City council votes to remove Vancouver renter office

Renters in the City of Vancouver will no longer be able to call the city for assistance, as council voted to discontinue its renter office.

Providing assistance regarding renters’ rights, referrals to rental organizations, and other information to navigate rental bylaws and permits within the city, the renter office was disbanded in a party-line vote, with all ABC Vancouver councillors voting Wednesday to close down the office.

I’m pleased that city council tonight approved increased investments to support #Vancouver renters:

50% increase to $750,000 for nonprofit @TRAC_BC
provided centrally located downtown office space
$1.2M in tenant improvements #vanpoli

— Mike Klassen (@MikeKlassen) January 19, 2023

According to staff, the renter office has cost about $1.8 million over the three years since its inception by the previous Vancouver city council.

Voting in opposition to the closure were councillors Pete Fry (Green Party), Christine Boyle (OneCity Vancouver), and Adriane Carr (Green Party), who “jointly condemned” the vote by ABC.

“When I presented the motion to create this office back in 2018 we as a City were faced with a scourge of illegal renovictions, including for ‘work’ that did not secure any of the necessary city permits (if they actually did the work at all). We had and have a scourge of rental units in our city converted to short-term rentals, we have unscrupulous landlords gaming fixed tenancy agreements and failing to maintain safe, dignified upkeep,” Fry said in a statement.

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According to the Green Party, 55 per cent of Vancouverites rent their homes and say they are under increasing pressure as rental rates continue to be among the highest in Canada, and vacancy rates sit around one per cent.

“Rents soar every day, making it impossible to move, as moving – for whatever reason – could mean a renter’s housing costs jump. This dynamic gives landlords a significant amount of power, which some abuse through renovictions and demovictions. The Vancouver Renters’ Office exists to correct this power imbalance – informing tenants of their rights and helping them navigate an often-complex legal system to stand up for themselves,” the joint statement reads.

“Tonight’s move shows that ABC Vancouver dismisses tenants’ rights out of hand.”

The vote was in opposition to a staff recommendation that council continue to provide services to renters in the city, “particularly for renters impacted by City plans, policies and regulations such as the Vancouver Plan, Broadway Plan, and the Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy.”

ABC coun. Lenny Zhou brought forward the amendment to defund the office, which also included a raise of $250,000 for other non-profit groups which represent renters.

Actually. Council voted to:
renter services grants $500k to $750k
approve nominal lease of $10 up to 13 years for Tenant Resource & Advisory Society @TRAC_BC reducing their costs & providing security service & advocacy for renters
paid $1.2 mil tenant improvements https://t.co/RkBt2iJ0Vo

— Sarah Kirby-Yung (@sarahkirby_yung) January 19, 2023

“If you’re young, if you’re working-class, or if you just moved here recently, you’re probably a renter. But this city is still your home, and City Hall should have your back. I cannot understand why Ken Sim and ABC have chosen to defund our city’s renter office,” Boyle said.

“The effects of this cut will be heaviest on older tenants who have lived in their place for a long time, renters whose first language isn’t English, and other newcomers and low-income renters. Dealing with an unscrupulous landlord, eviction pressures, rising rents, and unstable housing is difficult. Life is hard for renters in Vancouver, and now ABC has chosen to make that even harder.”