City accepts bids for rentals
Rob Gibson – 08/25/2021 / 7:00 p.m. | History: 343925
Photo: Castanet
City of Kelowna has the following property for rent in downtown Kelowna: 2 bedroom, 1 bath single family home with enclosed garden available September 1, 2021.
If you are looking for an apartment to rent, the city of Kelowna could be the place for you.
Check out these two City of Kelowna ads available on the Castanet Classifieds section and the City of Kelowna Rentals page.
One is advertised as a charming two-bedroom, one-bath home in downtown Kelowna and costs $ 2,300 a month. The other is advertised as being near city park and costs $ 1,850 per month.
This in itself is not uncommon as the City of Kelowna has been renting residential properties for years, but when you click your way through to fill out a rental application for one of the properties you will be asked to bid on the rental property.
City Real Estate Manager JoAnne Adamson tells Castanet, “We want to be stewards of the city’s resources and this is just one of the tools the city likes to use.”
Adamson says it’s not the main application component either. “I really want to emphasize that we are not only looking at the offer price, but also the character of the tenant and his references, which far outweighs the offer price.”
Adamson says the money raised through the city’s rental portfolio will go towards park development and other city projects.
Construction on Pandosy Waterfront Park began in early 2021, and many of these former homes were owned by the city and rented out under similar arrangements.
Adamson says the practice itself isn’t new, but it’s uncommon for the two properties to be available at the same time. “We try to be good landlords and also to generate income for city parks and so on.”
