Council in New Westminster, B.C., has passed a motion to beef up renters’ protections after new provincial legislation on housing density raised fears that tenants in affordable homes could be forced out by redevelopment.
The motion by councillors Ruby Campbell and Nadine Nakagawa asks council to update its tenant protection and relocation policies, in light of legislation that encourages more dense housing around transit hubs.
Tenants’ advocates say many buildings in downtown New Westminster are located within 800 metres of a rapid transit station, the zone defined for such transit-oriented development — and this could pressure owners of affordable housing to sell to developers incentivized by the legislation.
The advocates say if displaced renters are forced to look for a market-rate unit in New Westminster, they could be looking at a spike of about 40 to 50 per cent in rent, based on Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data.
“The only answer, really, is to rehouse those tenants in the new development at the same rate that they were paying prior to the demolition of the old building,” said Dustin Godfrey, a volunteer organizer with the New West Tenants Union, at a council meeting Monday.
“Otherwise, you’re really putting tenants in this position where … there’s a few different sort of tracks ahead of them and none of them are good.”
Godfrey and the tenants’ union pushed council to allow renters the right to live in an equivalent housing unit if the site where they live was redeveloped — as well as rent support for up to three years while they wait for the development to be constructed.
David Hendry, another organizer with the tenants’ union, told council that advocates had surveyed numerous residents around Columbia Station — one of two SkyTrain stations in downtown New Westminster — many of whom expressed fears they would be displaced if redevelopment comes to their neighbourhood.
“We perceive generally that the [transit-oriented development] framework would generally increase the development pressures on low-rise and older affordable buildings within that area,” Hendry told council.
Nakagawa said her motion would ask staff to look at the renter protection model adopted by neighbouring Burnaby, though other models could also be considered.
The City of Burnaby’s protections state that renters can return to rebuilt units at the same rent they were paying previously.
“The best case scenario is that tenants are not displaced in the first place,” Nakagawa said. “The next best, that we have power over, is that they can return at the same rate under which they left.”
The motion by Campell and Nakagawa passed unanimously, and city staff will now look to create policies surrounding the new renters’ protections and return to council.
Burnaby officials say renters kicked out of their homes by redevelopment are moving into new digs at old prices. They say a new affordable rental building, the first to fall under the policy, is a sign of progress against so-called “demovictions.” But as Liam Britten reports, at least one advocate is pushing for more renter protections.