Just one thing sets this small, tidy apartment building apart from so many others like it dotting Saanich neighbourhoods.

One of the building’s 12 suites has been set aside to house someone who is about to move in off the street.

The landlord, David Burr Ltd., manages plenty of properties in the Capital Region, about 150 in all. They’re a mix of small apartments, duplexes, triplexes, single-family homes and buildings with as many as 75 suites.

For a dozen years, David Burr, who took over the business from his father in 1978, has been working with Pacifica Housing to use some of them, including two properties in Saanich, to house the homeless.

“We have honest people who want to try to get ahead and live a clean life, who want to be off the street,” he said.

The two buildings managed by Burr are the lone rental apartments – among many in Saanich – that Pacifica’s housing team currently has in its stock.

“That’s a huge untapped resource,” said team leader Phil Ward.

The Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, an umbrella body that includes representatives of local social service providers, has set a goal of housing 1,550 people over the next 10 years. To do so, it must find more landlords like Burr who are willing to open up some of their units.

“We can’t afford to keep looking at building brand-new, purpose-built buildings to solve homelessness. It’s just not going to happen,” said Ward.

For Burr, taking homeless tenants isn’t charity. Pacifica’s clients, some of whom struggle with addictions and/or mental health issues, come with on-call support workers in case there’s a problem.

Because clients also receive rent subsidies and living allowances from the province, seldom does rent go unpaid, he said. They often become stable, long-term tenants.

“Business-wise, I fill a vacancy without a problem and the problem is minimized, because we’ve got Pacifica looking after things.”

Problems do crop up, however. One frequent issue is with tenants letting friends in off the street to stay.

“A lot of folks that have been homeless for a long time, they have their own set of rules that are based on street rules. You help each other out on the street,” said Ward.

That problem would be lessened for many clients if there were more places to move into that were away from the downtown core, he said.

“For a lot of them, it’s not a healthy place to be living because that’s where all of their associations are … living on the street. If you can get them out of town, it works to everyone’s advantage.”

kvass@vicnews.com