City of Vancouver looks for additional measures to protect tenants from renovictions

A report going to Vancouver city council on December 10 warns the number of rooms renting at the welfare-shelter rate of $375 a month continues to dwindle.

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      The city is set to review a number of measures it says will protect renters in Vancouver.

      On December 10, a report will go to council that recommends increased compensation for tenants who are forced to move on account of landlords making renovations.

      Suggested changes include making landlords pay up to six months’ rent to tenants who lived in a unit for more than 20 years, upping compensation provided for moving costs to a maximum of $1,000, and requiring developers to provide tenants facing eviction at least three alternative options for housing.

      The report also suggests the city provide for “additional support” for “vulnerable tenants”.

      “Renters in Vancouver, who make up more than 50 per cent of the households, face mounting challenges due to low vacancy, rising rents, and a growing risk of having to move because of renovation or redevelopment of their homes,” states a December 4 media release. “While renovation and redevelopment help to renew and maintain the existing rental stock, these activities also impact tenants and can cause displacement.”

      The staff report notes that rooms renting at the welfare-shelter rate of $375 a month continue to disappear at a rapid pace.

      Those units are almost exclusively located in the Downtown Eastside’s single-room occupancy hotels, or SROs, as they are commonly referred. The report states that in 2011, the portion of SRO units renting at $375 a month was already as low as 35 percent, and by 2013, that number had dwindled down to 24 percent.

      Referring to those SROs, it’s recommended the city take additional measures to “preserve the city’s most vulnerable housing stock”.

      The report also states the city should encourage the province to similarly act to protect renters by making amendments to B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Act.

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