Vancouver city council votes to close office that supports vulnerable renters

Vancouver city council has made the controversial decision to shut down its renter office, which provides vulnerable tenants with information on their rights.

The move comes as Vancouver is once again dubbed the most expensive city in Canada to rent.

The rental market in Vancouver is already extremely difficult to navigate with high demand, low supply, and challenges like renovictions.

Despite that, Coun. Lenny Zhou put forward an amendment Wednesday to close the renter office, backed by his majority ABC party.

“They had the intention to kill this office, which is really unfortunate,” said Coun. Pete Fry, adding that renters are facing “some of the biggest challenges in generations.”

Fry, along with councillors Adrianne Carr and Christine Boyle, voted against the closure.

He says he is concerned that vulnerable renters will fall through the cracks of a patchwork network of resources.

“This is more symbolic of, I think, disdain for renters and the democratic process,” said Fry.

The renter office has been providing resources about tenants’ rights since 2018.

However, the ABC party argues the province and non-profit organizations should be taking the lead.

“It really was about avoiding duplication, you know, (on) renters’ advocacy issues, and making sure tenant protections are in place is technically the jurisdiction of the provincial government. And we know with just recent funding announcements from the new premier … that there are additional resources going to the (Residential Tenancy Branch), “ said Coun. Rebecca Bligh.

City staff say the office has cost taxpayers $1.8 million over three years.

Council has instead approved $750,000 in grants to non-profit rental organizations.

Those will be paid for from the empty homes tax fund.

“The reality is our responsibility is to make sure that we are doing everything we can to build more rental because with more rental on the market, we have less issues for renters and tenants. So that's what we're committed to,” said Bligh.

A new report by rental platform Zumper shows Vancouver continues to be the most expensive city for renters in Canada. The median price for a one bedroom now sits at $2,480. B.C. cities claimed four of the top five spots for the most expensive rentals in the report.

Crystal Chen, a spokesperson for Zumper, said there could be some deals out there for renters looking to move soon.

“Winter is typically slow moving season, so that's when there's the least demand and competition overall. So property owners typically will, you know, offer concessions or price down units to try and fill vacancies quickly,” said Chen.

The ABC party says it's confident that a six month transition plan in closing the office will ensure no one falls through the cracks.