Musqueam band hikes land rents

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Rent increases fuel uncertainty over long-term leases

Homeowners in a prestigious Vancouver neighborhood that sits on an Indian reserve got a bit of a shock when they opened their mail recently. In it their landlord, the Musqueam band, was asking for an 8,000 per cent hike in rent for the land.

And raising the rent from about $400 a year to more than $36,000 a year in one case is all perfectly legal.

But it points up the fears of the uncertainty over long-term leases granted to non-Native users of Indian land and to third parties to treaties, critics say.

The 99-year leases for the 75 single-family dwellings in the southwest Vancouver neighborhood near the University of British Columbia were first negotiated in 1965. Since then, the rent has gone up nominally.

For instance, when Allan Hunter, 71, moved in almost 25 years ago, he paid $322 a year to the Musqueam for land rent. Last year he paid $441. That's in addition to property taxes on par with other properties in the area.

Under a clause in the lease, the band is allowed to up the rent in June to as much as six per cent of the total appraised value of the home.

Hunter's home, thanks to an astronomical appreciation on his home that wouldn't have been foreseen 30 years ago, is valued at $605,000. That's $36,300 a year.

But Hunter, a retired teacher, says there's no way he and several of his neighbors could afford those prices.

"They look at these houses and think millionaires live here and that's just not so," he said.

"I think everyone can afford to pay a nominal increase," maybe $2,000 to $3,000 a year. But some ridiculous figure that Chief (Joe) Becker came up with would be kind of tough on a lot of people."

And homeowners are also worried that talks of the hikes will drive down the value of their homes. Becker, who was elected band council chief in January, said residents have enjoyed bargain rates for 30 years.

"Now that it comes to paying the piper, they're complaining," he said. But Becker said the hikes based on six per cent of value is simply an opening figure. He said the band is prepared to sit down with the Musqueam Park Residents Association, of which Hunter is president, and work out a figure satisfactory to both sides.

Becker also said homeowners signed the lease when they moved in and knew the rent was up for renewal this year.

In the month since the letters were sent, there has been one short meeting, said Hunter, at which "precious little" was accomplished. A one-on-one meeting between the two sides was tentatively set for the near future.

Hunter is confident he won't be dinged for the full $36,300 he was quoted.

"They indicated that was the starting figure," he said. "I'm not worried that they won't go down. I'm just worried that they won't go down far enough."

One idea suggested at the meeting was to prepay the rent till the end of the lease.

"I think everyone feels it would be the way to go, otherwise the salability of these homes is nil," said Hunter. "Who is going to want to buy these homes with that hanging over them?"

But even at the current rate of $441, Hunter would need $27,785 to prepay for the next 63 years.

"Personally, I wouldn't be in favor of it because I'm not that well off," said Hunter.

The Musqueam aren't the only First Nations to own expensive land within city limits.

The Squamish Indian Band of North Vancouver recently built luxurious condominiums for which owners must also sign a 99-year lease. Both the band and buyers weren't immediately concerned with the repercussions of a lease that expires a century down the road.

One band administrator said it would be dealt with when the time came.

And one member of the legislature said the situation bodes ill for affected third parties to treaty negotiations that many First Nations are entering into with Canada.

Jack Weisgerber, leader of the Reform Party of B.C. is calling on Ottawa and the province to ensure the property values of leaseholders are proteted in treaty negotiations.

"If the Musqueam band's punitive rent increases are allowed to continue, they will have a devastating effect on home values," he said.

The rent hike "is a deliberately provocative policy that flies in the face of the band's commitment to negotiate a treaty in good faith," said Weisgerber.