Mayor Stewart announced his move to extend new renter protections from the recently passed Broadway Plan to tenants city-wide through the Vancouver Plan. The Broadway Plan, which was passed by Council last month, features the strongest renter protections in the country.

“I promised the strongest renter protections along the Broadway corridor, and I delivered. But we can’t stop there, every renter in Vancouver deserves the same peace of mind,” said Mayor Stewart. “That’s why I am putting forward an amendment to extend renter protections from the Broadway Plan city-wide through the Vancouver Plan.”

The Mayor’s amendments will mean no renter would see their rents go up in the event their building is redeveloped. Enhanced protections include paid relocation to and from interim housing, developer-backed subsidy for any rent increase, right of first refusal to return to newly developed property at the same or lower rent, and vacancy control mechanisms to guarantee these rents remain 20 percent below CMHC’s city-wide average for the life of the building.

“We are a city of renters, and that means ensuring no renter fears their rents going up because of new development,” said Mayor Stewart. “We can and we must protect the renters of today while making room for the renters of tomorrow in new, secure, and affordable homes in every neighbourhood of Vancouver.”

The Mayor’s city-wide renter protections will help to channel development away from existing rental buildings  and towards parts of the city off limits to renters today – unlocking affordable and sustainable housing city-wide. It’s also a move supported by non-profit and co-op housing advocates.

“The Vancouver Plan does a good job of setting the broad strokes of where we will welcome new neighbours,” said Jill Atkey, CEO BC Non-Profit Housing Association. “Livability and housing security for all residents can be further advanced by extending the recently approved renter protections in the Broadway Plan city-wide.”

“The risk of widespread tenant displacement will escalate in times of rapid growth and redevelopment, with devastating consequences for renter households,” said Thom Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer of Co-operative Housing Federation of BC. “That’s why we were pleased to see the most robust tenant protections in the country added to the final Broadway Plan, and why we support without reservation the extension of those protections to all Vancouver tenants.”

“We have seen increasing housing insecurity for renters and many formerly mixed-income neighbourhoods becoming much more exclusive,” said Mayor Stewart. “ ​​The Vancouver Plan is a once in a lifetime chance to build a Vancouver that works for all of us.”

The Vancouver Plan is scheduled to go before Council for vote on July 6.