To: Saskatoon City Council


We, the undersigned, request that when the vacancy rate in the City of Saskatoon is below three per cent, that Council prohibit condo conversions (except in the case of special circumstances, such as vacant buildings which have been condemned.)


We are basing this rate on information included in a letter from housing economist Dr. Andrejs Skaburskis of Queen's University, who noted municipal governments commonly prohibit condo conversions when their city's apartment vacancy rates dip below a certain level - three per cent being the most common benchmark - for valid reasons. The following quote is from Dr. Andrejs Skaburskis:


"When the city experiences rapid in-migration of people or real estate investors, the rising housing prices and the diminishing stock of affordable housing make it difficult to attract and keep the lower paid workers that are essential for the city's economic well-being," Skaburskis wrote.


Statistics show that a shrinking supply of rental housing brings about labour shortages in "key worker" occupations: Travel, recreation, the arts, food services, trades, construction, manufacturing, child care, home support and retail, he noted.


"Business owners in Saskatoon would, in my opinion, want to prevent condominium conversions if they were fully aware of the economic consequences of the continuing erosion of the rental stock."


To preserve valuable rental stock, it is imperative that condo conversions be prohibited when the vacancy rate is below 3 per cent.