Pet project

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This article was published 18/03/2025 (257 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Humane Society has asked the city and provincial governments to make grants and tax breaks to housing developers contingent on them building a minimum number of affordable units that allow pets.

“There is a Canada-wide shortage of pet-inclusive housing,” said Krista Boryskavich, director of animal advocacy at the humane society, said after unveiling the proposal to the City of Winnipeg’s executive policy committee on Tuesday.

The proposal asks for 50 per cent of affordable units in a new build to be pet-friendly.

While it’s tough to find housing in Winnipeg, Manitoba and across the Canada, it’s more difficult for pet owners, she said, adding they plan to present the idea to provincial officials in the near future.

“It is the second most common reason people send pets to the Winnipeg Humane Society. When people can’t find this housing, some of them are ending up in the shelter.”

In 2023, about 80 pets were surrendered to the shelter because their owners relocated to places that banned pets.

She said damage deposits should be enough to cover most repairs to rental suites. She noted an American study found the average cost of damage is about $190.

Despite the current shortage of pet-inclusive housing, Boryskavich said it would be unfair to put the condition on multi-housing projects that have received approval under the federal government’s housing accelerator program. The city has received $60 million to date, while another $60 million is to be paid out.

“It has to be on a go-forward basis,” she said.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said he supports having a discussion about it, but he worries it could affect developments.

“Every time you put one more condition on any development, you can make it harder for development to happen,” Gillingham said.

The committee heard the presentation, but didn’t order staff to examine the issue.

Some landlords who offer pet-inclusive units use it as a marketing tool to bring in tenants.

Brenna Morfitt, senior director of construction, development and marketing at Artis REIT, which built the 42-storey tower 300 Main St., the city’s tallest building, said they decided to make 100 per cent of its suites open to pet owners because there’s a market for it.

“We didn’t want to alienate anyone,” Morfitt said. “We decided to see what amenities we can put in.”

She said the measure attracts young couples with no kids, and seniors who have downsized from a home, who have or want a pet.

Morfitt said the building has pet-washing stations and blow dryers on the main floor for pets who come in from the outdoors, as well as a pet playground on the second floor.

“If I’m a young female, I wouldn’t want to go to Portage and Main at midnight,” Morfitt said. “Instead, they can go to this fully sprinkled dog park.”

Morfitt said in addition to the one-month damage deposit, they ask tenants with pets for an additional half-month charge to cover any damage caused by their animal.

“We’ve been open a year and a half and we haven’t had any damage to date,” she said.

Avrom Charach, a spokesman for the Professional Property Managers Association, said landlords worry about the three A’s: “allergies, abandonment and affordability.”

Charach said air systems in most buildings don’t prevent people from getting allergic reactions caused by pets.

“Now they are saying pets are more important than people. The humane society just thinks about all the positives, but not the reality.”

In addition, some pets are abandoned by tenants who move out because they can’t afford the rent, he said.

Charach estimates between 20 per cent to 40 per cent of apartment units in the city allow pets, and some landlords earmark 60 per cent of units for pets.

“This will mean less housing started and a better chance of pets being abandoned,” he said. “This is not a problem. The new construction is already building pet-friendly, so there’s no problem.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca