A multi-unit apartment building in Victoria's Fairfield neighbourhood has been confirmed as the year's first large-scale tenant displacement scenario.

Heywood House at 999 Southgate Street is a four-storey, 31-unit 1960's-era rental building planned to undergo interior and exterior restorative work this spring. In order to accommodate the upgrades, which have already begun in several areas of the building, residents have reportedly been served with eviction notices citing the end of April as the move-out deadline.

Speaking on condition of anonymity a resident currently in the process of vacating his unit confirmed that while all tenants have been affected by the upcoming work they've also known of the plans since early February. And many, the resident says, acted accordingly.

"We've known about [the upcoming eviction] since early February even though the notices did not come out until March, so I've already found another place to live as have many other residents," Citified was told. The individual went on to add that the landlord in actuality provided a 90-day move-out window.

The issue of tenant displacements, a term referring to apartment renovations necessitating the eviction of all residents in order to facilitate renovation work safely and expediently, has the potential to become an issue throughout Victoria where a majority of rental units are in 40-to-50-year-old apartment buildings. Coupled with ultra-low vacancy rates housing advocates warn that mass eviction scenarios may lead to a housing crunch, at least temporarily, as an already stretched market must absorb a sudden wave of previously housed residents.

In response to strong demand and taking advantage of lenders willing to finance rental projects, developers are in the process of delivering approximately 1,200 units of rental housing throughout metropolitan Victoria, according to Citified's data. In addition to what is currently under construction over 1,500 units are in planning. However, despite the volume of upcoming rental homes construction schedules (often requiring two-to-three years of work per building) dampen the effect of new stock in a market with strong demand for purpose-built rentals. C

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