Transitions to co-op housing an option: city

The City of Vancouver is encouraging the B.C. government to explore options for “transitioning ” private rental homes into non-profit or coop ownership as one way to solve the housing affordability crisis.

The idea was among recommendations made in a letter from a senior Vancouver official to the province’s rental housing task force, which is expected to report in early December.

The letter, dated Nov. 14 and signed by Vancouver assistant director for housing policy and regulation Dan Garrison, is addressed to three MLAs heading the task force.

“Renters in B.C. communities are facing a crisis,” Garrison’s letter said. “The City is in a unique position to comment — similar to the B.C. government, we face the challenge of protecting renters and vulnerable residents, while also working with landlords and the development industry to encourage investment in existing and new rental housing.”

One recommendation deals with so-called renovictions.

Garrison’s letter said: “One of the top concerns we hear is the risk of being evicted due to minor renovations to their unit or building with the primary motive being to turn over the unit and increase rents up to new market levels.”

Garrison recommended amending the Residential Tenancy Act to require proof of permits before an eviction process and to “provide greater clarity for both landlords and renters about the type of upgrades that actually require suites to be vacated.”

In the case of major renovations that require tenants to be displaced, the city recommends the law should provide “additional compensation and a more robust right of first refusal for renters under the Notice to End Tenancy for renovations.”

But additional compensation isn’t necessarily the answer, said Liam McClure of the Vancouver Tenants Union. Many Vancouver landlords are already offering compensation well above the amount required by law, he said.

“Over time, it’s a serious problem because it essentially still puts every unit up to the highest bidder and it makes it that a city is not a place where a low- or middle-income person can live.”

McClure said the “most exciting” part of the letter is the city’s recommendation the province explore how to transition private rentals into non-profit or co-op ownership.