Less than 30 days. That’s how long Airdronian Sarah Couturier has to find a home to rent for herself and her family before she finds herself without a roof over her head. On March 10, Couturier’s landlord relayed to her family that they had 90 days to vacate their home. 

“We have been staying in the same place since 2015 and we've had a great relationship with our landlord,” she said. 

The owners of the home were moving back to British Columbia, but Couturier said the news didn’t faze the family at that time. 

“We thought we wouldn't have any problems. We've never had problems before and whenever we needed a place to rent, there was always a plethora of places. We started our hunt and we got maybe 10 applications in through the month of March and into April and nothing was biting.” 

Couturier underlined that because the family has pets, the pool of potential rental properties does shrink, especially since some landlords ask for a $500 pet deposit on top of the rent. She said that even trying to view a home is nearly impossible, with overbookings happening and appointments cancelled at the last minute. 

Currently, the family is paying $1,800 for a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom house. This does not include the cost of utilities, which if added together amount to a little over $2,000 a month. At the current market levels, Couturier would have to pay anywhere from $2,300 to $3,000 for the same amount of square footage she lives in now. 

“It's very, very disheartening to know that that's what you're competing for. When we first moved to Airdrie in 2009, we were in the newer neighbourhoods, in a townhouse, and we paid $1,250 a month. That same unit today is being rented for $1,900,” she said. 

There was even discussion about downsizing in order to fit within a budget.  

“We've asked our children if they would even consider taking bunk beds. [They’re] in their late teens and early 20s. That's the reality that we're facing and we have to explore all of the options that are out for us.” 

Before the pandemic, Couturier and her husband both worked in the airline industry and were looking to buy a home in the very neighbourhood they live in. She was furloughed indefinitely and her husband’s department was outsourced. Eventually, her husband also lost his job. At that point, the couple made a decision to make sure any future work they sought would not be interrupted by a pandemic.  

“We went back to school and we've been students for the last two years. We have exhausted all of our savings and everything that we had put aside to purchase a home, we then invested that into our education,” she said. “We have literally spent every last penny over the last two years to get to where we are.” 

While the couple was approved for a mortgage, they no longer have a down payment for their dream home. When asked if she or her husband had ever imagined that the two of them, both working professionals, would find themselves in a situation where not having a roof over their heads was even a remote possibility, Couturier admits she never did. 

“No, no. I get so emotional when I think about it. With what little money we have, we can put [things] in storage,” she said. “We have had friends who have reached out and said we can rent a camper and park it in their driveway and our kids can stay in their basement and have access to fresh running water and showers and toilets and whatnot.” 

Couturier now has till June 13th to find somewhere to live. 

Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@discoverairdrie.com