Why some Thompson-Okanagan cities own and rent homes

If you’re looking to rent a home in Kelowna, the city could be your landlord, but that’s not the case in Kamloops and other cities in the Okanagan.

Municipalities sometimes buy up residential properties to hold for future use, whether it’s for parkland, to later develop affordable housing, city operations and more.

The City of Kelowna owns 35 residential properties, City of Vernon owns five, City of Penticton owns residential property on six streets and City of Kamloops only owns four empty residential lots.

The City of Kelowna’s properties are managed by Associated Property Management and could be rented to anyone. Some of the units are occupied and some are vacant, but the city could not provide an exact number.

The city is holding onto them to “protect public interest, strategic and operational needs, affordable housing and redevelopment.”

There are tenants in four of Vernon’s five properties; the fifth is empty because someone just moved out and the city is getting it ready for another tenant. The city holds three properties for future park space and the other two are for airport development.

The City of Kamloops doesn’t own any housing itself, but there are four building lots for sale on Royal Avenue for $419,000 each.

Penticton doesn’t hold residential properties long-term or rent them out like Kelowna does.

Penticton owns property on Eckhardt Avenue and Comox Street that is being redeveloped into affordable housing. The city is holding onto property on Creston Avenue and Elm Avenue for parkland.

Some properties owned by the city on Ellis Street are part of a long-term development plan and the city owns the former Shieling’s Motel on Galt Avenue which is going to become affordable housing.

The City of Penticton’s spokesperson Anna Melnick said there are some cases where the city will rent out a property in the meantime.

“Where a property is suitable for occupancy, the city may rent it on an interim basis to offset maintenance and holding costs rather than leaving it vacant. These are not long‑term rental assets and are not part of the city’s housing program,” Melnick said in an email.