Own Residential Property
In Whistler?

The Home Run program is for any property owner who wishes to rent their residential property to a Whistler business. If your home, or part of it, is unoccupied for several months of the year, then this program is for you.

Examples of types of property owners who could benefit from the Home Run program:

1. A Whistler property owner who has a vacant suite in their home
2. A property owner who only visits Whistler 1-2 times per year and could use a tenant to ensure the property is well looked after when they are not here.
3. A property owner who only visits Whistler in the summer, so could make their property available during the Winter for a business lease (or alternatively only visits in winter so could rent it during summer)
4. A Whistler local property owner who has a spare room in their home
5. A property owner who is currently renting their residential property to tourists, although their property is not zoned for temporary accommodation. (Note: it is illegal to rent a residential property to tourists that does not have temporary accommodation permitted).

The Mayor’s Task Force on Resident Housing was recently established to bring together a number of community stakeholders to develop solutions to support Whistler’s current housing shortage.

On the Task Force are a number of community stakeholders working together, including representatives from the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler, Whistler Chamber of Commerce, Whistler Blackcomb, Restaurants Association of Whistler, Hotels Association of Whistler, Whistler Association of Retailers and Merchants, Real Estate Association, Whistler Housing Authority and community members-at-large.

The Home Run program is one of a number of initiatives underway to support an increase in available housing supply for our workforce.

The program is administered by the Whistler Housing Authority (WHA), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Resort Municipality of Whistler. Properties are managed under the supervision of the Whistler Housing Authority by Mountain Country Property Management Ltd. They have been providing services for the Whistler Housing Authority since 2002, and most recently were successful in the 2015 public tender process for WHA's property management services.

For property owners, the property manager can start with a quick property walkthrough and provide you with further information about how your property would suit particular businesses currently looking for homes for their workforce and recommended rates. A property management agreement is then established between the owner and the property manager. Owners have the opportunity to choose the appropriate service for their needs – either a full property management service (regular and ongoing management for an ongoing fee) or a tenant placement service (for a one-off fee). For more information refer to question below “What are the specific services being offered and what is the cost?”

It is recommended that both landlords and tenants review their insurance to ensure it does provide the appropriate coverage for their needs when renting a property.

There is no minimum period. A short term lease of 2-3 months is possible, or up to 12 months or longer. Some property owners may choose to rent their property for just one season for a winter or a summer, or some may prefer to rent it longer term for a whole year.

Obviously the longer the lease duration the more stable the housing is for our workforce, and the greater the benefit to our resort economy.

There are two options for property management services available to the property owner:

• A full property management service where the property manager looks after your property for the duration of the lease; or
• A tenant placement service where the property owner just wants the support of the property manager to find an appropriately suited tenant and then will look after everything else themselves for the duration of the lease.

Full property management services include:

• tenant screening;
• property documentation;
• supplying a lease;
• completing condition inspection reports at the start and end of the tenancy;
• rent and deposit collection;
• coordination of maintenance and repairs during the tenancy;
• remedying tenancy issues as they arise; and
• tenancy wrap up.

Owners are paid by the 15th of each month by electronic deposit, accompanied by a statement.

The management fee is 10% plus GST per month of rent collected.

Tenancy Placement services include:

• conducting open houses with the businesses;
• providing a lease agreement;
• oversee the tenant move-in;
• completing a condition inspection report;
• documenting the property;
• coordinating maintenance items if required;
• obtaining security deposits and post-dated rent cheques.

The property owner would take over the management of the property as of the 1st day of the rental.

The fee is a Flat fee of 1 month's rent up to a maximum of $1,450.00 plus GST.

Contact details for the Home Run program are as follows:

Email: homerun@whistlerhousing.ca
Telephone: Whistler Housing Authority (604) 905-4688 OR WHA's licensed property manager – directly at (604) 932-0677 x5