When 91原创 City pensioner Cran Campbell heard the 44-unit, four-storey apartment building he lives in was up for demolition, he started packing, filling up moving boxes, and stacking them inside his apartment and on his balcony in weatherproof totes, leaving just the most essential items remaining.

鈥淭hat took me six weeks,鈥� Campbell, 74, told the 91原创 Advance Times, 鈥渂ecause I didn鈥檛 have the energy, physical, or mental, for that matter. I got tired.鈥�

He鈥檚 looking for a new place, but so far hasn鈥檛 been able to find one he can afford, in his hometown.

An anti-bigotry activist who has spent considerable time lobbying for reform, Campbell has a new cause, seeking a better deal for displaced tenants.

Campbell, a retired journeyman, lives in Pyramid Apartments on 5360 204th St., which was built in 1977 and is slated to be replaced by a 12-storey building with 370 units 鈥� 317 strata, and 53 rental units.

For Campbell, it鈥檚 his third hunt for a new home to rent in 91原创 City in eight years.

鈥淚t鈥檚 overwhelming,鈥� Campbell commented.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just get up and move. It鈥檚 more than that.鈥�

It鈥檚 the prospect, he explained, of having to move away from his hometown, away from friends and family, away from the medical professionals he relies on.

A notice from builder Whitetail Homes Ltd. at the end of June advised tenants the company has improved its first-refusal offer 鈥渋n response to City council comments.鈥�

It means displaced tenants returning as renters to the new building would pay 20 per cent below market rate, an increase from the 10 per cent discount required by City鈥檚 tenant relocation plan policy.

As well, Whitetail will provide 鈥渁ll vulnerable tenants,鈥� defined as seniors and people with disabilities, 鈥渃ompensation of eight months rent, regardless of tenancy length鈥� up from the six months required by the City policy.

Whitetail has set up a web page for tenant relocation at , which includes a link to the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre (TRAC) and promises tenant moving expenses will be paid, up to $1,250 for a three-bedroom unit.

The problem, Campbell said, is that the actions taken can鈥檛 fix the fact that so-called 鈥渂elow-market鈥� rents are beyond the budget of most seniors on fixed incomes.

Affordable housing 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 exist,鈥� Campbell maintains.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe it exists unless a person will hand out 50 per cent or more of their income. There is nothing out there that is affordable,鈥� he said.

Campbell disclosed he currently pays $790 to rent a one-bedroom at Pyramid, while one 鈥渓ow income鈥� unit he recently looked at was asking $1,500.

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He鈥檚 been on a wait list for subsidized housing for seniors for more than two years.

鈥淚 know the mayor and council are putting effort into change,鈥� Campbell said, but he believes senior levels of government 鈥� federal and provincial 鈥� must do more.

鈥淚t has to be bigger. Rent controls are a bottom-line necessity now.鈥�

According to the most recent Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation survey, the median rent for 91原创 City and Township, as of October 2022, was $1,502, with an average one-bedroom apartment going for $1,276, an increase of 4.8 per cent from the previous year.

The vacancy rate was just 1.1 per cent. CMHC noted a lack of affordable rental housing, especially for the lowest 20 per cent of income earners.

READ ALSO: Politicians point fingers on Canada鈥檚 housing crisis

On July 17, 91原创 City council gave third reading for rezoning and the discharge of a land use contract, which would enable the development of the 12-storey apartment building. The proposal will come back to council for a final review and vote at a yet-to-be determined future date.

Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2024, according to the Whitetail website.

In an online about the vote, Mayor Nathan Pachal said council 鈥渁cknowledged that we are in a housing crisis and need all types of housing: BC Housing subsidized housing, below-market housing, and market housing.鈥�

Pachal noted the project was consistent with the city鈥檚 official community plan and exceeded several council bylaw and policy requirements.

Published minutes of the meeting noted that 鈥渁ffordability is different for everyone, and private industry can鈥檛 meet every need, [so] public sectors need to partner to provide subsidized housing.鈥�