Whitehorse couple priced out of their hotel room 'so happy' to find new place to live

A Whitehorse couple priced out of their downtown hotel room as tourism season began found a new place to live. 

Kathy and Brian Poho moved into a two-bedroom apartment in Whitehorse's Whistle Bend neighbourhood with their cat at the beginning of July.

Kathy said NDP Leader Kate White and the Yukon Housing Corporation helped secure their new place. 

"I'm just so happy," said Kathy. "It's been a long road ... At least 100 places I replied to and either got no answer or no pets were allowed. We're very grateful and appreciative of the offers of help that people have made."

The Pohos — both retirees who've called Yukon their home for the past 37 years —  had to leave the River View Hotel by the end of June because they could not afford higher nightly rates. 

The hotel said it raises room prices during the summer so it can cover fixed costs, like heating, during the winter months. The hotel said winter rates range around $60 to $90 per night, whereas summer rates hover around $130 to $160 per night.

The Pohos initially had nowhere else to go. Kathy was at the hotel while recovering from bypass surgery after being medevaced to Vancouver in June.

She said rent at their new place is $2,000 a month, not including utilities, twice what she's ever paid for housing. 

"We'll be able to pay the rent," Kathy said. "I just don't know about utilities. I don't know how expensive it'll be."

She said they still don't have proper furniture, including a sofa and a bed. They also don't have internet right now because they cannot afford it.