A 'For Sale' sign sits outside Amy Herrell's rental home. (Photo Courtesy Derek Brade)

By Gates Guarin

Sellers’ market worrisome for some renters

Apr 28, 2022 | 2:45 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Some homeowners in the city are taking advantage of a strong sellers’ market. According to the Medicine Hat Real Estate Board, a single-family detached home was listed at $331,936 on average in March, an increase of around five per cent.

That has some renters worried, especially with the lack of rental options available.

Amy Herrell has been renting her home in Crescent Heights for more than seven years. She has made the space her own for herself, her dog and her lizards. Herrell recently received news from her landlord that she was not expecting.

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“I get told that he’s selling. Now it’s a struggle to find a house who allows animals and who will accommodate my space, also within reason and price,” Herrell says. “It’s been very hard, anxiety’s high, can’t sleep at night because I don’t know if I’m going to get that message saying ‘you get 90 days,’ and then it’s a scramble to find a place.”

The increased cost of living also adds to her concerns.

“With the increase of utilities, if I were to pay that by myself, there’s no way I would be able to put food on my table. My increase of utilities went from about $300 to $500, so even splitting that, that’s still about $350 a person. It’s still too expensive.” Herrell says.

Medicine Hat is in the midst of a sellers’ market, with most houses being listed for no more than a month before being sold. Justin Taupert, president of the real estate board, has seen listings sell within one to two weeks depending on the property. He says he expects homeowners to explore their options when it comes to selling their home.

“We will see that with potential rental properties and stuff like that, especially if a landlord has a property where tenants are moving out and now they’re faced with a decision, do they try and find another tenant, but then they also will look at the inflation in the market and look at possibly selling that and cashing in on the asset., Taupert says.

He says renters still have rights if owners decide to cash in on the market.

“It’s not that easy when you’re looking at selling a rental,” Taupert says. “Depending on a couple of things, if there’s a lease in place, that lease needs to be honoured, and if they are on month-to-month, tenants still have some rights and they’re owed, at minimum 90-days’ notice. They’re not just forced to be up and moved out by the end of the month.”

For Herrell, she hopes people looking to rent a home find what they need without the worry of losing them.

“I want people to have a place to live, I don’t want them to end up in a camper trailer or a campground or on the streets, ’cause that’s what’s going to happen when all these rental units are being sold.”