(Vancouver) — Vision Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson was joined by fellow Vision and COPE candidates today to reaffirm their support for the creation of a rent bank for renters in crisis.
"Our commitment to introducing a rent bank is just one of the stark contrasts with an NPA platform that completely ignores renters’ issues," says Robertson. “In a city where more than 50% of our citizens rent, Vision and COPE are the parties that will stand up for renters and push for more rental housing. The NPA has zero credibility on rental housing and have no plan for Vancouver renters.
“The fact that Suzanne Anton and the NPA think the ‘market’ is the solution to every housing challenge in Vancouver shows how out of touch they are. Renters can't afford to risk voting NPA.”
The announcement today took place at Nelson Park in the West End, where close to 30% of the City's rental housing stock exists. Mayor Robertson was joined by COPE Councillor Ellen Woodsworth, who spoke about COPE and Vision’s willingness to put renters’ issues on the table at City Hall, in contrast to the NPA’s ‘let the market take care of it’ mantra.
"COPE and Vision have worked together this term to pass a new affordable housing plan that includes new rental housing, a task force on renters’ rights, and now the development of a rent bank — this is crucial for seniors, youth, families and immigrants who are all finding it difficult to pay their rents,” said Woodsworth, a renter herself, whose affordable row house of 32 years has just been sold. “Suzanne Anton and the NPA don’t think that City Hall should be concerned about renters’ issues — but COPE and Vision do.
“That’s why we’ll continue to work together to protect Vancouver renters and ensure they have a voice at City Hall.”
Among the policies that Vision and COPE will work towards implementing include:
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Enabling a rent bank, which provides short-term emergency loans to renters in crisis, in partnership with the private sector and charitable organizations like the Streetohome Foundation. Rent banks already exist in Victoria, Surrey, Calgary, and the Province of Ontario.
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Creating an online, searchable database of Vancouver landlords, to empower renters and give them a tool to see the history of their buildings and identify problem properties;
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Using legal injunctions on negligent landlords of single-room occupancy hotels, forcing them to maintain their buildings and prevent evictions.
In contrast, the NPA’s platform has no commitment to protecting rental housing or empowering renters. There is just a single line about rental housing in the entire NPA platform, in contrast to an entire page on the Stanley Cup riot. Suzanne Anton and the NPA are currently running attack ads on the idea of a rent bank, calling it “goofy”.
“The NPA’s opposition to simple tools to help renters in crisis situations shows why they can’t be trusted,” said Mayor Robertson. “It’s another clear example of what’s at stake in the election this Saturday.”
Mayor Robertson and Councillor Woodsworth were joined by Trevor Loke, a West End resident and Vision candidate for Park Board.
“As a young renter in Vancouver, I’ve seen first-hand how difficult it can be to find decent, affordable rental housing in this city,” said Loke. “Many people who rent are just a paycheque away from being evicted. We need a strong Vision and COPE government to keep making renters’ issues a priority, rather than sweeping them under the table like Suzanne Anton and the NPA.”
There are over 67,000 rental units in the City of Vancouver, with 55,000 of these units more than 40 years old. Over 14,000 renter households in Vancouver spend more than 50% of their income on rent.
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