very happy society