Rental affordability crisis: How are Calgarians surviving?

With the rise of rent in Calgary, some families have found a way to get out of the market altogether.

Robin and her husband used to dream of driving a fancy RV across Canada in their retirement.

But, when their landlord told them at lease renewal time their rent was going up by $700 a month, they had to adjust their plans.

“We were paying almost $3,000 a month to someone else’s mortgage,” said Robin, who asked CityNews not to use her last name. “It doesn’t go towards anything for you.

“Even when you finance a car, when you’re done your payments, it’s your car.”

They have two kids, good credit, and own a small business in Calgary, so they did the most logical thing.

Read more: 

• Rental affordability crisis: How much has rent gone up in Calgary?

• Rental affordability crisis: Why has rent gone up in Calgary? 

The couple got a loan, bought a nice RV, and parked at a year-round campsite not far from town.

Robin says altogether with lot fees, utilities, and satellite internet, they are paying less than renting in Calgary.

Although there have been have few logistical adjustments, like learning how to winterize their RV, she said it hasn’t been bad overall – her kids are finishing off the school year in Calgary and it works well to have her husband drop them off on the way to work in the morning.

While some campgrounds charge utilities above and beyond the lot rental fee, others include it.

Jacquie Fensky is the manager of guest services at Bow Rivers Edge Campground, where a 50-amp spot costs a camper $1,350 a month.

She says they don’t mind having long-term tenants.

“We are definitely seeing an influx of families coming in or wanting to get in – we’re very busy,” Fensky added. “Many requests are that people were leaving their rental homes because landlords were increasing their rent and they were kind of in panic mode.

“But having said that, we’ve had to increase ours as well because of the substantial cost of utilities.”

She adds the campground has no limit on how long people can stay and are quite happy with the community that has built there.

As for Robin and her family, their long-term plan is no longer to save up for a house, but rather to buy a piece of land where they can park their own home.

This is the third in a five-story series by CityNews on rent affordability in Calgary. Follow along for more coverage on how the rising cost of housing is impacting Calgary and what is being done to address the problem.