Lək̓ʔəŋən [LEKWUNGEN] TERRITORY / VICTORIA, B.C. — BC Green Party Leader Emily Lowan announced today that the BC Greens will protect renters by immediately reinstating the Community Housing Fund, implementing vacancy control, ending pet bans, among other supports.
“I’m one of the 33% of British Columbians who are renters,” said Lowan. “I know firsthand how demoralising and nerve-wracking the experience of trying to find affordable housing can be, even more so when the government has walked away from protecting renters. That’s why the BC Greens are stepping up with a plan to deliver affordability for renters and protect them from the people trying to profit off of the housing crisis.”
“In 1973, BC NDP Premier Dave Barrett passed vacancy control, which ties allowable rent increases to units, not individual tenants, to fight a spiralling cost-of-living crisis and low vacancy rates. It was effective and popular, yet was stripped away by the following conservative government,” said Lowan. “The BC Greens have proposed this same legislation, yet have been shut down by Eby’s BC NDP, the same government that cancelled the Community Housing Fund and broke its promise to end pet bans. This announcement makes it clear: we’ll stand up against corporate landlords, David Eby and the Conservatives won’t.”
The BC Greens also announced two new candidates for the South Island: Sidney Coles in Esquimalt-Colwood and Andrew Appleton in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.
Sidney Coles is a journalist, communications professional, researcher and former public servant whose career has focused on building stronger, more inclusive communities. Sidney holds two PhDs from the University of Toronto, has worked closely with Indigenous and government leadership, and has worked with Doctors Without Borders in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “As a reporter in the Capital Regional District, I have come to understand the unique nature and scale of the challenges facing this area” said Coles. “I want to support Esquimalt and Colwood in continuing to be places where people and their families feel welcome, safe, and are able to thrive.”
Andrew Appleton has served as a municipal councillor for the District of Oak Bay for the past 8 years. He chaired the District’s Community Climate Action Working Group, which launched the successful Coolkit community climate initiative. Andrew is deeply rooted in his community, from being a coach with Bays United, to being on the board of the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network, he is committed to serving his neighbours. “I’ve been on the front lines of where provincial policies land, and I’ve witnessed how those policies created issues for our residents,” said Appleton. “As a councillor, I’ve championed housing affordability, active transportation, and climate action. Those that have seen my work on council and the Greater Victoria Library Board know that I am always one to advocate for forward thinking, creativity, and action on the issues that matter—and I speak up.
“Sidney and Andrew are the advocates the South Island, and British Columbia, need,” said Lowan. “They are incredibly experienced, deeply committed to fighting for their communities, and will be formidable additions to the BC Green caucus.”
Please find the BC Greens’ Renter Support policy brief below.
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Media contact
Prym Goodacre, Media & Campaigns Officer
+778 650 0597
newsroom@bcgreens.ca
The BG Greens believe that renters deserve homes that are safe, secure and affordable.
Housing is core to wellbeing. People with secure housing are able to fully participate in their
communities—working, studying, caring and volunteering. For renters, secure housing is never
assured; British Columbia leads the country in “renovictions” (displacement due to a landlord
renovating), access to housing remains the top reason for surrendering pets, and a third of
renters will spend over half of their income on rent. North Vancouver and Vancouver are the two
most expensive cities in Canada for renters, with average rents of $3,039 and $2,686 per month
respectively.
Six of the 20 most expensive cities to rent in Canada are in British Columbia.
As more people are priced out of homeownership and are renting longer than in past
generations, good rental homes are critical to solving the housing crisis. Skyrocketing rents
have made it difficult for young families to plan for the future, strained employers’ ability to
attract and retain talent, and forced many people to leave urban centers in search of affordable
housing. Unfair provisions, including prohibition on pets, leave many renters feeling that they
may be inhabiting a house, but they don’t have a home. Across the province, about 25 per cent
of cats and dogs surrendered to the BC SPCA are given up by their guardians due to a lack of
available pet-friendly housing. This represents about 1,150 pets annually.
The BC Greens believe that housing is a basic human right, a place where individuals, families
and communities can live in security and dignity—not a tool for generating profit. The private
sector alone cannot deliver the affordable housing that we need: the federal and provincial
governments must be part of the solution. This includes direct provision of affordable and deeply
affordable units, protecting the already existing affordable units that remain, and helping with the
costs of market rentals for those who are close to being able to meet market rents.
Decreases in asking rent is making life easier for new renters in some situations. But we lack
detailed information about what rents are being charged for existing properties, and tenants
don’t have the ability to seek a decrease in their existing rental agreement to match market
rates. Instead, landlords are still seeking annual increases, leaving tenants forced to choose
between making an expensive move or paying above market rates for an existing home.
Indigenous British Columbians are more likely to be renters, and to be in core housing need
than other population subgroups. Indigenous people deserve to have housing that meets their
needs, in culturally safe and supportive settings, administered by Indigenous and First Nations
groups.
To ensure that renters can afford to build a life in British Columbia, the BC
Greens will:
- Immediately restart the Community Housing Fund and Indigenous Housing Fund, with a
goal of building and protecting 26,000 housing units per year. - Implement Vacancy Control. Currently, rental increases are allowed once per
year—unless there is a change of tenant. Vacancy control ties increases in rent to a unit,
rather than a tenant, reducing the incentive for landlords to evict tenants without fault.
Annual increases will continue to be determined by the Residential Tenancy Branch. - Amend the Residential Tenancy Act to prohibit blanket no pets clauses in rental
contracts. Instead, we will develop appropriate management guidelines on pets in
rentals. - Protect 2000 deeply affordable rental homes each year, by increasing funding and
support for the Rental Protection Fund. - Increase direct support for renters unable to afford market rentals, through the Rental
Assistance Program (RAP) and the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER) program. - Create a mechanism through the Residential Tenancy Branch to allow renters to seek an
annual rent review when market rents in their city are decreasing. - Provide adequate and equitable funding for Indigenous-led Complex Care Housing,
designed and determined by Indigenous communities. This will include trauma-informed
housing allocations and supported Rent Supplements set aside for Indigenous Peoples
and administered in line with guidance from Indigenous organizations and communities,
surrounded by supportive services. - Pass responsibility for collecting and holding deposits to the Residential Tenancy
Branch. In addition to ensuring that bonds are processed and returned when
appropriate, this will provide additional information to the Residential Tenancy Branch on
rents that are being charged – information that can be published for use by government
and researchers.