If elected, Maloney will extend and strengthen the Broadway Plan’s enhanced tenant protections to every corner of Vancouver - and rigorously enforce them through a revived Renter’s Office

VANCOUVER (Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Territories) - If elected, OneCity Vancouver City Council candidate will move to extend the Broadway Plan’s enhanced tenant protections to every corner of Vancouver.

“There are tenants in every neighbourhood in Vancouver, and they all deserve the same protections from displacement,” said Maloney. “New housing must be built in all neighbourhoods - but it must not come at the expense of the people who already live there.”

While tenants across the City are protected by the Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy (TRPP), tenants in the Broadway Plan area have additional tenant protections. According to the City of Vancouver’s website, tenants in the Broadway Plan area also have:

• A right of first refusal to return to the new building at the lesser of their current rent, or a 20% discount on city-wide average market rent
• A temporary rent top-up equal to the difference between their current rent and rent in a new unit during the construction of the new building
• A right to return to a new home that is an appropriate size for their new household

Development in Vancouver does not only happen in the Broadway Plan area. Tenants in every neighbourhood in Vancouver could potentially face redevelopment. They all deserve these enhanced protections.

Protections must be strengthened and enforced 

To be credible with developers and tenants alike, the City must enforce its protections: visibly and vigorously.

At present, there is no body within the City of Vancouver whose purpose is to enforce renter protections, follow up on Tenant Relocation Plans (TRPs) to ensure compliance, adjudicate disputes, impose remedies on bad actors, and advocate for renters. This has led to developer-paid “relocation specialists” sending Facebook or Craigslist postings to renters that do not fit their needs and calling it protection.

This must change.

The City must also strengthen these protections - such as by placing the onus for proving compliance with the tenant protection policy on the developer. Under this system, a developer would have to prove compliance with its obligations before being issued a permit.

It must also strengthen its ability to enforce the tenant protections by developing a range of remedies that can be enforced on bad actors. At present, the City has one tool to enforce protections - denial of a permit. But given Vancouver’s housing shortage, City staff may hesitate to use that tool, which would either leave a lot empty or leave apartments empty.

Developing a range of remedies, like substantial fines, will remove disincentives to penalize bad actors. This will ensure that tenants receive suitable temporary housing and are paid the money that they are owed.

As announced in January, if elected, Lucy Maloney will, as her first motion, bring back the Vancouver Renter’s Office - as an advocacy office with an enforcement mandate. It would remove any ambiguity with respect to developer obligations, follow up on TRPs to ensure compliance, and advocate for renters across the whole of the City’s operations.